Anyone know the name of a book about granite countertop/solid surface installation? I read some where that there’s only one book about the subject—it’s $150 bucks, but I can’t remember the name of the it. Anyone know?
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Greetings Cooper,
This post, in response to your question, will bump the thread through the 'recent discussion' listing again.
Perhaps it will catch someones attention that can help you with advice.
Cheers
'Nemo me impune lacesset'
No one will provoke me with impunity
Greetings razzman
this post, in response to your bump post is a bump-bump boo bop do wang and will really not do anything but annoy the original poster.
perhaps someone with a clue will respond.
but given the motley crew around here...
Cheeerth...
:P
Mr. T.
There's a steering-wheel in me pants and it's driving me nuts!!!
View Image
'Nemo me impune lacesset'No one will provoke me with impunity
he's too close...
can ya move him a bit further out...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
You're beggin for a "plan B" boy!!
Mr. T.
There's a steering-wheel in me pants and it's driving me nuts!!!
got several of my own thank you...
how come ya never asked about a plan "C"?????Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
almost afeared ta ask....
plan C-4???
Mr. T.
There's a steering-wheel in me pants and it's driving me nuts!!!
all plans are an escallation of the preceeding one...
C-4 is after A and before B...
went to B 'cause A was awlful and then to C 'cause B was a bummer.... and so on...
wait till we have to impliment plan "G".... hehehehehehehehehehe...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I've written a couple of articles on the subject, I'd be happy to answer your questions.
I'd be happy to answer your questions.
Hijack! Hijack!
Kowboy, does that go for marble too? I dragged home several 5'x5'x7/8" sheets, polished both sides. Plan is for countertops, 27" deep x long. They scratch just like Corian clones and seem to buff with Scotchbrites the same. I was gonna cut with a diamond blade under water and hadn't figured out what to do with the seams.
Then there're the holes where things were mounted. Epoxy fill? I was thinkin' brass in there but DW wasn't so sure. Haven't yet decided which way the grain will go.
BTW, these suckers are heavy. PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
For seam adhesives, I highly recommend the people at Inetgra Adhesives.
http://www.integra-adhesives.com
Edited 3/12/2006 12:34 pm ET by Kowboy
Thanks. I'll be talking with them.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Doesn't marble need that netting on the backside for countertops?
Are you a good source to ask about rodding and fish taping?
Learning fast, but still a ways to go. The previously posted links were interesting, but the discussion group was clearly of the mindset that one should apprentice for several years before considering a try on your own. Ain't gonna happen for me.
They also were overly concerned with disclaimers against using marble, strong granite bias. At least I got a very good rundown on top seaming. Which turns out to be very similar to solid surface, which I do have quite a bit of experience with.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
How does one tape fish?
I'm learning, too!
Seems like the tape wouldn't stick to the slimey scales...?
What does one tape to the fish? Oh, I know - the netting!
I don't know anything about netting on the back of marble.
I watched a guy at the trade show take a piece of 1/4" thick granite with a netting/fiberglas lamination on the back and place it between two blocks four feet apart and stand on it without breaking. It bowed and returned to shape like a piece of plywood. Amazing.
I'm a remodeler getting out of the business of doing other people's projects, but instead buying my own properties and fixing them up.
In Cincinnati, there's a store called "Home Emporium" that sells granite countertop slabs for $19.95 sq/ft.
What tools should I buy and where? Diamond bladed wet circular saws for cuts? How do you cut curves? A router with diamond bits? How do you buff? Miters or butt joints?
I bought a house two weeks ago that I'd like to have on the market in six weeks. Granite countertops are one of the last things to go in, so any advice know would help.
THanks, and advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for speaking up!
Rule #1: Don't confuse installation with fabrication.
Forum for stone countertops:
http://www.stoneadvice.com/forum/forum-1.html
Place to get stone tools:
http://www.defusco.com/links.php
Have fun. Shaping and polishing a piece of stone to a mirror finish is quite cool. It's also a lot of work. Don't forget to talk nicely with local fabricators who can cut curves and do other things that you can't. The more they like you the less it will cost.
Cooper,
I fabricated and installed about 100sqft of countertops (12" radius inside corners, 15" radius peninsula end, undermount sink) with no previous experience and they look great. And, there is a lot of satisfaction (for me) that comes from working with stone; I actually enjoyed it, but if your reselling homes in six weeks I don't think it's for you. It's a time consuming process with a steep learning curve, not to mention the investment in tools. If your still interested I'd be happy to share my experience and some pictures.
Jerry
Jerry, I for one would be very interested. I also love working with stone, but my tools are limited to a couple of wet saws and a grinder with a few different diamond coated blades. I don't see my self rolling my own counter tops, but I would like to try some smaller projects made of slab scraps.
"A job well done is its own reward. Now would you prefer to make the final payment by cash, check or Master Card?"
I too would welcome the experience and pics if you would be willing.
Thanks
'Nemo me impune lacesset'No one will provoke me with impunity
I'll be out of town for a couple of days - I'll put something together over the weekend.Jerry
Is that $19.95 with a finished profiled edge and a finished end and splash, or is it just a raw slab, polished only on the top?
You can purchase 60"x96" granite slabs with a polished top side for $9.00-$15.00 per square foot almost anywhere in the country wholesale.
If you're only going to do one job, you'll find the purchase of tools and bits makes doing it yourself cost-prohibitive, depending on how much your time is worth and the edge profile you choose.
Good luck.
The come in varying sections, but they have a rounded bullnose front, but come in most granite colors (Uba Tuba is what we're planning on using.)
I'm interested in more than a one time deal. I've been a remodeling contractor for five years, and I'm finally branching off into buying foreclosures, fixing them up, and reselling them.
Is there a central granite tool website to purchase the appropriate tools? I'm a tool freak, to buying tools isn't painful...it's what I live for!
Bump :-)
This is my absolute last attempt to bump this up to get the attention of the OP. (...unless they've already seen it and are'nt interested). Oh well, I tried. :-)
Check out this website: http://www.stoneadvice.com/
They seem like cool guys and have a well attended web forum as well.
It's been a while since I looked at it in depth, but it seemed to be the place to learn about granite tools and techniques.
JT
Thanks for the lead!
go to
https://www.ntc-stone.com/schedule.htm
scroll down to "stone fabrication:tips and techniques"
I bought it 6 or 7 years ago and was quite unimpressed. At that time it was a binder with large print 8.5x11 pages with a lot of simplistic information. If you are really slow, not terribly intuitive with tools and materials and lack problem solving skills it might be useful. I don't think I got one useful piece of info out of it.
Fred Hueston, the author is quite knowledgeable but I am unimpressed by his ability to convey useful information in a written manual.
I am assuming this is the book you are asking about as it is 150 bucks.
Karl
Take Kowboy up on his offer to answer questions and you will get better info than this book
TOOLS and SUPPLIES:
http://www.granitecitytool.com/
These guys are a big help on the phone, prices are very good and so is their website.
http://www.somaca.com/DefaultS.asp
website is not so good; ask for the catalog (online), prices are fair.
I paid $13/sqft for Saphire Blue granite, boom delivered. I made a wood A-frame to hold the three slabs out of the shipping crates that the slabs come in from overseas. The crates (actually called bundles) are made from what appears to be a tropical hardwood about 3"x5" and very strong. I got them free from the stone distributor.
I rough cut the slabs using a straightedge and a Crapsman circular saw (didn't want to use my good saw) that I fitted with a 7" diamond blade and a water feed. Once I had the piece roughed out I put it on a work table I built out of steel I bought at the scrap yard. You can improvise some sort of table as long as it's strong and flat. At this point I clamped on my luan template and traced it with a whiteout liquid pen and cut to the line with the same saw and straightedge. (The saw has a laser which illuminated the whiteout nicely).
The curves were cut out using a 4-1/2" grinder with a 4" dry diamond blade. I also used a diamond cup wheel to grind the curves, but found I could be very accurate with less chipping using the edge of the 4" blade as a grinding wheel. when the piece matched the template and the edges were nice and square I used an Alpha 3/8" roundover to take off the top edge. At this point the edges were ready for polishing using a Flex water feed polisher and diamond pads.
The seams were cut a hair long and then carefully ground to the template, makig sure the edge was flat, straight and square using a #30 diamond pad on a hard backer and a straight edge. After the hole for the undermount sink was cut I used a 2" zero clearance wheel to grind out the curves, then polished.
The pieces were set in acrylic caulk and shimmed where necessary. Then the seams were glued with color matched epoxy and scraped down with a razor. I will eventually top polish the seams but that's moved to the bottom of my to-do list since they look good as they are.
This should give you a rough idea of what's involved. Be warned, it's very time consuming work and sometimes monotonous, but in the end it is rewarding and I actually enjoyed it very much. I'm looking for an excuse to do another project :-)
Jerry
PS: Pictures will follow.
Edited 3/28/2006 10:08 pm ET by Jerry18
Edited 3/28/2006 10:08 pm ET by Jerry18
PICTURES:I was going to go through these and pick some out, then decided to post a link to the albumns instead.Enjoyhttp://photos.yahoo.com/leccej
added a few more pics