Professional Natural Stone, Porcelain Tile & Slabs in Burnaby, BC

You don't need to be an expert, but you should have some good experience with general carpentry, renovation, etc. Read the Templating and Installation sections to get a handle on what's involved. In most instances, the job can go smoothly, but sometimes you may find some difficulty when an expert or some experience is necessary. (For instance, you may have to adjust a seam with a diamond saw if your walls aren't square and your template didn't reflect the angle)

Because granite is a natural material and is mined from the quarry in blocks usually no more than 10' long, you will end up with seams. Also, because granite is sold in rectangular pieces, you may want to use seams to reduce your costs, such as in a 'L' shaped corner.

Sinks are either drop-in mount or under mount. Sinks come in a variety of materials, including stainless steel, ceramic and enameled cast iron as well as some synthetics. A cutout needs to be made in the granite to accommodate the sink. The sink will have directions and a template for the cutout. If you are doing your own templates, the sink must be precisely located and the cutout indicated exactly. You must also send the sink template with your plastic templates.

You can cantilever granite up to 14" with sufficient support on the fixed end and with a large enough piece. Never cantilever unsupported granite where it might receive excessive stress like someone sitting on a counter or stepping on a counter to change a light bulb. You must have support underneath for these situations.

There is usually no granite left over from a cutout. The granite for the cutouts is generally destroyed in the process of creating the cutout. Large diameter drills are used together with diagonal saw cuts to remove the cutout.