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Thread: Cutting granite bench tops
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26th May 2005, 09:34 PM #1Senior Member
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Cutting granite bench tops
Hello all,
I am between a rock and a hard place. I have a reno underway which includes granite bench tops. No local stone cutter exists and the nearest available is 2 1/2 hours away @ $180 / hr. No wonder he is
The owner is keen to have either me or him have a go but builders are not stone masons and only extreme need has bought me to consider it. On new work its just another inclusion and not an issue but this kitchen is new auction stock which I have to make fit.
Advice from anyone who has fitted granite would be much appreciated, unless I feel confidant I will duck this one. Regards from Bill
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26th May 2005, 09:40 PM #2Hammer Head
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are you using "real" stone or an enginered stone.
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26th May 2005, 09:49 PM #3Senior Member
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Real stone, not synthetic or composite. Probably Chinese or Indian. Black & hard.
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26th May 2005, 09:52 PM #4Hammer Head
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maybe get the front edges factory cut and polished, then just trim the back to suit your wall. diamond disk in grinder would be worth a shoot but very messy unless you wet it down. you will have it take it slow whe cutting..
3
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26th May 2005, 09:58 PM #5Senior Member
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Fronts are bullnosed, problem areas are two joins on each change of angle and the sink. Sink s/b ok but jointing worries me. Any suggestions, apart from leave it alone?
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26th May 2005, 10:00 PM #6
When they put in my granite benchtops they cut out the sink & stove openings with angle grinders using diamond cutting wheels . they also beveled the edges the same way . This was 20mm thick stuff.
Mind you these blokes did this for a living they came from gosford so no help there i'm afraid
But if you could get a 5" grinder or larger, a diamond wheel and practice on a spare bit, it wasn't that hard they lent me their grinded and i cut one of the offcuts up for a couple of breadboads to match the bench top SHMBO was very pleased
Not sure of the quality of the diamond wheel however proberly pretty expensive from the cost of the granite and fitting they could afford the best.
The trouble with life is there's no background music.
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26th May 2005, 10:02 PM #7Hammer Head
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caulk in colours....
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26th May 2005, 10:50 PM #8Originally Posted by gnu52
If you want to do this yourself the tools I suggest you need are either:
an angle grinder with a diamond blade -- very very messy, and it's difficult to hold a straight line unless you've had lots of practice. or
a dustless cutter (Makita make one) connected to a good dust extractor. The Makita dustless cutter is like a portable power saw and can be guided by a battern making straight cuts pretty easy. The dust extractor works and is essential if you want to keep the owner's house clean. The tool is also very handy for cutting cement sheet.
But the big cost is smoothing the exposed edges arround the cut outs and on the edges that but against walls. What needs to be done is akin to sanding the saw marks out of a piece of timber. However with granite you need to use diamond polishing disks to do it and these are not cheap. The guys who installed the granite counter top in my kitchen used an angle grinder style polisher and commented that the polishing disks cost $800 each. Very Ouch for a one off job.
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26th May 2005, 11:19 PM #9
Bill,
if it was my own kitchen I'd probably give it a go, but as it's for a client I'd be getting the specialist in. I've seen them cut on site with a diamond blade in an angle grinder for the cutouts. For cuts to areas that will be seen, a Festo plunge circular saw on a guide rail and the matching dust extractor. Edges polished with stones of varying grit in a 7" sander/polisher. Have to work on getting all the carcasses really level. Tops are glued down with a specialist epoxy - very thick and with grit in it.
Mick"If you need a machine today and don't buy it,
tomorrow you will have paid for it and not have it."
- Henry Ford 1938
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26th May 2005, 11:44 PM #10
Bill,
Granite dust is very bad for the lungs, if you are into inhaling large amounts of MDF dust this is just as bad over time and it is not advisable to add it to what ever nasties you may have breathed in. Although granite is very tough, and your black could easily be Irish or European as well as Australian, it is also brittle if there is a flaw running through it and the black makes it difficult to spot the flaws. As alluded to the gear for polishing and cutting is expensive and as it is a contract job I would be very reluctant to give it a go, if you crack the slab or stuff the joint the stone mason suddenly does not look so bad after all. Your basic diamond gear will eventually cut it but any flushing along the joins will show as a very clear light grey.
JohnC
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27th May 2005, 12:17 AM #11
Bill
you may want to browse through Hoskin Diamond Products at
http://www.hoskindiamond.com.au/index.htm
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27th May 2005, 09:12 AM #12Senior Member
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a tip, watch the areas around your cutouts. i.e sink and hotplate.
make sure the cabinet carcase has a good size rail on the vertical to support the stone or these areas will be prone to cracking.
if it were me, i would make a set of 3mm ply/mdf templates with the exact detail, scribed to the walls and get the professional to do the joins in his factory. the attempt to do the cutouts myself onsite with a grinder and diamond blade as these dont need to be pretty.
G
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27th May 2005, 10:46 AM #13
could you mark the cuts you need and take it to the stonemason yourself? It would save the hassle of doing it yourself and would be cheaper than getting him to come to you.
TravSome days we are the flies; some days we are the windscreen
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28th May 2005, 06:06 PM #14Senior Member
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Thanks to you all for your imput which I am now chewing over.
Probably we will take the granite to Brisbane & have it professionally cut from templates of 5mm craftwood.
The mason tells me even if he does the cutting in his workshop I will still have to cut out the sink on site as they are prone to cracking in transport. I see his point.
Again, thanks from Bill
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28th May 2005, 09:13 PM #15if it was my own kitchen I'd probably give it a go, but as it's for a client I'd be getting the specialist in.
Listen to Mick's advice. The owner is trying to save a buck at your expense. Who is responsible for replacing the material if you stuff up? Let the owner pay someone who can do the work (it is a relatively small amount in the grand scheme of things), rather than you stressing over something that you are not qualified to do.
Regards from Perth
Derek
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