Granite B/Tops verses Heat

[rod1949]

We're looking at granite bench tops and had collected a couple of sample blocks from some suppliers.

Decided to do a heat test, so the other night took a saucepan that was merrily boiling away off the stove and placed it on the polished sample blocks, the result... un-marked absolutey un-marked. Showed the Boss and she said "that I wouldn't do that". Yer sure dear.

[johnc]

The boss is right, you can get the tinniest bits of moisture trapped under the surface of granite, and applying heat like that can cause the moisture to expand and a small amount of flushing on the surface. All natural and synthetic surfaces should be treated with a bit of care regardless of their durability, assuming you wish to keep them in good order.

[jags]

hi Rod
If you are after granite or man man stone go and see Gordan at Arca in Howe st Osbourne park they are about $1000 dollar cheaper than any other quote i have got . I have now used them three times and could reccomend them highly enough. They just put in the Essa stone Ciro . In my place in Bayswater after saying that it might take about five weeks i had it installed after two weeks . Also if you are not going to use a undermount sink already i would recommend you think about useing one they look amazing ..
Regards Rob

[rod1949]

Thanks for the contact Jags

[Smurf]

I've recently got one of these granite bench tops. Came with the house and I know nothing about them beyond the obvious.

What about cutting things directly on the bench top? Such as cutting up food before cooking it etc? I'm thinking that the bench top is pretty strong though I'm using a chopping board anyway.

Also, I've heard that these bench tops need "sealing" every now and then. Is that true? If so how do I seal it and when?

[admk]

took a saucepan that was merrily boiling away off the stove and placed it on the polished sample blocks,

heh, nice one. lucky it was the samples though, i doubt i'd have the courage to try that experiment on a big $$$ granite benchtop.

btw, i'd be checking out the warranty card from my fabricator. I could be wrong but i think most won't cover any cracking as a result of thermal shock from doing this.

[Make it work]

A friend of mine has granite bench tops, he told me recently that he can not fault it except you have to take care NOT to put very hot pots and pans directly on it.

Also he said that anything you put on it that is warm, like warmed plates as you dish up or a cup of tea or coffee, very quickly become stone cold, literally. So unless you live on salads or like a cold cuppa, you may want to insulate anything that you want to stay warm.

I'm going with good old aussie hardwood, oiled, when I do mine later this year.

[Fuzzie]

There's granite and there's granite.

Some benchtops, particularly renovations, might be just a thin veneer applied over the top of the original laminate.

Solid granite might be 20mmm or 40mm. Then there is the difference between the granites. Our first benchtop was Indian Black, heavy, solid and impervious to anything. Our current benchtop is Persian Fantasy, light and POROUS, a beautiful look but don't drop the beetroot juice on it!

I suspect the result of a heat test on one wouldn't be directly representative of the other.

[johnc]

Granite is prone to scratching but depending on colour this may not be noticed, it will show on Indian Black as a light grey colour. Granite is just finely polished a bit like using progressively finer sanding grits on wood. It can absorb oils, and beetroot juice is a bit of a killer on anything light, and murder for marble if left. Red wine is a PITA as well. Like any surface it is possible to damage it but despite that it remains minimal care, keep it clean, don't drag heavy ceramic items across it if they have rough bases, avoid using it as a cutting board, it will stuff your knife edge in no time at all, don't place very hot items on it. Just use basic care in use and don't be to rough and it really should give very long life. I'm not aware of any sealer, but a wax would probably hide mild scratches, but so will cooking all for a few days as well.

[RedRaven]

Some granite will be prone to flaking under high heat.
Stone, unlike metal, does not conduct heat well and so it can't expand to take up the stress.

Stone with bigger crystals is likely to be more vulnerable - especially the black/dark types with big mica (metallic looking mineral).

Finer-grained varieties will almost certainly be more durable.

The thicker the benchtop, the more durable it'll be too.

I wouldn't ever use it directly as a cutting surface - while granite is hard, steel knives etc will chip tiny bits off - you wouldn't want tiny slivers of broken glass-like rock in your food, would you?

It'll also blunt your knives really quick.