Granite kitchen top
 

Any recomndations on a good source for granite work tops?..Should I look to
Europe??...

Thanks for any thoughts??

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 20:58:59 -0000, "Dave Walsh"
wrote:



Any recomndations on a good source for granite work tops?..Should I look to
Europe??...

Thanks for any thoughts??


There is a place neer me, in an old quary, that polish them up. I have
no idea what its called, but if you live in N. Wales, I'll tell you
where it is.

Rick

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 20:58:59 -0000, "Dave Walsh"
wrote:



Any recomndations on a good source for granite work tops?..Should I look to
Europe??...

We're in Europe.

The two main costs with granite are transport and finishing.

If you go for an African granite, there won't be a huge difference in
the transport element between buying in the UK or other places in
Europe.

There is extraction of granite in Finland, but I suspect with high
labour costs you wouldn't save a lot.

There are some practical issues.

Good quality granite, well polished, finished and fitted is not cheap.

Having gone through the exercise, I would *strongly* suggest finding a
good local specialist firm with references and also go and take a look
at some of their work. The best way to approach the exercise is to
discuss the exercise with a number of suppliers from the usual sources
such as Yellow Pages, home magazines, web search etc.
Give them a scale drawing and ask them how they will approach the job
and a costing. For example, when I had this done, there was a
requirement for underhung sink, an L-shape and drainage channels to be
machined. The cheaper suppliers wanted to supply in two pieces,
saying that the L shapes couldn't be done.

Fit all the units in place firmly first, then ask the granite
supplier(s) to come along for a final quote. On selection, ask them
to template for supply and also whether there are any site
requirements.

I think that it's better to get the supplier to own the whole job
including templating, cutting, polishing, delivery and installation.

That way, if there's a screw up, the buck is in one place.

It really does then imply a reasonably local supplier unless you want
to take on some of the risk.

Personally, I felt that if one is going to invest in granite, it's
better to get it done properly.



--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 20:58:59 -0000, "Dave Walsh"
wrote:

Any recomndations on a good source for granite work tops?

Can't move these days for granite worktop makers....

I use Bristol Marble (www.bristolmarble.com), mainly because I live
next door. They do marble, granite, factory-farmed and some slates.

They've a lovely granite in at the moment - dark grey, with a rough
surface to it. It's like slate, but without all the wear problems and
unevenness of slate.

--
Smert' spamionam

Dave Walsh wrote:

Any recomndations on a good source for granite work tops?..Should I look to
Europe??...

Thanks for any thoughts??


monumental masons.

"Dave Walsh" wrote in message
...


Any recomndations on a good source for granite work tops?..Should I look
to
Europe??...

Thanks for any thoughts??

There was a Post on Uk Selfbuild form a guy starting off a granite work top
business, he was offering great discounts as long as his team could leran on
the job ... i.e. could take time over each install.

You could search the posts and contact him
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/UK_Selfbuild/

Rick

Dave Walsh wrote:
Any recomndations on a good source for granite work tops?..Should I
look to Europe??...

Thanks for any thoughts??

I got ours from

http://www.be-granite-marble.co.uk/

I templated, collected & fitted myself, the quote was much cheaper than
anything local to me - they normally template and fit themselves, but were
happy to offer loads of advice on how to do it yourself, and the quality of
granite / finish was excellent - recommended

Jon

Andy Hall wrote in message . ..

Personally, I felt that if one is going to invest in granite, it's
better to get it done properly.

If one is going to invest in granite, buy shares in the quarry, don't
buy the end product.

MBQ

I used a company called "Affordable Granite" in Betchworth, Surrey. I
managed to do the whole kitchen (admittedly a small kitchen) for just over
£1000. including fitting. Quotes from more traditional sources were nearer
£5000.

The guys (contracted kitchen fitters) do the exact measuring cutting and
fitting on site. This proved v. useful as I had made a slight error in my
measurements which could have been dificult if the granite was prepared
elsewhere.

The downside was that you have to use set sizes of granite which are cut
down to size. This means a long continuous length will need to be made of
several pieces. Also they finished the joins with black sealant which I will
have to redo as it wasn't that neat.

On the plus side the cost made it comparable or even cheaper than using a
wooden worktop when the specialist labour that I would have needed was
inclued. Also, despite the sealant joins (which I will redo when I have
time) the granite looks great, and has all the advantages of granite.