We’re approaching the end of the renovation of this Victorian home in Glen Ridge and wanted to share some shots of the installation of the granite and marble counters in the kitchen and butler’s pantry.
Previously we’ve written about our favorite stone supplier. For this project we chose two different stones: White Carrera for the black center island and “Antique Brown” granite, which looks almost black but with lots of irridescent “movement” for the white base cabinets in the kitchen and pantry. We fell in love with it!
From the supplier, the stone is shipped to a stone “fabricator” to create the counter tops and 3 fireplace hearths and surrounds for our project. When choosing a stone fabricator, price isn’t everything….but experience is! It is critically important that they know how to properly “template” the counters before they are cut at the shop. That means sending out a craftsperson to draw the templates. There is probably no home anywhere that presents perfect right angles and so each template is like a fingerprint….unique and must be drawn with care. 
Note: either get your sink(s) from the fabricator directly or be ready to have it purchased as they must take them back to the shop to trace when cutting the holes in the stone for the sink(s). In this project we had two identical sinks, one in the kitchen and one in the pantry and we had them ready to go back to the shop with the “templater” that day! 
The templates are then taken back to the shop with notations to cut the perfect counter tops and where cuts are also made for sinks, etc. and the edges are cut and polished to your specifications. We went with an “eased” edge which we like very much for its clean line and simplicity.
Yesterday the “stones” arrived and were installed. It took 3 strong young guys several hours. Not only did they have to get the pre-cut stone off their truck, they had to get the 3 large pieces inside, lift them up and gently lay them in place. They did have a neat rubber wheeled “dolly” to help them roll it in the house once they got it to the front door! 
Was it a perfect fit? Almost all of it was. One wall in the kitchen had to be “notched” so that the stone would fitperfectly, and these guys made it look simple! Then holes were drilled for the faucets, water sprayers and soap dispensers. 
One thing to note, the granite covering any open space, like a dishwasher, should have an extra support put in to prevent the stone from cracking before the appliance gets there. The guys brought two special metal strips which are slightly bowed (almost like a spring) and screwed in to the two side cabinets on either side of the 2 (soon to be installed) dishwashers. Then the (under mount) sinks were caulked and the stone cleaned up to show us its beauty! Great job!
