Buying of granite kitchen countertops plays a significant role in the construction of the house. The different type of building materials is used for the construction of the house. Choosing a suitable construction material is an art. You will have to spend a lot of time towards buying different materials.
Granite slabs are the most important material used in the construction of the house. It is mostly used for kitchen countertops, staircase flooring, outer flooring as well as cladding and dado.
Granite slabs are available in different colours, pattern, and thickness.
The process of buying any material is not too easy as one may think. It is also a time-consuming and confusing process.
Granite Slab
One may need to spend enough time to select the right material and a good supplier. We have already discussed the material buying guide in general and here we give some use full tips for buying granite kitchen countertops.
Pros and Cons:
Pros:
- It is used as a flooring material and also used for platform countertop, cladding and staircase flooring.
- It has a natural beauty as well as elegance
- It has properties like heat resistance, scratch resistance and it is strong and extremely durable.
- It is available in different colours and patterns.
- Granite is available in different size and in a uniform thickness.
Granite Uniform Thickness
- It has a long lifespan.
Cons:
- It can be costly when installing in large size and solid pieces.
- It requires resealing more often than most other surfaces.
- The entire section will need to be replaced when granite cracks.
- Chamfering or rounding of edges is very costly, sometimes even more than the cost of materials.
Best Tips for Buying Granite Kitchen Countertops:
01. Is Granite Need or Desire?
One will have to check whether buying granite is a need or a desire. I.e. granite for countertop is a need, but granite for the wall cladding may be a desire.
02. Why You Need the Granite Slabs for Constructing a House?
You have to take a call, as to why do you need granite i.e. either for flooring of living room, bedroom, bathroom/toilet, or kitchen countertop, kitchen/toilet dados, wall cladding, internal or external window sill and jambs, door jambs and sills, cupboard racks, table top and other interior areas. Each different use will need different size/length and the size will decide the thickness, and of course, both of will decide the price. It is needless to say that the larger the size/length, the higher the price and vice-versa.
Nowadays so many types of natural and artificial stone are available in the market, but granite is the most useful material with good characteristics. Depending on their colours, patterns, and thickness, they are used for different purposes.
03. Quality and Specification:
Right from the quality where the granite slabs are cut till installing, quality assurance is important. For quality assurance check the quality of granite on site by field check method.
Basically, granite is a natural material. It is hard, tough and heavy in weight.
It is available in the different textures, colours and consistency and varying molecular structure.
Different Granite Varieties
Colour variation may occur with each lot of granite slab with respect to the texture and pattern. It is to be viewed as a feature of the granite.
Depending upon the use, you have to, therefore, select the colour and pattern. The prices will also be varying based on colour and its grain structure.
Your choice of colour should be in harmony with the overall colour scheme of the house, and the rooms, where they are to be fixed.
If you choose a particular colour of granite, there will be a naturally limited option for the colour of walls.
Always buy in one lot as that lot has nearly same colours and pattern. Most of the pattern and colour are identified by some local name.
04. A study in Yards/Stores:
Depending upon your need and use, you should select the right type of granite kitchen countertops. Study different types of granite available. If you are buying a large quantity visit the store or yard and observe the size that you actually want.
Study of the product allows you to make sure whether it is the right material for construction or not. It should satisfy the basic minimum needs, and should simultaneously balance the cost.
05. Finance for Granite Kitchen Countertop:
(a) The budget for Granite Kitchen Countertop:
Though granite is essential and better but not must. You can save and economize the cost of the granite if you have a limited budget. You should fix the overall budget of the house and if you have a limited budget. Use the other options of granite which are not costly.
Different types of varieties are available in the market depending on properties, characteristic and cost of granite. You can use artificial Italian granite stone for same decent look purpose.
It is advisable to use higher thickness natural granite stone if you are going to install granite in flooring or modular kitchen platform countertop as it requires scratch, impact, stain, heat, and fire resistance.
Check out the different granite available and their prices and get estimates and an idea of what types of granite will work with your budget. This is important because granite you can change after 5 or 10 years if you earn well. But it will be difficult to increase room area, no. of the room, the height of plinth, height of house or even difficult to strengthen the foundation and reinforced the concrete framed structure.
Granite may cost a bit more no matter where you buy it, but it is affordable in the long run.
(b) Quantity Estimation:
Estimate the right quantity for different sizes. Your local stone supplier needs to know the exact quantity of granite as per different sizes.
(c) Supplier or Distributor of Granite Kitchen Countertops:
Once you estimate the right quantity, then you should find right supplier or distributor of the granite. Granite slabs are hand selected from the quarries directly. The owner needs to choose supplier or distributor who selects first quality granite from the quarry.
Many granite suppliers buy their product through stone brokers, who are basically the intermediate persons between the quarry owner and the retail or discount stores. They buy a wide variety of stone that is based on pricing, and not on quality. It is advisable that owner should buy granite directly from the quarry. An owner can buy from the supplier or distributor if in large quantity.
Granite selection is a very difficult process as it is very difficult to identify the unpleasant spot defects in granite.
Spot Defect in Red Granite
Select the good supplier or distributor whose shop is near to the site to reduce the cost of the transportation.
06. Future Life of Granite Kitchen Countertops:
The lifespan of your granite slabs depends on how you maintain it. It is little bit porous material that can absorb water and food particles. It can reduce the strength of the granite and leads to breakage. On another side, it is strong, scratch resistant, heat resistant. So if you maintain it properly, it will last the longest.
If you are buying a huge quantity of granite slab, try to place a written order and this written order should include the sizes, thickness, quality and specification of granite, time of material delivery, terms of payment including advance, etc.
When you receive the granite slabs on site, check the quality and quantity of materials that you ordered. Check whether the material has any damages like cracks, broken edges, and wear and tear. Once you are satisfied with all checks, make the payment and maintain the record of work order or bill.