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Modifying Existing Granite Countertops

16 years ago

Hi. I've lurked at this site for years and picked up useful info.

Our family has just purchased a new home that has a recently remodeled kitchen. It has a lot of counter space and we would like to set up a second food prep area with a sink. Is it feasible to cut a sink into an installed granite countertop? FWIW, I don't plan on doing it myself.

TIA, mrs517

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Comments (5)

User
16 years ago
A decent granite fabiricator could do that on site, but it'd be messy. Very messy. Granite dust into everything you own. It's as bad as drywall dust, only more abrasive.

And, cutting the hole isn't the only obstacle. YOu'd have to have an appropriate sized cabinet below for the sink you wanted, and then modify it to be a sink base. Then, you'd have to run supply lines, waste lines, and vent lines for the sink to be plumbed properly. If you're on crawl space, it could be doable. If you're on slab, it's virtually impossible.
mrs517
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the reply. We are having all renovations done before we move in, so hopefully the dust won't be as much of a problem. We'll be sure to cover the registers and tape plastic over the doorways. Any other precautionary measures we or the fabricator should take?

Fortunately, the cabinet underneath the best location is open with a partial shelf and there is basement below. Not as easy as planning before the install, but I've tackled worse back when I DIY'd everything.

mrs517
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eandhl
16 years ago
This certainly wasn't a sink cutout but we had to minor cuts on site of our granite to accomadate our range. While one worker cut, another held the hose of a shop vac right next to work and it managed to take care of all of the dust. Now this only took about 1 min ea side of range but I am sure it could be done with a sink cutout for a majority of the dust.
mrs517
Original Author
16 years ago
Dear eandhl:
Thanks for the tip!
mrs517
jt562
16 years ago
I think it is very doable. We just had granite installed in our home & then changed our minds on the cooktop we had chosen. Well, you'd think that a 30" cooktop is a 30" , right? Nope. DH had to cut almost 2" all the way around the exsisting opening. Boy oh boy was it MESSY! We closed up the room, removed the screens on the windows & put a box fan there to pull the majority of the dust outside. I also kept a constant stream of water on his blade as he was cutting.

Mind you, some of the granite was mounted on plywood, so that slowed it down some...something you may want to consider... but impossible to cut through installed granite? Not in our experience...but again...& I stress...very messy! (between dust flying ~goggles & mask highly recommended!~ & the mudd from the water ~to keep the blade from overheating~ & the granite powder...ug...dripping everywhere!)

Now my question would be do you plan on having an undermount sink there? If so, I wonder about how they would finish the edge of the granite...I know our sink cut-out was done off-site for that reason. A drop in sink would be no problem as it would hide the rough edge.

Also, as others have mentioned, the plumbing issues. It all depends on the layout of your home to determine if the price is worth it or not.

HTH & looking forward to seeing your progress if you take it on. ;-)

JoAnn

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