YOu have several options. Not to have any support is not one of the options. The pic of the embedded steel is one option. However, if the steel is not anchored to the cabinet it's little more than an expensive way to rod the stone (which is usually done with small diameter steel rod.) For actual structural support you need corbels or steel that is securely anchored to the cabinetry. This is quite possible and the underside of the stone can be relieved (hollowed out) if you choose although the steel supports need only be 1/2 0r 3/8" thick so burying them in the stone actually makes for a weaker assembly. the trick to low profile supports is getting a cabinet structure which will provide an adequate anchor points for the bolts holding the steel bars. This is usually not available without some additional structure built into the cabinets. While it doesn't sound like a concern for your project it can also be important to have the cabinetry securely anchored. It's not uncommon for a raised bar to have only a half wall as the primary support structure and if you want to hang off a large overhang you need to make sure the stone doesn't want to tip the whole structure (cabinet plus stone) over. Seems like an obvious consideration to me but it's not for a lot of people.

We used both. I have an 18" overhang from the knee wall supporting the lower tabletop on my island. To support the overhang, we have table legs, wooden corbels, and metal L-brackets. Probably a little overkill, but I have kids and am paranoid about the slab breaking. Closeup of one wooden corbel and the tops of the metal L-bracket (the bottom part of the L bracket is screwed into the studs of the knee wall and then the cabinet wood nailed over it). Another shot showing corbels and one table leg More table legs/corbels - ignore the crud around the base of the legs/knee wall. That's been fixed :)

Yes, you will still need support. Check the "Stone Information and Advice" thread for more information, but to summarize.... countertop support: Supporting the width of the countertop: You need a corbel or support every 30 linear inches of unsupported overhang Supporting the depth of the countertop: General: You need to support at least 2/3 the entire depth of the stone, so assuming you have 24" deep cabinets on one side of the island and your seating overhang is on the other side, you need the following: If your granite is 2 cm thick, then there can be no more then 6" of of unsupported span with a 5/8" subtop If your granite is 3 cm thick, then there can be no more then 10" of unsupported span - no subtop required If you need support, then to determine your corbel dimensions: . Thickness of Stone - Dimension of Unsupported Span = Corbel Dimension . i.e., an 18" total overhang in 2 cm would require a 12" corbel; the same overhang in 3 cm would require an 8" corbel If you are using a pony wall or cabinets with a depth of less than 2 times the depth of the overhang, then you need to provide support to equal at least 2/3 of the total depth of the countertop.

A much-discussed topic at Houzz. See this [thread[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/granite-overhang-question-please-help-dsvw-vd~2584281). The mesh enables the quarries to use stone that would otherwise be too fragile for transportation, fabrication and installation. If the customer wants the underside of the granite to be polished, it should be specified to begin with so an appropriate stone can be used. I've never installed granite that cantilevered more than an inch or so. But I did hear from a customer upset that the underside of her overhanging laminate counter wasn't finished the same as the topside. Poor workmanship on my part that she didn't expect in a $1m home in 1990.