Advice needed on 'reclaimed' marble countertops

16 years ago

I have an opportunity to buy two sections of marble countertop: one 8'5.5" long and she says 24" deep by 1" thick. The other is 6'9" long and 24" deep 1" thick. I am not sure if these measurements are 100% accurate yet. It is described as "white with caramel veining throughout". I am hoping that they are actually a little deeper than 24".

I have not seen photos yet-the seller is getting them to me hopefully tonight. Story is that she bought her house last year, and the seller had bought them "reclaimed" and had intended to install them but never did. She did granite instead.

My questions are:

Can I find a fabricator who will cut this for me to the size(s) I specify? Can I have it honed as well? (She said it is not super shiny but not honed either). The big one is: can I have these two pieces "laminated" to create a thicker profile??

This would require some creative rejiggling in my concept in my head (see current "chef's table thread"..) but if the marble is what I am after...it may be worth it.

By the way, both pieces are only $200!

I will post pics as soon as she sends them-hopefully someone out there might know what marble it is!!

I think I have become TKO!!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (13)

dd70
16 years ago
i have no answers for your questions but that sounds like a fantastic buy. I just want to tell you I hope everything works out in your favor, its too good to pass up. Cant wait to see the pics!
amberley
Original Author
16 years ago
I am going bananas waiting for the pics!!
Related Discussions
Rain forest green marble & travertine tile--need paint advice
Q
Comments (1)
I hope you got some advice before now. In the third, dark bathroom, I would have painted the cabinet, too.
...See More
Butcherblock with Marble Inset Question--need advice!
Q
Comments (9)
Thanks for clarifying. "Backer board" often means a cement-based sheet product meant for mounting tile on, but he might just mean a piece of plywood. Either way, I'm not sure what purpose it would serve here. All of the problems with this idea stem from the fact that the butcherblock will expand and contract with the seasons while the marble remains a constant size. This means you can't glue the two together and expect them to stay stuck. You also can't fit stone tightly into a recess in the butcherblock and expect it to stay tightly fitted. Putting another rigid material such as plywood or tile backer between them doesn't change anything. Gluing any rigid material, be it a backerboard or the stone itself, to the butcherblock over a large area is a bad idea. Period. The glue will come loose and/or the butcherblock will develop cracks to accommodate its inevitable shrinkage and expansion. For the stone to be completely surrounded by the wood, the recess MUST be oversized, leaving a gap along the two edges where the grain of the wood runs parallel to the edge of the stone. If it's an end-grain butcherblock then there must be a gap all the way around. Such a gap will rapidly collect debris (flour, bits of fudge, whatever), and water spilled across the countertop would sit in the groove as if it were a clogged gutter, get trapped under the stone, soak into the wood and probably do some damage. You could, as I mentioned earlier, make the hole oversize and fill the gap with a soft rubbery material (silicone caulk), but I think this could create maintenance issues that I wouldn't feel good about. A simpler, less risky alternative to Plan A would be to cut the recess all the way over to one of the long edges of the countertop so that one of the marble's edges (nicely polished, of course) is visible, and just sit the stone there loose. A 24" square piece of 2cm marble should weigh something like 45 pounds, which is heavy enough that it won't slide out of its pocket accidentally but light enough to move for occasional cleaning underneath. Simpler still is to install a normal butcherblock countertop and just leave the slab or marble sitting on top of it. [begin rant] I should confess, though it's not directly relevant to the woodworking part of this, that I'm skeptical that marble is all that necessary for pastry making. I know it's useful for sticky confectionery stuff like fudge and caramel that starts out warm and needs to cool, but I've watched Julia Child roll out her pie dough on a floured wood counter, and I do it myself on a large wood cutting board. I Googled a bit to see if I could find a convincing explanation of why marble would be a superior surface, but I failed. The only explanation I found was that marble is supposed to be "cool," which, if true, would make sense in terms of not melting the fats you've cut into the dough -- but this claim is bunk unless you keep the stone in the refrigerator. Marble sitting out in the room is at room temperature, just like everything else. It feels cool because room temperature is typically lower than body temperature, its got a lot of mass and is a good thermal conductor so it can suck up a fair bit of body heat fairly quickly. For the same reasons, though, if you were a sentient slab of chilled pie dough, that slab of marble would actually feel warmer than a wood surface would because the marble would be warmer than you were, and would be able to rapidly conduct its heat into you. [/rant over]
...See More
Marble isn't large enough for the island! Need advice
Q
Comments (20)
Keep the seating. The bow... not sure about. We have one and it creates an optical illusion when you photograph the front, that the island is bowed. However, when barstools are in, it's fine. We use this seating all the time. You have more room at the island and seating is more comfortable, with the bow - it's not like you are lined up in a row. That said, we usually eat at the kitchen table vs. the island. A couple comments on your plan. Am I missing it, or do you not have a prep sink? You have the beautiful huge cooktops and plenty of aisle space between them and the island. We have a similar setup and have the prep sink on the island - so it's chop and twirl and toss into pan. I love this. Also, we have 42'' between cooktop and island - this is fine for multiple people working in the area, I've found. I don't think you will see or access the front of the island, with barstools in place. This was a while ago: More recently (not our backsplash, just photoshopped option), with stools in place:
...See More
Need help choosing countertop marble colors and sink
Q
Comments (6)
To be different, I like the dark gray with the dark gray sink, but I don't think any of the choices would be bad. I admit to a bias against white sinks, as I think they're harder to keep looking clean all the time.
...See More
amberley
Original Author
16 years ago
I am really hoping some of you guys see this and have some thoughts.

The seller won't have pics until tomorrow afternoon, but she did say that the counters are 25" deep (whew!) and less than 1" but more than 3/4" thick.

I am so anxious....
napagirl
16 years ago
Bump ... sorry, I have no answer.
weissman
16 years ago
That's a very good price - if I were you I'd contact some fabricators in your area and see what they say. Even if you purchased new, the cost of the material is generally low compared to the fabrication and installation costs.
cpang74
16 years ago
What a great price-have you contacted any fabricators? I think this may be a great deal-but no idea if you can find someone to do the work?
lascatx
16 years ago
It shouldn't cost too much to have them refitted since half the fabrication is done, but they will still have the cutting, any sink or other cutouts and the installation. Keep in mind that if there are any tiny cracks you don't see they could give way as the material is being worked or set into place -- or if a piece is dropped -- and there won't be another slab back at the yard to match it.

There is some risk, but sounds like it's definitely worth looking into. I'd be willing to try it.
User
16 years ago
I bought my piece of marble for $50. My stone guy took it with the soapstone I had and polished it and brought it back and installed it. I wouldn't laminate them for a thicker profile but would look at possible edges that you can do to give the appearance of thicker . That way you have two pieces to work with in different areas. My marble is 1 1/3 " thick and my soapstone is 1 1/4" thick. I am not sure why folks need thicker counters as these look plenty thick to me. I am looking forward to seeing your pics. Just my opinion of course :). Caroline
User
16 years ago
The fabrication is the REAL cost in any type of stone countertops. I'd expect that those costs will be significant, because not that many stone places will want the potential headache of dealing with slabs they didn't source, as well as it being a relatively small job to begin with. Before you get too attached to the idea, please find out what someone will charge you to do the fabrication you need. It really might not be that significant a price diffrence between that and new slabs that you select yourself. Of course, in this construction down market, you might get lucky and find a place that will cut you a deal. If that's the case, just make sure they have been in business long enough to really know what they're doing. There are a lot of fly by night "buy a container load from China and set up shop" stone places going under right now.
amberley
Original Author
16 years ago
I am so sad :(

It turns out that when the seller went to take the photos, she turned it over and saw Corian sticker on the bottom. I am crushed...

I spent half the day thinking- it could be statuary, it could be calcatta.....

Back to the drawing board, literally!!

Thanks for all you insights!
pbrisjar
16 years ago
That's a real bummer. I was getting so excited for you.
vrjames
16 years ago
Amberly,
If yourneeds are this small you should locate a few fabricators and check out their remnant yards. SOME will work a deal with you on different levels. $200 for a couple of scraps was not a REAL bargain. a good deal but not a bargain.

As was said by weissman, the material is normally a small portion of the actual job.

Blessings
lascatx
16 years ago
LOL Poor thing can't tell marble from Corian. I'm sorry for your disappointment, but I'm glas there was a sticker to guide her. But how did she not see that in buying them and looking at them for the job she was going to use them for? Oh well.....

My slabs were less than half of the cost of my installed countertops, so having the material doesn't mean getting them installed would be super cheap. You have the material and some of the fabrication done. but even if there wwere no other issues, any craftsman is going to need to cover his costs for a job and travel to the job that may be all he does for that day and whatever time he spends getting the material ready beofre that. You'd probably run into minimum job charges.

Good luck finding your countertops!

Advice needed on 'reclaimed' marble countertops

Comments (13)

dd70

amberley
Original Author

Related Discussions

amberley
Original Author

napagirl

weissman

cpang74

lascatx

User

User

amberley
Original Author

pbrisjar

vrjames

lascatx

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Advice needed on 'reclaimed' marble countertops

Comments (13)

amberleyOriginal Author

Related Discussions

amberleyOriginal Author

amberleyOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

amberley
Original Author

amberley
Original Author

amberley
Original Author