Found Gorgeous Granite with Movement. What do I do?

12 years ago

I came across a gorgeous slab of granite the other day while running errands. This was not at a stone yard. It was at the edge of the bottle & can redemption center parking lot amidst random trash.

I can't stop thinking about this slab. Should I run back over to the redemption center and find out the story behind the granite. If it's abandoned or dirt cheap, do I invent a reason to use it? What do I do? If you want to see the other slabs of granite on the A-frame, I posted a pic of them here.

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Comments (15)

joaniepoanie
12 years ago
I don't think you'll forgive yourself if you dont at least go back and inquire about them. Could they have been dumped by a fabricator as unusable? Were they remnants that had been sitting around for so long and hadn't sold so they needed to make room for newer remnants that have a better chance of sale? If they are free...which I think they would be if they are at the dump...worst case scenario is you snatch them, take them to your trusted fabricator and see what they have to say....if unusable, back to the dump they go...as long as you have a few burly men willing to lift them and haul them around, it might be worth a try.
NewSouthernBelle
12 years ago
I agree. At least go back and ask and get the story. Then you can go from there.
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Ossiemom - I feel your pain and know exactly how frustrated you must be. We've been living in our basement (thank goodness for that since it would be an even bigger issue if we were in a hotel!) for 2 weeks now while the floor company tries to get our hardwood floors to look decent. And I say decent since I'll accept even that at this point! So what should have been a 4-5 day job is now going into week 3 and we still may have to start over - it's infuriating! Anyway, I'm sure they must have done this, but just thought I'd ask to make sure - did they seal all the granite when they put it in? The reason I ask is that we used 2 slabs of Cambrian black that weren't from the same lot and they looked completely different before sealing. One was much lighter than the other, however after sealing they look exactly the same to me. We knew this though PRIOR to buying them, so it wasn't a surprise. For some reason one slab already had sealer on it and the other didn't when they were brought to the stone supplier. We had them put sealer on a test piece from the lighter one just to see how it looked and we couldn't tell the difference. I would think that they would have sealed your granite if it requires sealing though, so then it definitely isn't acceptable if they look different! Good luck - I hope you get everything worked out to your satisfaction!
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Okay, if you decide you don't want the piece after diving into refinishing--I get first shot! Seriously, that is going to be beautiful no matter what you decide. I like to stay true to original finishes if it can still be functional. I have an aunt who also collects really nice antique furniture and her response to me once when I was trying to decide about a piece I was going to use was sometimes you have to to what you have to do to make it functional rather than just letting it sit around looing pretty. As far as preserving the original paint, if you are going to be using on a daily basis and not just as a display piece I would probably strip it (please, no knives!) and based on the back would bet the wood would clean up real nice. Regarding the wood, DH and I looked at your pic closely and we think at least the back is pine although when you get around to the front it would not be unusual for another wood such as maple or popular to be mixed in. If you knew where the piece originally came from it might also give you a hint as to the wood type. DH thinks the piece probably dates 1900-1920 based on one of the pieces of wood that looks like it went through a planer if that piece of wood is original to the table and the style of the pulls. Regarding the zinc--too bad it can't be salvaged. However, if you decide to use in your kitchen it might be your chance to get your marble which I think would look great. I will be reusing an old entertainment center base that is 72" long (would have loved to have found something like your table to stay truer to the kitchen style I am trying to achieve) and am getting a marble slab to go on the top. I was able to find a remnant piece that it could be cut from so was able to get a better price. I have really gone back and forth on the paint color and think I have decided on a grey-green or grey-taupey color which seems to bring out the veining in the sample I got rather than a lighter color I had originally looked at. Long way of saying, if you decide to paint it I would wait until you decide on your countertop material before picking paint color. Good luck - you got yourself a bargain!
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laxsupermom
Original Author
12 years ago
This wasn't at the dump. NY has a 5 cent deposit on bottles and cans, and with the cost of materials going up, we have redemption centers that offer 6 cents a can, then they recycle the items. I don't usually go to the redemption center more than once a month, but I think I'm going to have to take a special trip out to ask about the granite.

I would have asked when I snapped the camera phone pics, but I was already running late, and didn't want to miss the opening face off in DS1's lacrosse game.

If they are free, what should I do with them? Having already done my kitchen, should I be thinking MBa, Laundry room, in-law's future cottage kitchen, or convince my BFF that she deserves a new kitchen?
User
12 years ago
laxsupermom-

Since your kitchen is done, you could use the granite as a table top (for one large or several small tables), hang it on the wall as natural art, face a fireplace with it, use it as flooring (having it cut into, say, a circle and using it in an entry way, set at the same level as the other flooring), use it outside hanging on the house as a decoration, as a pad for the grill or as the bottom step (but level with the ground iykwim) of stairs going up to your house.

Think creatively, and good luck-

sandyponder
remodelfla
12 years ago
counter for an outdoor kitchen. Backdrop for a living wall??
dodge59
12 years ago
I used the extra granite I had left over for a passthru shelf on the outside of the kitchen bay window, and also for the surround top, sides etc for my built in patio BBQ.
Tile,and grout, and an outside bbq do not coexist well, not to mention the cleanup. The Granite, with no grout has nicely done away with those problems.

I did have some left over Onxy, that was used for the fireplace surround in the family room, we used that to make a table which complements the fireplace , very well.

Gary
laxsupermom
Original Author
12 years ago
Great ideas, everyone! Classing up our backyard is on our list for this year, so maybe an outdoor application should merit some more thought.
dan1888
12 years ago
$9-11 is a wholesale range. If it's there or less another option could be entrance floor.
Cloud Swift
12 years ago
Just remember that "free" granite is a little like a free puppy - there will be fabrication cost (though perhaps not too bad if you keep to a very simple non-laminated edge.
flwrs_n_co
12 years ago
It doesn't cost anything to ask. Go for it!
laxsupermom
Original Author
12 years ago
I'm going to try and get over there today during my morning running around. I like the free puppy analogy, because there's also convincing my husband that it's too beautiful to not go home with us. ;-)
laxsupermom
Original Author
12 years ago
So I asked and I was told that I could have any of the broken chunks on the ground for free. I grabbed a HUGE chunk of what I think is Bianco Antico(!) and a smaller chunk of a brown and red granite. Pics here. I plan on going back in sensible shoes and work gloves to look at the rest of the chunks.
cottonpenny
12 years ago
Totally OT - but I love your boots! Where did you get them??
laxsupermom
Original Author
12 years ago
Somewhere in the mall. I was helping my SIL find a dress for a wedding we were going to the next day. The dress she was originally planning on wearing was too similar to the one I was planning on wearing, so we headed out for a marathon dress shopping trip. I had wandered over to a clearance shoe rack and the boots were marked down to $10.(It was the middle of summer.) I paid for them even before she made it out of the fitting room.
cat_mom
12 years ago
Score on the stone and the boots!!!! You rock!

Found Gorgeous Granite with Movement. What do I do?

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