Bill, I have 1 cm in the master bath and may end up w/ 1 cm in the guest bath too, but I was wanting to bullnose the outside edge and I believe a bullnosed edge looks better w/ the thicker 2 cm granite. It's not a deal breaker, not being able to obtain 2 cm thick granite tiles, but they would be nice. G S.

I'm in the middle of trying to figure out whether to go 2cm or 3cm, and I didn't even realize that granite came in two different thicknesses until recently. I wish my fabricator had told me that I could decide because I just learned that the slabyard has both thicknesses available in the stones I'm considering. The funny thing is that I moved to So Cal from Connecticut about 5 yrs ago and have renovated kitchens in both places. In CT, it was never a question, I just got the 3cm and there was no laminated edge and conversely, when I moved to So Cal 5 yrs ago and renovated (yet another!) fixer-upper, no one ever asked which thickness I preferred, I just went to the slabyard, picked a slab and it happened to be 2cm. I never realized that there was a thickness option, or that there even was a difference. Duh!! What should've clued me in was that in So Cal there was a lot of discussion about which edge detail to choose. Because I had black honed granite in CT and like a simple, plain look, I chose the same when we moved to So Cal (and, to make matters trickier, at that time, plain black honed granite was pretty unheard of around here so I don't think the fabricator knew how to deal with it well). He asked me how I wanted the edge, and I told him that I wanted nothing fancy, just a plain eased edge....I was SOOOO disappointed when the counters were installed and I saw this thin seam running through the middle of the edge. I had no idea that they would put an edge over the slab and didn't get how that could happen. Of course, the fabricator, thinking this was standard and thinking I knew what I wanted, having done it before, didn't really explain and warn me strongly about the seam issue. For awhile, I couldn't understand what happened and what was the difference between the way my counters were made in CT vs. here in So Cal. Now I get it. This renovation (yes, we've moved into yet another fixer upper - last one!), I'll go with the 3cm, but from what I understand, I need to warn my cabinetmaker that I'm using 3cm because I've heard he needs to adjust the cabinets tp accept 3cm. That's another difference between east and west coast situations...in CT, the cabinetmaker assumed I was using 3cm, but here in So Cal, the cabinetmaker is assuming I'll use 2cm and needs me to warn him if I use the 3cm. Just something to think about for those perhaps in similar situations - remember to confirm the size of granite with your cabinetmaker, in case he doesn't ask.

No thoughts on thickness as ours is 3cm, but we have Barroca and I would never do that again. It is a very, very soft stone--on ours, we have pitting all over the surface after only two years and you cannot, for instance, set anything with a ridged bottom (olive oil, beer, wine, etc.) down without a coaster or you will get a permanent imprint. The softness may vary somewhat based on the quarry and distributor (ours is two years old and purchased on the West Coast) but test it extensively before committing to it. I really wish we had paid more for a harder stone. (I did find that soapstone was cheaper than most darker granites where we are when we were looking, though, which was a surprise!)

Southernstitcher- The guy who is saying he's not going to use a subtop on your 2CM stone obviously has not got a lot of experience behind him. ALL 2CM tops should be installed over a 5/8 inch thick plywood subtop - ACX grade or better (ACX means that one side is sanded very smooth). DO NOT use anything other than plywood for the subtop when installing 2CM thick tops. 3CM does not need a subtop - in all fairness to the situation, maybe your guy meant 3CM..... I have been doing this gig since 1985, and I see failures all the time, where the installers either omitted the subtop on 2CM, or used something like flake board, melmine or OXB, and when that stuff gets wet - it expands. The stone then fractures, and then I get a call to come and look at the nightmare, and offfer my expert forensic opinion on what caused the fracture..... If more guys would do things right, I would not have to inspect as many failures, and hence, be lighter in the bank account..... oh well - you can lead a horse to water...... hth kevin