First I am not a fabricator but have over 30 years experience as a home builder. A couple of comments on Granite. First in this forum like many granite is talked discussed as if it is a commodity - all granite tops are created equal. Granite is not like salt or soy beans. There are many grades of granite and the prices vary widely many with similar or even the same names. There are also many levels of fabricator from the sophisticated fabricator using computer operated cutting and polishing machines to the guy who will literally cut granite in your back yard. I was at a "shop" the other day where they were cutting granite with a hand saw on 2x4's in the parking lot. Many new fabricators were working for someone else and when the economy slowed they were laid off. These employees then went into business for themselves often without proper financing or even proper tools. The prices fell as these fabricators using lawn signs to advertise and working for wages and cutting corners: waxing edges instead of polishing, using mismatched remnants, dyeing granite to make it look more expensive, cheap uncertified give away sinks, and other tricks that do not show up until the check clears. Radon is pretty much a non issue but check it if you like. Do not buy from a fabricator unless you have seen the shop and the equipment they are using. If they have their own slab inventory it is a good sign that they are better off financially. Reverse look up the phone number. If it comes up a cell phone and they fabricator does not have an office look out. Many of these guys change numbers often to avoid warranty. Yes all granite should be sealed. Darker granite will hide the absorbed water but still needs to be sealed. Quartz, solid surface materials and even the composite sold by Granite Transformation have advantages and disadvantages. First they are more uniform because they are manufactured product. The is no such thing as a B or C grade quartz. These product do not have the veining and character as granite. Here is a link that might be useful: ANO Sales

We have Kashmir White and River White--both are similar to the Cottage Cream depending on the slabs/lots. There can be a world of difference between them. The ones in our master bath look vastly different from the one in the laundry room. As far as staining goes, the granite needs to be sealed well. Spills should be cleaned up as they happen when at all possible. Any that sit and have penetrated the granite can be remedied with a poultice made of original blue Dawn dishwashing detergent and flour. We've been in our house 16 months and we're not the neatest people when cooking, we have kids so they are not the neatest when eating and I would not say we baby our granite or treat it any differently than we did our old laminate (other than the lesson learned from pie crusts-story below). I think just about everything has been spilled on the granite and the only problems we've had have been Crisco penetrating the granite (Note to self: Don't roll out 5 double pie crusts in row directly on the granite), and an incident with a Wal-Mart bag that was set down in a puddle of condensation from a glass and sat for a day or two. The water mixed with the blue dye from the logo penetrated the granite and left a blue circle about the diameter of a glass. We applied the poultice and it came right out. Hope this helps!

Need advice please. have island 10ft long island x 4ft 2" (50inches)wide. overhang will be 12 inches down the entire 10ft length. have 24"d base cabinets plus another 12"d set of base cabinets back to back. (36 inches of base cabinets that granite will sit on). question is how many support posts will be needed down the 10ft length of overhang ?(14inch overhang) Will one support post on each end be sufficient or do I need 3? can't add metal supports into top of cabinets, not enough space between the cabinet doors and top of cabinets. no room for corbels. support posts are the only option. would like one on each end vs adding one in middle. help!

kelleg69, I really like that quartz! I just looked it up and of course the nearest distributor is 3 hours away in Dallas (same as the Quartzmasters). I guess I'm going to just have to make another trip. I don't know if the Chinese produced quartz uses the Breton technology everyone seems to talk about on this website. So I don't know what happens if they don't. Here is the link to the pendants, I ordered them a few weeks ago when they were 30% off and free shipping! http://www.horchow.com/Regina-Andrew-Design-Camden-Five-Light-Lantern-Pendants/cprod105150007_cat23930743__/p.prod?icid=&searchType=EndecaDrivenCat&rte=%252Fcategory.jsp%253FitemId%253Dcat23930743%2526pageSize%253D120%2526No%253D0%2526refinements%253D&eItemId=cprod105150007&cmCat=product