Kevin & Others -Granite Fabr for counter-height window?

13 years ago

I have read the several wonderful threads on this forum about counter-height windows, like this one and the linked threads within it. Here's the background: We will be having an undermounted sink in the corner where two windows meet at right angles. The windows are double-hung, and we do not have the budget to replace them or do a bump-out. We are OK with having to reach across the counter to raise/lower the double-hung windows.

We are planning on having the 3 cm granite counter meet the bottom trim (rail) of the window. It will replace the existing wood sill, but the window's rail will remain intact (like Buehl's, Mamadadapaige's, gglks' and fran1523's in this thread, except ours are double-hung windows). We've measured and re-measured, accounting for the floor, cabinets, and counter; the height of the window is perfect.

The question is the skill needed (or maybe it's not difficult?) of fabricating the granite to be the sill. After reading all the threads, I don't see any mention of difficulty scribing the granite to meet the window, but to my eye it seems it would be hard for the granite to cut around the window casings. Kevin (or anyone), can you tell me what I need to look for in a granite fabricator to ensure he has the skill for this job? Will the fabricator charge more for this? What is involved? The rest of the countertops is straightforward. TIA.

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Comments (3)

alwaysfixin
Original Author
13 years ago
I just realized that in my post above, the second link I provided doesn't work. Here it is:

...(like Buehl's, Mamadadapaige's, gglks' and fran1523's in this thread, except ours are double-hung windows).
needsometips08
13 years ago
Ours is exactly like Mamadadapaige's and Buehl's (didn't see frans - didn't look long enough). They didn't charge more for the window bumpout.

They just templated the area around the window where the counter would go and then when they came out with the fabricated pieces, they put it in place.

They did say my kitchen was incredibly challenging, one of their most difficult, but I believe that was a product of the extremely small slabs (had to use 3 of them they were so small) and all the various cuts I had - all together on the perimeter, I have 12 corners, 2 of them rounded and 3 seams. One of the seams is in the window bumpout area and the other 2 are on the cooktop top and bottom. That's a lot of "puzzle pieces" to fit together.
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Forgive me if this wouldn't apply in your situation (I'm a bit fuzzy-headed with a cold!). We replaced two double hung Andersen windows (that we had put in a few years prior to the reno!) that extended below counter height. We replaced those with a 3-window Andersen Bow window. We stayed within the width of the original opening, had some lee-way with regards to height placement (we opted against counter height--the space between the faucet and window would be filled with water puddles on a regular basis in our home). Our windows are vinyl clad (Terratone) on the outside, pine on the inside (oak interior might have been an option?). We had the pine stained to match our cherry cabs (which abut the window), and had our cab manuf supply stained/finished cherry molding to match the cabs as well. In addition, we "upgraded" to the Tru-scene insect screens partially because the frames (for casement type windows) are are clad in wood on the inside, rather than metal, and therefore blend in with the window frames when stained to match. "Old" windows/old kitchen: New windows/new kitchen: HTH!
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My husband is one problem. He didn't know what type of flooring to use. He either wanted to use tile or vinyl. He didn't know what type of heating to use at the time. He did decide to go with in-floor heating. He wouldn't go with me to look at stuff to help decide on what to do. He made changes to our house plans after they were done. He is pretty much the type of guy that waits till the last minute to do something which didn't help our architect either. He was trying to pay as much out of pocket as possible cause he still has a big college loan and I'm a stay at home mom. Pretty much some things we didn't know depending on how much money we had. He has finally decided to get a loan to finish the house up due to problems with living with his parents. Mainly his mom keeps trying to smoke near our son when she brought the problem upon herself for not signing the land over sooner so we could of been moved out. She thought the economy was going to crash. We were going to buy a house and all of them on the market were expensive for something that needed completely gutted. My husband also wanted to have a piece of land his dad and grandfather both owned. Sorry for the rambling. After looking more into the windows I decided I would do a 48" tall window with the top of it the same height as the rest on the side of the house. That would give me room below the window for the cabinets with counters and any type of flooring. The window will be slightly above the counter but not by much and will give us room if we did go with vinyl and decided to put tile in later to raise the cabinets. Our top cabinets I will be putting to the ceiling with shelves below so I can remove or raise the shelves to keep the 18" of space in between.
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Lol, at the belly flop mental image! Ok, if I have to ask my DH or contractor to measure my armspan in relation to the kitchen project, they are really going to lose it, they already think I am crazy enough! I get it though, and its a totally practical concern. (Little Fishies, do you have irregularly long arms?!) My contractor did say he thinks they can frame it in to get it a bit less deep, the carpenter will know more. Justmake it, your window is beautiful. Your cabinets look great too. Are you going to have casing around the bump out? Are you putting uppers next to the bump out? I'm trying to decide how much room I need to leave next to where the bump out starts before I start a cabinet. I'm going to check that out on other posts showing these windows. Little Fishies thanks for posting that. When it comes time to order I'm sure it will be helpful. Thanks again!
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The windows over the sink (the set of 3 in the picture) will be casements as I too wanted the open "fin" feeling. I was concerned about people injuring themselves but in our current configuration we have a really nice redwood planter box underneath the window so it acts like a shield and we will do the same with this project. We opted for awnings flanking the range (where you see window-wall-window) because we wanted to have them open even during the rain. About the sink splash - yes, that will be an issue so my architect is trying to come up with a decorative detail (stainless steel rim of sorts) that can help a little. Our motif is contemporary so it could work. Our friends have that configuration and she did say water is a bit of a problem but you just have to be sure to wipe it up. That detail is still TBD along with the outlets. I think the Eagle windows offer a good price/value. I compared all U factors, etc and for the price it feel right. I would LOVE the Marvin or Loewen but they are simply out of the budget and windows were one of the higher priority items (certainly over cabinet materials and appliances). Hope that helps!
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needsometips08
13 years ago
Ours is exactly like Mamadadapaige's and Buehl's (didn't see frans - didn't look long enough). They didn't charge more for the window bumpout.

They just templated the area around the window sill area where the counter would go - bumping right up against the window frame - and then when they came out with the fabricated pieces, they put them in place.

They did say my kitchen was incredibly challenging, one of their most difficult, but I believe that was a product of the very small slabs (had to use 3 of them they were so small) and all the various cuts I had - my counters ended up like puzzle pieces with a lot of obstructions (fridge panels, a hutch cabinet, the window bumpout, a cooktop bumpout, etc). The granite had to fit perfectly against all these things with zero gapage and there were 3 seams in mix too, with one of the seams is in the window bumpout area and the other 2 at the cooktop top and bottom.

You will love running your counter to the window. I get so many compliments on it, and so far I have found splattering water doesn't come anywhere near the window. Love it!

Kevin & Others -Granite Fabr for counter-height window?

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alwaysfixin
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needsometips08

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Kevin & Others -Granite Fabr for counter-height window?

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alwaysfixinOriginal Author

needsometips08

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alwaysfixin
Original Author