Granite ever to heavy? Please set my mind at ease!

15 years ago

The granite people came today to measure for the granite. He said that the weight of the slab over the island was 1600 lbs.

I know this fear is probably totally unrational, and our contractor knows what he is doing...

BUT is the weight of the granite ever to heavy for the cabinets or the floor? The island is only 3x4 feet....

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

igloochic
15 years ago
Yes, it's most likely to come crashing down through the floor...no one sleeps under that room do they? :oP

I'm kidding ;o) My kitchen is on the third level...and we do not live in fear when in the lower levels :o) Cabinets are made well now a days (ok they were made better years ago LOL) unless you got really really cheap cabinets, in which case your granite folks probably wouldn't have allowed install when they saw them.

But, I'd be interested to hear what other real stone folks think on that weight. I think the slab (the entire slab) might weigh that much, but not the cut piece that goes on your island. I'd guess that piece to be MUCH MUCH less. My island is about that size and two guys carried the cut piece into the kitchen. That just wouldn't be possible if it weighed 1600 lbs.
vrjames
15 years ago
3cm granite weighs 19 lbs per sf. your 12 sf island will weigh 228 pounds, not 1600.

Blessings
Related Discussions
Lacanche Owners!! Please EASE my mind!!
Q
Comments (59)
I've chimed in before, but I'd join Martin with our vote of confidence--our second Cluny 1400 is in our garage awaiting final installation at the lake house. Our original is nearly 15 years old and despite the "older technology," has been nothing but a delight from the start. Ditto for our dealings with Art Culinaire--superior support. The reports of problems are so odd and random-- HU-931886775 reports moisture oozing onto floor from oven? Since these are not combi steam ovens, what is the source of this moisture you are experiencing? In all my 68 years of cooking on dozens of ovens including some of the crappiest rental ovens imaginable, I've never experienced water dripping out of an oven under any circumstance. I'm very interested to see what you think the source of this copious moisture is. Similarly, lortaz reports needing "another part to stop our stove from vibrating so hard we thought it was going to walk across the kitchen." What part of this range could vibrate hard enough to walk a 500 pound range across the floor? The only real moving part would be the convection fan, which is a relatively tiny device that could not possibly move 500 pounds. Am I missing something here?
...See More
Buyers, what would put your mind at ease?
Q
Comments (14)
Considering that these will happen every so often in Texas without being in a flood plain, but just from poor grading, nothing you've said so far has put my mind at ease. To fix there should be regrading of the yard so that all water goes around the house to the front and not into the house. A French drain is all well and good, but is a maintenance thing and may or may not hold all the water considering how much rain we can get in a very short amount of time even though it doesn't happen often. My old house was similar in the lot slope. There was a retaining wall that leveled a bit of yard closest to the house where the grass from the house was sloped toward that retaining wall and outward toward the sides and behind it was a swale re-directing the water to the sides of the house for any water that came toward the house. Worked really well when we had those 10" rain falls happening in just an hour. We had all this inspected before buying the house as they mentioned some similar flooding to yours. I was worried the first time it rained like that, but no issues at all. Lots of water running on the other side of the swale though. This post was edited by lyfia on Wed, May 7, 14 at 22:30
...See More
Layout feedback, please. Photo heavy.
Q
Comments (21)
The fridge and freezer are Electrolux Icon...The snobbier version of the Frigidaire. ;-) For me the Frigidaires were too plasticky looking inside, like they might not be durable enough. I had a fridge that had pieces that broke inside all the time and wasn't interested in doing that again! I have 3 different counter surfaces... Flanking the rangetop: We wanted something heat resistant, and couldn't afford stone, so ended up with stainless. This thrilled my dh anyway, as his dad and brothers have worked decades on tug boats (as did dh in younger years), in which the galley counters are all stainless, so it seemed to fit the family legacy. It was a big plus that our local sheet metal fabricator did them for us at $17/sq ft! Also considered stone for the island perimeters, but again, couldn't justify that expense when I'd been happy all my life with laminate. We also considered doing our own concrete countertops, but since we were DIYing our whole house, we just couldn't fit that into the building schedule, which was already running months behind. But that's what led us to make the perimeter counters extra thick (2 1/4" instead of the standard 1 1/2")...To get the hefty look, and 'just in case' we ever decide to switch them out for concrete. (ha) Most of the inspiration kitchens I loved had butcherblock countertop in them somewhere, and I liked the warmth and hominess it seemed to add...so on the island seemed a good place after the stone I'd wanted for doing baking projects was ruled out. Throughout our house (door casings, baseboard, window trim, etc.) we used Douglas fir that had been milled from trees we cut in our yard before building...so we decided to use that on the island, too. It was essentially free at that point, and even though really inappropriate for a work surface because of being soft, we knew it would match and would be easy and fairly painless to change later if we needed to. Long story...But I think that explains the counter choices?
...See More
Two pieces of bacon and the elusive perfect granite...(pic heavy)
Q
Comments (36)
I am not a decorator or have a very good eye for colour. However Neither of those things has stopped me from expressing an opinion. So here goes - I love the brick wall in combination with your cabinets. I am assuming that your wet bar will be the same cabinets as in the kitchen. (Maybe some glass uppers in the wet bar to lighten the area) The effect of the two of them is warm and elegant. The brick wall has pattern in it. It has the pattern of shape, small rectangular and the pattern of colour. When you stand back and look at it as a whole the colour pattern is large with its reds, oranges and golds. (maybe its my monitor but that's what it looks like). Your floor (I think the smaller tile is your floor) has the same tones in it and you have yet to mention plans for hardware, lighting fixtures or backsplash. The other patterns that you have going on is that of your sofa and armchair - unless they are being changed. The other thing is what is your focal point and I think you have already decided that it is going to be your cabinets/brick wall and I agree. I think that they are fabulous together. My point in bringing this all up is that I am afraid that if you choose any of the granites that you have suggested (except perhaps African Ivory or maybe Bordeaux Sienna) is that you are going to wind up with a riotous jumble of reds and oranges (perpetual Fall) and all sorts of pattern sizes with no cohesiveness to the area . The granite should support your focal point and not try to compete. As mentioned here several times as well - your eye needs somewhere to rest and I haven't seen where that would be. But maybe that is the plan for the backsplash. I would step back and think about what else you have planned for the space before making a final decision on the granite. My opinion for what it's worth.
...See More
onenjen
Original Author
15 years ago
The more I think about it, he must have misspoke becuase I know I heard him correctly. The 4x4 sample I have only weighs 2lbs, so 108 of them, which is the equivalent of my island, would only way 216!!
sue_ct
15 years ago
I asked the same question of both my kitchen installer and the contractor who opened a load bearing wall for me. Both explained that although it is very heavy as a single piece, that piece is distributed over numerous square feet for an island and even more for a long counter length. When you compare the weight of the counter, say over a single cabinet that is 24" or 36" x 24", it is less than the weight of evan a small person. Consider what weight is put on one square inch when you put on high heels (that is the example one gave me!) and it is worse than a granite countertop! The other mentioned a party with 50 or so people, and you can see your house takes all that with no problems. Put that weight over a large area like a countertop and it really is not a problem at all unless you have a very old and weak structure with decaying supports and floors that you are trying to attach them to. If you are really worried, call your local building dept and talk to an inspector. Ask if there are any structural requirements to support it. I doubt there are, but even so, you would likely exceed them by quite a bit.

Sue
mmme
15 years ago
It's not a silly question, actually. If you are renovating an old house, like we did, you actually may not have enough support to bear the weight of everything in your new kitchen.

We had to install a beam and several posts (complete with footings) in the basement below our kitchen. The floor in the kitchen had always been bouncy before, so it didn't surprise me at all when the structural engineer asked about our plans for island and countertop. Once he heard what we wanted, he moved the supports from optional status to necessary.

But I'm sure new(er) construction can handle granite just fine.

Granite ever to heavy? Please set my mind at ease!

Comments (5)

igloochic

vrjames

Related Discussions

onenjen
Original Author

sue_ct

mmme

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Granite ever to heavy? Please set my mind at ease!

Comments (5)

igloochic

vrjames

Related Discussions

onenjenOriginal Author

sue_ct

mmme

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

onenjen
Original Author