Honing a polished marble slab

12 years ago

I'm having a bit of a frustrating time with getting my Carrara Gioia counters installed. I've been working with my GC's fabricator and have decided to fire them. First, I called last Thursday to tell them I'd be out on Friday to look at the slabs and to see the templates. When I got there (40 minutes away) they 'forgot' I was coming and my slabs weren't laid out. I told them I'd be back Wednesday and mentioned as I was leaving that the tops were to be honed. She said that's the first she heard of it and than marble should be polished. When I said that everything I read (here!) that honed marble is a must in a kitchen because of etching she told me that it would 1) etch more because 2) the sealant would just sink in and 3) they couldn't hone the slabs and I was going to have to return the slabs and find honed pieces.

I decided to contact a local (10 minutes away!) fabricator with great reviews and a great reputation at the various slab yards I visited and am having the marble transferred. When I called them the owner basically said that the first fabricator shouldn't be in the business if they were telling me they can't hone marble. However my GC doesn't want to work with them from a bad experience (with templating but not sure exactly what went down).

So.... with all that dramarama and He Said, She Said bickering going on I thought I'd ask the good people of GW if there is an issue with a fabricator honing an existing polished slab. Is there a chance the marble will be uneven (also a claim by fabricator 1)?

There's a photo of the marble in my kitchen reno facebook folder.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Photos

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ming001
Original Author

12 years ago

Thanks Super Mom. The first fabricator hasn't done anything. I'll stop at the new place tomorrow and talk to them in person.

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Comments (10)

laxsupermom
12 years ago
Is there a chance that marble could be honed unevenly. Sure, especially if you had the first fabricator give it a try. Howeber, a stone professional should be able to hone it just fine. Make sure you ask for examples of some of their previous work and be there when they template.
babushka_cat
12 years ago
your instincts are right -loose the first fabricator. i am in the middle of a marble mess due to a fabricator who did not know what he was doing (used GC's fabricator). make sure you are dealing with one who is experienced. i am now dealing with a 4-6 week delay and they need to tear out the first countertop due to fabrication issues.
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Hi Kateskouros, I think it's a lovely idea as the honed tends to lose some of it's drama of the veining and the backsplash would be a great place to show it off! I think I saw early pics of your slabs and they are beautiful! One thing to think about, our polished countertops have been in now for 5 months and still look fabulous, even have stood up to spills that I thought it wouldn't. Now, we have an etch or two, but they are small and nearly impossible to find. We used a polished marble backsplash tile - Thassos and I put a different sealer on it than is on the counters. Remember, on the backsplash, you can use something that is more durable and not necessarily food safe because you aren't going to prepare your food right on it. The sealer we used sits a bit on the surface, I would not have liked on the counters because it takes away a bit of the glorious marble feel. I don't care on the backsplash a bit and it makes everything wipe off beautifully! As for stains or etching on the backsplash, we don't have either. Good luck! I can't wait to see your end result because so far your selections sound lovely!
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People in Europe having been using marble for their kitchens forver so it must not be bad. True. But keep in mind a couple of things. In many trips I have taken to France and Italy I cannot recall seeing polished marble, only honed. I am talking about café tables, bathrooms (a hotel room bathroom in Milan was every inch marble - honed - it did not look new, but it looked great), lobbies, stairwells, etc. Furthermore, in Europe there is not the "need for pristine" that North Americans have. It's a cultural difference, so to your point "it must not be bad", but that is their feeling about it, so just make sure you feel OK about etching. As mentioned, etching will look more pronounced against a polished surface than it will against a honed surface. Also buyer beware about the coatings for marble that I think @joseph_corlett is referring to. It is akin to plastic slipcovers on your grandma's sofa. It protects, and you can see the protected surface through the coating, but it won't look the same. If you are going to go to those lengths to protect the marble, so that it loses its unique beauty, you may as well get a different stone and not be bothered with needing any protector for it. There are granites and quartzites that do not even need to be sealed. Have you seen Taj Mahal quartzite?
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User
12 years ago
Honing after the fact is tricky even for a skilled fabricator. You can get high and low spots and areas of varying gloss. You will get much better results if you choose honed slabs from the beginning. It will also be a lot cheaper. Honing costs per square foot run around $20 per square foot here, and you're not always certain to get great results.
azstoneconsulting
12 years ago
Most marble slabs CAN be honed by a competent (sp?) fab-ri-mi-cator...
I know, because I am one (competent - that is... HA!)

With the right equipment, a guy can hone down marble in a flash - marble in most cases - like yours - is way easy to hone !!!

You can also go to Stone Inspections.com for an opinion if you need some serious backup for your position in switching fabricators...

below is a link to a calacatta oro job I honed a few months ago - I honed the polish down to a 220 grit with Tenax Ager applied, we then cut the sink opening out (in place due to the stone being ca-ca to work with) it turned out pretty nice

hth

kevin

Here is a link that might be useful: Big Island - Honed in Place
batmansmama
12 years ago
The same thing happened to me and the fabricator had to send the slabs away to be honed. What does your GC say about his/her fabricator not honing the slabs?
seaduck
12 years ago
We bought polished slabs that were honed by our fabricator. There was an upcharge -- not a big deal. He told us before we went stone shopping what that would be. And we are very happy with the results.

We visited four yards. Most of the stock we viewed was polished. One person tried to talk us out of honing, saying that polished wouldn't show etching as much. We didn't argue, but we didn't buy it, either (literally or figuratively). The others seemed to think it was completely normal for us to have it honed.

Our installer did the honing himself. I don't know if that's an issue for small shops.
ming001
Original Author
12 years ago
Babushka, ugh. I hesitate to ask what has happened but was it the result of a bad fabricator? The first one (GCs) left a horrible taste in my mouth.

In addition, when I called Daltile they said that she grilled them on the Dupont sealer they sell telling them they can't claim it has a 15 year warranty. They told her it really wasn't her business since Dupont backed the warranty, not her. Oy.
babushka_cat
12 years ago
yes, result of bad fabricator and now the GC has to credit me for cost to fab, install, cost of marble etc. be cautious who you go with, can be a very expensive boo=boo
breezygirl
12 years ago
Just make sure the fabricator has lots of honing experience and can show you their work. I've read more than a couple stories here about bad honing jobs done on polished slabs. Makes me so pleased that my Carrara was honed already.

I'm glad you're listening to your gut. I've learned that the hard way through this process.

Honing a polished marble slab

ming001
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Honing a polished marble slab

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