Cambria jumbo slabs are 65 x 1 32 their older slabs were 55 x 120. There are plenty of stoneyards around here trying to get rid of their smaller slabs even though there would be no waste if you bought one larger. Plenty of the stoneyard around here want you to buy two and pay for the part of the second slab that you don't use at a reduced price as they want the older slabs out of their inventory, so why not sell them to you? grrrrr..... It seems to me from your description that you would need only one quartz slab. You may only need one granite slab, it would depend upon what your stoneyard has. The quartz slabs are guaranteed as to the material, not the fabrication. The fabricator is still the most important factor. I have never heard of the material failing. I would absolutely insist upon seeing the granite or the quartz, especially the quartz, before proceeding as there are resin pools that appear in the slab-some people see those as part of the color other people really hate them. I have heard of granite slabs cracking. In my experience a lot of the quartz is almost double the price of many granites of a comparable size, but I think that is a very regional situation. If a seam is necessary, granite can be book ended (the granite on either side of the seam looks like a morror image of the other side)

Thanks. You said the quartz slab is guaranteed for the material not the fabrication. (So if it breaks when they are cutting it you still own it? Not totally sure I understand.) Is this the same with granite? She's really against granite, but I'm not sure why exactly. She just keeps saying there is no guarantee. My issue is that there is no guarantee the seam will be invisible.

A seam to give you a few more inches? Totally not worth it.

YOU sound like YOU're sold on granite. Go with your gut. Tell the KD nicely that you hear her warnings, but YOU've decided YOU want the granite. Then give her the hairy eyeball that means, "And now that topic is finished, and we're moving on" (as a high school teacher, that a go-to in my repertoire), and quickly move on to the next topic. If she is crass enough to push quartz again, use your irritated voice and say, "No, I have made up my mind on that detail." And, again, move on to another topic.

From what you're saying, I wonder if her husband sells quartz.

I have horrible seams.

So if I were you, I'd hunt down the biggest slab of granite and then build your island to fit it.

But before you do that, did you run your layout by the GW gurus yet?

You might get amazing ideas/changes...before buying the granite.

Amanda

I would also want a single slab of granite if I were you. That being said, we have a massive island with a single slab of granite. We are not the original owners and didn't install it but noticed that it has a section with an irregular crack that obviously broke off at some point and then was repaired. The crack is lengthwise along the overhang where barstools go. We suspect that it was either damaged during installation or someone put too much weight on it later and it broke. Either way, there are obviously new, additional supports put underneath the overhang. The crack isn't particularly obvious since it is so irregular and blends in with the veining of the granite.

If you go with a single slab, I would just make sure it is 100% supported. I suspect it is a lot easier to crack.

My fabricator told me that she has repaired many quartz but not granite.

Anything as direct under sun can affect the quartz but not granite if sealed properly.

The seam will absolutely be visible in either. That's why you go to the templating and you and the fabricator agree on where the seam(s) will go. Somewhere you will be asked to sign something that spells out what you own-maybe you have already and don't recall? I would expect that if it breaks you own it, quartz or granite, but this may be insurable? Some granite is more delicate than others so read up on the type you have chosen...I too wondered if the KD wanted you to buy the extra slab because she was going to find a use for the remnant. If you start reading yelp reviews you will find quite a number of people were charged for slabs where there would have been sizeable remnants and the remnants were never delivered...so they are going somewhere....

Thank you. I really have no idea where she is coming from. She just kept saying that it was cheaper to get two smaller slabs, and there is no guarantee with granite. (This is not the only granite I will need.. I believe I need about another entire slab.) Maybe she gets a bigger kick back from quartz? We haven't even decided on a design yet, so this is a bit premature. but I don't want to agree to anything bigger than a one slab design and she is resistant to that idea.

We decided on material then went searching for a slab big enough. We couldn't quite get the 3.2 m length. Had to go down to 3m. We are having marble. One thing I did find in my search is a lot of the darkest granites ARE available in really massive slabs. Some went to 3.5m long! But there was very limited choice in larger than 2.8m for lighter granites

i would defo hold out and get what you want though I haven't used a KD on this kitchen and don't regret it tbh, I got to make MY choices without someone sitting on my shoulder pushing her / his views all the time ( I know not all KD's are like that) so I'd go and start looking round stone yards and prove her wrong!

Oh, so I did a conversion of your island max dimension and in my (UK) metres, it's 2.794m. So a shade under what I mentioned above being the max size of most slabs of any colour. Certainly in the UK, that size is not a problem in pretty much anything. There is a really good stone yard who has a comprehensive catalogue online here in the UK Here. Now granted, it is in the UK so largely irrelevant BUT I've linked it as it is a great way to look and size up potential considerations to go to your supplier and KD with

Good luck

I would avoid seams wherever possible. The island is one of the big show pieces of the kitchen. (Personally, I think that islands are a pain in the in the ....in the kitchen, because so many of them are not well thought out and act more like barriers.) I think that islands in the kitchen became popular because people did not want to break up those enormous slabs of granite, they wanted you to be able to see the full and very interesting piece of stone and of course everyone is happy to sell you more cabinets for that island in the kitchen…