When I go to HD or Lowes they have strict guidelines when it comes to countertop overhang distance and the need for brackets. They just told me that 5" is the max size of overhang that does not need a bracket. In other granite places they say 12" is the max distance that one could have an overhang without a bracket needed. I am building a table with cabinets and putting a countertop on it, as well as an island. I had this idea of a table because friend did it. She used corian as the countertop. And she doesn't have brackets supporting it. In a granite showroom they have a table made out of granite.. the base and the top. The overhang is 15"... So my question is.. do I need brackets on a 15" overhang? On the island, a 12" overhang (rounded so just the middle is 12")? And if I do... and I'm using full overlay cabinets, wouldn't the bracket go on the side so I can open the cabinet? How does that look with brackets on 4 corners.. I mean, where are they placed exactly? Other option was to have 3/4" top with plywood under it.. Can't seem to find that.. And some granite people say it's not as strong.. others say the plywood would give more stability. This is important because someone could really get hurt if it's not done right.

@mudworm, I've never seen any numbers on what overhang soapstone can handle without support. Because it is softer than granite, I'd guess that it wouldn't handle as much - but there are different kinds of strengths so I could be wrong. Maybe you could put up a post with a title like "How much support for a soapstone overhang?" Something to get the folks who know soapstone better to comment. You wouldn't wand to do it without a subtop and have it crack - especially if it fell on someones foot. You might think of it as a sub-top rather than a rough top. You want a finished surface because it will be visible. It could be plywood with a 1/4 round molding along the edge painted to match the wall. Or wood veneer to match your cabinets. @natal - the raw granite for our island cost over $2000 - that's not counting the fab. Looking around on the web, piece of cherry veneer cabinet grade 3/4" plywood, 4 x 8 is less than $200. I'm sorry that I didn't think of it at the time. It's true that isn't a big deal to not have that touch, but it would have been worth the small additional cost to me.

You'll need new skins, wider than 48''. Detach the full height cabinets under the proposed overhang. Attach 2 2x4 pressure treated pieces of lumber to the slab with a Hilti or ramset where I show the RED lines. Also use some construction adhesive. Yes, I like belts and suspenders. :) Build a 34.5''H pony walls with conventional framing techniques, taking the wall to the end of the cabinets. Attach the existing cabinets to the pony wall. Reattach the full height cabinets to the pony wall studs. Here is where you will need the custom steel for the 33'' long steel pieces (BLUE) needed to support the overhang. You will also need 12'' ones for the side overhang. They cannot be flat steel, as that is too flexible. 1'' tubing is too thick for your full overlay cabinets, even with the doors adjusted as far down as they will go. You could use 2''W flat 1/4" steel with a 3/8'' ridge welded to it to create rigidity, in a T shape, flat side up. Holes would need to be drilled into it to attach to the pony wall. Once the steel is sourced and created, you can rout out the pony wall (2 step process, once for the ridge, once for the flat stock) and top of the face frame to accept it. Once the steel is attached, then the skins (GREEN) can be applied to the sides and ends to cover the pony wall. You may want some Outside Corner molding and Batten molding as well to hide the seams. This is a serious design deficiency on your KD's part. He should arrange for the cabinetry materials gratis, and also pay something toward the steel. Labor for this will need to have good experience dealing with finished cabinets and routing, so let the KD pay something towrds that as well.

A much-discussed topic at Houzz. See this [thread[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/granite-overhang-question-please-help-dsvw-vd~2584281). The mesh enables the quarries to use stone that would otherwise be too fragile for transportation, fabrication and installation. If the customer wants the underside of the granite to be polished, it should be specified to begin with so an appropriate stone can be used. I've never installed granite that cantilevered more than an inch or so. But I did hear from a customer upset that the underside of her overhanging laminate counter wasn't finished the same as the topside. Poor workmanship on my part that she didn't expect in a $1m home in 1990.