What to do when you have Cracked Granite around the Kitchen Sink!
What to do? Faced with the daunting task of replacing all of the granite in the kitchen, while likely ruining the wall covering and causing a huge mess, the cracked granite is often ignored until chunks fall off. There has been a good reason to put that task off. Not only is the project expensive, but it is messy and intrusive. If you are wondering why The granite has cracked in front or behind your sink, there is a common reason. This problem has become epidemic due to the lack of knowledge of many granite fabricators.
Typically, granite fabricators will pre-cut the sink hole before the granite is delivered to your home. The area in front of and behind the sink cut out is very weak and fragile. For that reason, they generally cut a channel underneath the granite in front of and sometimes behind the cutout for the sink. They then insert a piece of rebar. The rebar is secured in the routed out area with epoxy. The rebar and epoxy make the weak areas much stronger - especially important when transporting the granite to your home.
The problem occurs slowly, but almost as soon as you start using your sink. No matter how careful you are, water seems to get on the granite in front of and behind the sink. Most of us would not give that a second thought. How can water hurt granite?
The granite fabricators neglected to realize that granite is somewhat porous. After years of the granite being subjected to water, the water reaches the rebar and the rebar begins to rust. When the rebar starts to rust, it expands and since granite cannot expand, the granite starts to crack. The cracks almost always run horizontal to the sink. Often the cracks begin as hairline cracks that appear as if they are natural to the stone. Then, after a while, the cracks grow to the point that it is easy to see that the crack is real and something must be done. At first, not knowing the cause, you might think a quick "patch" or filler can take care of the problem. If you have a fairly large kitchen, you likely have seams in the granite where two pieces have been joined and your fabricator did their best to camouflage the seam with a filler. Common sense would dictate a filler would be the answer - until you try that solution and the granite cracks again!
This is generally when you start to panic! A call to a granite fabricator at that point generally brings grim news. They usually will tell you that there is nothing that can be done and the granite must be replaced. Worse yet, it is common to find that the granite that was installed years ago is no longer available, so replacing the area around the sink is not an option. Now you are faced with replacing all of the granite in the kitchen, which often means the backsplashes have to be replaced, which often cause tile or granite on the wall to have to be replaced. This issue can cost tens of thousands of dollars along with a huge multi-day mess.
There is now a solution that does not require replacing the granite. The solution not only fixes the problem, but it offers a huge upgrade in your food preparation process!
Typically, granite fabricators will pre-cut the sink hole before the granite is delivered to your home. The area in front of and behind the sink cut out is very weak and fragile. For that reason, they generally cut a channel underneath the granite in front of and sometimes behind the cutout for the sink. They then insert a piece of rebar. The rebar is secured in the routed out area with epoxy. The rebar and epoxy make the weak areas much stronger - especially important when transporting the granite to your home.
The problem occurs slowly, but almost as soon as you start using your sink. No matter how careful you are, water seems to get on the granite in front of and behind the sink. Most of us would not give that a second thought. How can water hurt granite?
The granite fabricators neglected to realize that granite is somewhat porous. After years of the granite being subjected to water, the water reaches the rebar and the rebar begins to rust. When the rebar starts to rust, it expands and since granite cannot expand, the granite starts to crack. The cracks almost always run horizontal to the sink. Often the cracks begin as hairline cracks that appear as if they are natural to the stone. Then, after a while, the cracks grow to the point that it is easy to see that the crack is real and something must be done. At first, not knowing the cause, you might think a quick "patch" or filler can take care of the problem. If you have a fairly large kitchen, you likely have seams in the granite where two pieces have been joined and your fabricator did their best to camouflage the seam with a filler. Common sense would dictate a filler would be the answer - until you try that solution and the granite cracks again!
This is generally when you start to panic! A call to a granite fabricator at that point generally brings grim news. They usually will tell you that there is nothing that can be done and the granite must be replaced. Worse yet, it is common to find that the granite that was installed years ago is no longer available, so replacing the area around the sink is not an option. Now you are faced with replacing all of the granite in the kitchen, which often means the backsplashes have to be replaced, which often cause tile or granite on the wall to have to be replaced. This issue can cost tens of thousands of dollars along with a huge multi-day mess.
There is now a solution that does not require replacing the granite. The solution not only fixes the problem, but it offers a huge upgrade in your food preparation process!
Almost two decades ago, professional kitchen designer Dino Rachiele - turned sink designer, patented a farm sink design that solved the problem without having to replace the granite and without having to cut the sink cabinet at all. In fact, the design allows for a one-day removal and replacement so dinner is not missed!
The patented design has a 1" channel behind a custom height apron that slips over the frame of the cabinet. Simply remove the false drawer heads, make some simple cuts in the stone and drop the sink in place. Below see a project cost breakdown. Each project is different so prices will vary a bit from one part of the country to another. This project was in Orlando, Florida.
Not only do you save the cost of granite replacement, but you also end up with a sink design where all of the food preparation is accomplished on the sink. There is never a need to wipe down the countertops. Everything is done on the sink.
Our workstation retrofit sinks have various cutting boards, drain grids, a sponge caddy and many other options that allow you to accomplish all food preparation on the sink - no more messy counter tops and no more wiping from the counter into the sink. Food preparation is much more efficient and clean up is a breeze!
Thank you for the kind words!
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