Granite Worktops - Truth, Lies and misinformation

Alan_M_2

mrsme wrote: »

Hi Alan, very informative thread and very helpful.

Could you possibly recommend anyone to supply and fit in the Nottingham area.Thankyou.

Try these guys:-

http://agandm.co.uk/

Not far from you - in Matlock, they have a good reputation for value installations and cover both pre produced and fully bespoke fits.

pricey73

Hi alan m
Know of anyone near watford way that are recommended ?
Many thanks

leigh

Alan_M_2

Leigh, the same people I recommended in post #152 (the one above yours) have a branch in Aylesbury also - an easy trip to Watford.

shinyuk

Hi Alan,

Great posts from you, I'm looking for a granite worktop, 1 approx 2.5m run. Can you recommend anyone in Woolwich surrounds?

Thx in advance

mrsme_4

Alan_M wrote: »

Try these guys:-

http://agandm.co.uk/

Not far from you - in Matlock, they have a good reputation for value installations and cover both pre produced and fully bespoke fits.

Thanks very much.

mrsspinky

Hi Fab thread

I am also looking for a quartz supplier in the Southampton area I havehad quotes from Shawstone and change of style have you heard of them.

Also could you clarify about maintance as I am getting mixed advice.

Some companies say you can use everyday kitchen cleaners e.g flash and some say no. Some say you can put hot pans down some say no and it really do not know the real answer any advice would be good thanks

Another question what is the max width the top can be with out extra support we want to do a breakfast bar with a quartz end as support and at it max it will bee 900 wide and 1200 deep with batoning on the wall and a small kitchen unit at the end of the wall next to the batoning do we need extra support

Any ideas and advice is welcomed

Mrs spinky

Alan_M_2

mrsspinky wrote: »

Hi Fab thread

I am also looking for a quartz supplier in the Southampton area I havehad quotes from Shawstone and change of style have you heard of them.

Also could you clarify about maintance as I am getting mixed advice.

Some companies say you can use everyday kitchen cleaners e.g flash and some say no. Some say you can put hot pans down some say no and it really do not know the real answer any advice would be good thanks

Another question what is the max width the top can be with out extra support we want to do a breakfast bar with a quartz end as support and at it max it will bee 900 wide and 1200 deep with batoning on the wall and a small kitchen unit at the end of the wall next to the batoning do we need extra support

Any ideas and advice is welcomed

Mrs spinky

Shawstone and Change of Style both are established businesses with good reputations. Change of Style are an occassional customer of mine for granite but not quartz.

Quartz is not as heat resistant as granite, however that doesn't mean you have to treat it with kid gloves. It means you can play a blow torch on granite with no ill effect - you couldn't on quartz.

You could take a roasting tin out of the oven and put it directly on the top of the quartz and it won't burn it. However over a period of time it will dull the polish of the surface down (the resin content of the top would discolour slightly).

If you want your worktop to look as good the day it was fitted 10 years later - use a chopping board to cut on and trivett for hot pans - but that's advice I'd give for Granite, Quartz, wood, laminate - it's a bit of common sense really.

As for cleaning Quartz, any spirit based product is absolutely fine - Dettol Surface cleaner or similar is perfect. If a stubborn mark gets on the surface you can use products as aggressive as acetone (nail polish remover) to remove marks as long as they are cleaned within a hour of their use.

Avoid oil based stuff - diluted washing up liquid etc - it leaves an oily residue and goes a bit smeary.

Unsupported overhangs in granite have always been to a maximum of 300mm and I'm inclined to suggest that is an absolute maximum for quartz for different reasons though.

If you selected a 3000mm length of granite and quartz worktops at regular countertop width and placed a single tressle 500mm in form each end of the both tops and left them overnight.

In the morning the granite would be exactly as you left it. The Quartz would be bowed like a banana.

The granite is stronger but far more brittle, the quartz is far less brittle and more malleable.

If you stick to a maximum overhang of 300mm and an unsupported span for no more than 600mm (for a washing machine etc) then you'll not have any problems.

Try these guys for a quote also:-

http://www.uk-kitchen-worktops.co.uk/

Alan_M_2

shinyuk wrote: »

Hi Alan,

Great posts from you, I'm looking for a granite worktop, 1 approx 2.5m run. Can you recommend anyone in Woolwich surrounds?

Thx in advance

Try Steve at SMG Marble on marbleman@live.co.uk they will be able to cover your requirements.

Leif

SteveP888 wrote: »

Hi there i would like to respond to a post alan you made against my company Granite4less.co.uk

Where did he mention your company? I searched but could not find a comment. I am tempted to think you are spamming. I apologise in advance if he did indeed criticise your company.

As an aside, granite and quartz do look gorgeous.

Comment added later: I was mistaken. SteveP888 is not spamming, and he is making a quite reasonable response. Sorry.

Alan_M_2

Leif wrote: »

Where did he mention your company? I searched but could not find a comment. I am tempted to think you are spamming. I apologise in advance if he did indeed criticise your company.

This was the post he was referring to.

SHEILA54 wrote: »

Hi

I paid a deposit to granite4less.co.uk 2 months ago to have granite worktops fitted.

My kitchen fitters have told me that I should not use them as they are asking them /me to measure the base units instead of templating which would then make it their/my fault if there are any problems. They are not local but this does not seem to be the norm.

On a search it also appears that their domain name is up for sale, which makes me suspicious.

I live in Greater London, Bromley area.

Please can anyone advise as I have already paid a 10% deposit and they did not send a receipt, as promised.

This was my reply:-

Alan_M wrote: »

I have to say I agree with your kitchen fitters in this respect.

You're paying a company to install the granite, they should at minimum be doing a site survey for a simple fit and a template for anything more than a simple fit.

It is simply unacceptable to expect the kitchen fitters or customers to measure for this as you'll simply not understand the nuances of the work.

Asking a customer to provide measurements (for manufacturing purposes) is so unprofessional. Providing measurments for a quote is acceptable, but not for fitting.

I stand by my response, offering base unit measurements for quotation purposes is wholly normal.

Asking a customer to provide base unit measurements for the the manufacture of the product is wholly unacceptable.

A site visit is a minimum requirement, with templating being preferable.