Tropical Brown

Maurizio: I am glad that I came to your website, I wish I had seen this before. I recently installed Granite ( Tropical Brown), not sure if this is real Granite or look alike. While installer while installing counter top, it broke at thinner end of Sink. So they took back that counter top and brought after 2 days, and said this is new one, NOT the repaired one. However I am surprised to see that there are black veins at the same place where it was cracked on sink side ( both sides). The surface is still looks very smooth as even by touch. Now question is: 1. Can Granite cracks ever be repairable...? 2. Based on your experience, do you think my installer might have repaiered that piece...? 3. Is Tropical Brown is a real Granite...? 4. My installer has advised me to apply sealer every 6 months...on that Tropical Brown..? Do I really need it..? 5. If he has repaired the crack, how I can prove to him..?? Thanks in advance for your time. Regards, Granite Lover

 

Dear Granite Lover:

I will answer your questions in the same order they were asked:

 

1. Yes they can be repaired, but it takes a very proficient professional to do that. The fact is that the narrow strips in front and back of the sink should have been rodded with the insertion of two steel rods for increased resistance to cracks, present and future. Inquire with your fabricator if they did that.

2. He may have. Typically there's no veining in Tropic Brown. There's almost never any veining in any igneous rock; there just can't be.

3. Yes, it's considered true geological granite. (Hence, no veining.)

4. With an absorbency rate of 0.1% to 0.15% that stone will never stain. It will never take any impregnator (a.k.a. sealer) in, either; hence it is technically impossible to seal. Applying an impregnator to it doesn't mean that you're going to seal it. It only serves the noble purpose to help the maker of the product to put its kinds through college, with the possibility of creating unwanted and “mysterious” problem that you would need like a hole in your head! Tell your fabricator to get his facts straight and not to apply any sealer to your stone. Not now – not ever.

5. If the crack was actually repaired, you should be able to verify it by looking at the bottom of the slab where you see the veining.

 

Now remember, it's never too early to think about the proper maintenance of your stone. The issue of what you'll be doing day in and day out to your stone is far more important than its sealing (if and when possible and/or advisable, which in your particular case it is not) and it's all too often neglected. As you can tell by reading many of this site's postings, you're not likely to get good information about it from your dealer or installer. Don't become another statistic! By logging into the Helpful Hints section of our website at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/helpful-hints.htm , you will be able to get the short version of our maintenance guidelines at no charge. The full version of it – a 7-page document considered by many as an industry benchmark – is available in pay-per-download format in our Educational Literature section at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/literature.htm .  

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Thank you  

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri z io Bertoli

 

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