HI, I saw your suggestions on the site and you say take a piece of scrap from the granite. I am visiting fabricators next week, do you mean the samples they give you? I am remodeling soon and have picked cherry cabinets and everyone says go with a light counter as I have a small kitchen, but I dont want staining so I will do your test. Also I live in Scranton, Pa. Do you know reliable granite places in this area. Thanks for any info you can give me. merl

 

Dear Marilyn:

Scranton, PA, huh… What a great beautiful town it is! I just love it! Every time I drive by I have the feeling that it must be a very nice place to live. Scranton and Binghamton, NY, too. But enough of that! J

No, unfortunately I don't have any contact there that I could recommend.

I will stay out of the decoration bit (I'm 25% colorblind… L ), but my strong recommendation is that you get a scrap from the bundle of slabs that you will eventually pick yours out from (together your fabricator, of course).

Have you gotten our article on How to Shop for a Granite Countertop? If not I highly recommend that you get it. In an industry that's virtually unregulated, how good and reputable the fabricator who's is going to process the stone you'll end up choosing is far more important than the stone itself. None of the horror stories that get posted in this very site stem from the stone: they all stem from the fabricator. That is why I seldom make final statements about any one particular stone. There may be differences within the same stone (and I'm not talking about looks, here!) from one bundle of slabs and the next. The slabs may have also been either “doctored” (which is bad), or “resined” (which overall is good) by the factory, which would make a big difference. Even more important, what's a good stone in the hands of some “Michelangelo”?! And again: a reputable fabricator will only carry high-grade slabs, not some “special!”

Like I said, we have available a very comprehensive article on “How to Shop for a Granite Kitchen Countertop” that will give you all the intelligence you need to venture yourself with confidence in the stone industry jungle, and it includes the world renowned “Lemon juice (and oil) test”, which will enable you to determine on your own the suitability of any stone you will consider! It does carry a small price tag, and you can order it by logging on the Educational Literature section at:   http://www.mbstone.com/literature/literature.htm. It's available in pay-per-download format and I consider it a cheap “insurance premium” to pay when there are thousands of $ involved! Not to mention the little and much needed support you'd be giving to the cause, your cause, since every single penny of the cost of the article will be used to support it.

Also, will you please read and e-sign our Statement of Purpose at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/purpose.htm? By spreading the word about this valuable site among your friends & family and the stone trades' people you've been dealing with you will be rendering everybody a valuable service!   

Also, do take advantage of the plethora of FREE Helpful Hints available at: http://www.mbstone.com/HH_promo/helpful_hints.htm. They're on the house!

Thank you.

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri zio Bertoli

 

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