Howdens granite

[John r]

Hello everyone, new member so please forgive me if this message is in the wrong place [unsure]
Has anyone fitted a howdens granite worktop??
I am looking at fitting one for a customer and have seen the demo which as nippychippy has already commented back in January looks very simple.
My concern is moving the worktop after the sink/hob hole has been cut out ??? I feel this could all go horribly wrong [embarassed] as it must be very brittle.....
So any one with experience of this who feels like sharing any knowledge tips etc much appreciated [smile]

 

[Wuffles]

I think the consensus at the time was, leave it to the pros, for the reasons you've stated. This doesn't help you at all, sorry, just an opinion.

 

[John r]

Thanks wuffles, that opinion is true enough of course, but would be very interested to hear from anyone who has actually taken the plunge and fitted one!

 

[Tinker]

I have never fitted a counter top, but did get stung with a fireplace facing many moons ago.  It was 3 pieces for the facing and one heavy slab for the hearth.  The top piece for the fireplace facing broke in half.  I don't recall the price, but it happened t have been the last my supplier had in stock.  He was paying for the material and I was dealing direct with the customer on the labor.  we went round and round, and even tho I had insisted the pieces should be boxed more solidly when I had picked them up, and I had not dropped any of the pieces during my delivery, we all went round and round on that one.  We ended up all very unhappy with all involved with the supplier losing two customers, the mason losing a supplier (more like discontinuing all future biz with a supplier) and a customer very angry with supplier and a mason.  I ended up having to pay for the broken piece or go to court.  The supplier and mason were both treatened with court action.  A customer and supplier lost all credibility of a mason.  It was a mess.  I, since, have never done another three piece marble, granite, gold or any other facing of that type. 

I watched an expensive marble top go on our own bathroom vanity four years ago.  the installer told me he would be responsible if it were to break.  He was veeeerrrrryyyyy careful.

My advice, as previous responder, is let the hands of experience handle that counter top.  Stone is very brittle  meaning it don't bend very far without breaking.
Tinker

BTW: One of those three pecs fireplace facings got me into a whole lot of trouble just a little over 50 years ago.  In a little over a year, i will have been tied in marriage to that trouble.  Oh well, i am still smiling and so is she.  Soooo...... it ain't all bad

 

[Nippychippy]

The piece that we did seemed strong enough to but the more people helping you lift the better. And don't forget your first cock up Howdens will replace so not as much pressure on you ,my local branch has few cock ups in the back of the stores

 

[andyman]

You need to invest in the proper tooling to do it properly it looked ok to do but i thought the corners and edges would have been done with a router and special bits instead of the curve done with multiple tracksaw cuts then sanded / polished to form the curve and edge done free hand.
Don't get me wrong it looked ok but long winded plus grinder didn't have dust extraction just another op holding a hose nearby

 

[Tinker]

You need to invest in the proper tooling to do it properly it looked ok to do but i thought the corners and edges would have been done with a router and special bits instead of the curve done with multiple tracksaw cuts then sanded / polished to form the curve and edge done free hand.
Don't get me wrong it looked ok but long winded plus grinder didn't have dust extraction just another op holding a hose nearby

Been there/done that.  Only with heavy hearth stones and curved stair treads.  Lotsa dust in clouds.  You don't do it with wind blowing towards the house.  Did they cut it in place?  I have seen them bring in heavy vanity or kitchen counters with the holes already cut.  My nerves could not tolerate that, I am sure.  Once I found a GREAT stone man, I never cut a heavy hearth stone or stair tread again.  When I found out he was ready to retire, i gathered all the pics I had of the cutting jobs he had done for me thru the (twenty +/-)years, put them into an album and gave it to him.  The man almost broke down.  He told me I was the only mason who had ever done that for him.  He used a hammer and chisel for all of his curved cuts.  Straight cuts, if it called for snapped edge, he did those the old fashioned way as well.  If sawed and polished, he did with a huge table saw with lots of water spraying all around.  But even with curved cuts, he did with hammer and chisels whether snapped or polished.  I have watched him deep score on one side of a stone and then flip the stone over, sometimes with a huge trolley crane, make his marks and score the other side and snap. I could never figure out how he could hit both side absolutely mirror to each other with curves.  That's why I took the difficult cuts to the expert, and why I always recommend the same when anybody has the slightest doubt.

It pays.
Tinker

 

[John r]

Thanks for all that....tinker andyman and nippychippy all much appreciated ...thanks

 

[demographic]

Have fairly recently done a lot of work in a place where there's masses of holiday chalets.
I wasn't personally fitting the kitchens but was working with others who were fitting granite worktops so helped carry them in.

Proper heavy stuff, brought onto site on a stillager and the longer ones took four of us to carry them in, wasn't rocket science. Just carried them in and placed them gently onto the silicone.

We must have fitted 40 or more of them with no issues apart from one of the lads had a bad back.

 

[Tinker]

Proper heavy stuff, brought onto site on a stillager and the longer ones took four of us to carry them in, wasn't rocket science. Just carried them in and placed them gently onto the silicone.

We must have fitted 40 or more of them with no issues apart from one of the lads had a bad back.

Yeah, big stones can hep that sort of thing along in fine fashion.  I used to be 7' tall before doing mason work for a little over 30 years.  And then, one day, when i bent over, my chin ran into my kneecap. 
Tinker