cutting and grinding 3cm granite

[tltaylor22]

I was planning on doing cement countertops but got a screaming deal on some high end granite slabs froma place going out of business. After shopping around to get the slabs cut ($1800-2500), i figure from some of the stuff I've read on the web that I could probably do this myself and invest a little money in some tools. Has anyone here cut granite counters before? I talked to one shop owner that said he uses a makita Worm drive saw and some $50 7" blades in some of his field installs. There are some water fed angle grinders on Ebay that come with the grinding and polishng pads and include the diamond 3/8" radius router tips for the edges. I'm mainly worried about the undermount sink cut out. Any advise?

 

[-Spike-]

It's a bitch. I've done some small pieces and wouldn't tackle a kitchen. Maybe a bathroom, but I'd have to think long and hard. It takes a bit of experience and some tools to do it right. Do it wrong and it'll look like ass- forever. Cutting isn't particularly difficult, but getting the cuts perfectly straight and square is tough. Polishing the edges requires knowledge and experience, and way more patience than I have. Polishing the inside corners of the sink hole is a key area I'm not comfortable with, not to mention cutting the radiused corners for it. Labor for granite is where the money goes, generally $50 or more per square foot.

 

[fj40charles]

I would not do it. Sell the granite slab. It is cheaper and better IMHO to pay for someone to provide a full service install.

When we got our granite, we went to a showroom and picked out the slabs we wanted. The fabricator picks up the slab and cuts, polishes, cut out the sink hole, it and installs it for you.

 

[tltaylor22]

As always, I appreciate the honesty. I went and priced the exact stone, cut and install through a local place and it would cost me over $3600. I also found a place to just cut and polish everything for $1100. I've got less than $1000 into the slabs and will have most of one slab left over for other projects so I can always have the stuff I own cut for less than these guys would charge me to use thier material. I may even have a guy that used to own a shop available to cut and polish for less than a grand. The total counter and island is $60 sqft. with one sink cut out.

 

[tltaylor22]

I spent friday afternoon building a railsaw out of a Skill SHD77 worm drive saw and some 80/20 I had at the shop. Then yesterday my father and I cut up the two full slabs of granite. The lighter colored stone cut like butter, but the absolute black was tough. Taking a little extra time and with the rail saw setup I built, all the cuts were straight and on the mark with the templates I made of the cabinets. In all I cut 60+ feet of cut. I also ended up with over half of the one light slab and a quarter of the black left over for other projects. I was able to find a bunch of the grinding attachments through a friend of mine and plan on radiusing the endges and polishing everything up this week. The large scrap peices I brought home look great in the kitchen. My wife is getting excited. I'll post up some pictures when I download them at work in the morning.

 

[tltaylor22]

I figured I would update this thread with a picture of the final product. The granite turned out great and though it was a lot of work and $400 in tools, I'd do it again to save $2500. Cruiser $, it's all about cruiser $.

 

[-Spike-]

Looks nice, thanks for the update.

 

[haystax]

Wow! That looks great, quite a transformation from the flooring pics. Glad you were able to DIY the countertop. I've got some cracked in transit slabs i'm gonna cut square and tile my bar counter this winter.

I'm always a little worried about the grinder that hooks up to the garden hose and the electrical outlet