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Granite templating, is this the right way for farmhouse sink?

16 years ago

We have a 10.5' run of cabinets with a 30" farmhouse sink in the middle. In our preliminary discussion with the fabricator before templating they said they want to do this area of granite in 3 sections. The want to do one small strip of granite behind the sink and 2 equal pieces of granite on each side of this which will work out to, I guess, a 4'section of granite on each side of the sink. They will, I hope I have the terminology correct, "bookmatch" the 2 four foot sections so the sink will be framed with matching swooshes of veining on each side. The piece behind the sink will be whatever they have leftover from this run of counter and the rest of the kitchen. The only thing we will have at this sink is a pull out faucet centered behind it.

Does this make sense to you? I have never had any stone counters before and have no idea of how to approach thinking about this. All opinions are appreciated.

Comments (8)

  • 16 years ago

    I would say no! Seams around a sink! No! Just the way our fabricators have always conducted business.
    Water could become an issue at a later date. (we never never never never put any seams around a sink.)

    We did this one 2008

    and this one 2008

  • 16 years ago

    Thank you, Petra. That is such a beautiful looking installation. Our problem is that our granite slab is not big enough to do the entire 10.5 feet and I can't imagine where else to put a seam. If there is no seam close to the sink where else would it go? Should I have a 3' section on one side of the sink and all else in one piece? We are planning on a slight (1/4")positive reveal for the sink and I was thinking that the short seam on each side of the rear corners of the sink would be "out of sight, out of mind." Now it looks like I really don't understand how granite seams will behave in the long run. I was thinking I would rather risk having something not perfect behind the sink rather than on the side. Where should I put the seam(s) if not behind the sink?

  • 16 years ago

    bump---any idea? Anyone?

  • 16 years ago

    Personally I don't mind seams at the sink, aesthetically speaking, especially when they are only behind (farmhouse style) and not in front. Is there a reason they aren't doing it in 2 pieces (like two rectangles with long skinny arms that meet behind the sink)? Is it because the granite isn't long enough, or because the faucet will be in the center and can't be on a seam?

    If you run a search on "granite seam" here at the forum, you'll find a zillion threads with lots of sage advice.

  • 16 years ago

    Thank you circus peanut. The faucet will be centered. Are you saying it is a bad thing to have a cut out for the faucet or other things such as a soap dispenser at the seam? We had to get 2 slabs of our granite to have enough for both runs of perimeter cabinets and will use leftovers in other parts of the house. The granite is called maritaca green (DD who studied Spanish says that is parrot green) and is a fairly deep green with wavelike white swirls and occasional speckles of darker color. Some of the white swirls are very dramatic and by cutting a 4' piece from each slab we can have matching swirls on each side of the sink. I think that by cutting an arm for behind the sink from either of the slabs we would lose the ability to use the remnant piece of that slab for a bathroom. So I guess the fabricator was trying to help us get the most bang for the buck. I never thought to search "granite seam" but I'll do that now.

  • 16 years ago

    I would do it behind the sink. I just put in a farmhouse sink and I wanted the seam behind the sink and the owners and the installers told me it was not the way to go. My granite is very busy, lots of color & movement. I am not happy with my large seam that is just a few feet from my sink. After all was said and done they all agree with me now about it might have looked better behind the sink.
    What is your granite like?? I wish I would have stood up to them and demanded what I wanted after all I am paying for it. My DH likes to listen to the professionals and I disagree with them sometimes. I will listen to them give an opinion, but it still is our kitchen. Good luck, that is a tuff one to call. I am sure people will disagree with me, but I would rather look at a 5 inch seam than a big long one.

  • 16 years ago

    Thanks for the input, mariofo. This sink will be at the far side of my kitchen away from the island with the seating and away from the great room. Unless we have a full house of guests or out of town visitors I'm planning on using the prep sink most of the time for everything since it will be just the two of us. So, I'm trying to convince myself that 1) seams behind the sink won't get a whole lot of water splashing because it won't be used much and 2) even if something happens to the seams it still won't be as noticeable since it's behind the sink and not front and center. DH really doesn't want to spend any more money on stone (and neither do I, the economy being what it is right now)which we would have to do if we didn't seam at the rear sink corners.

  • 16 years ago

    FWIW, I just had the soapstone counters templated yesterday and he's going to put a centered seam behind the farmhouse sink. I'd rather have a skinny seam behind a farmhouse sink than a huge seam across the span of the countertop somewhere else. I think it also depends upon how well the epoxy hides the seams. On dark colored material without much veining or movement, you shouldn't notice the seams. I went to the stoneyard to participate in laying out the template on the slab, and the installers took great pains to insure that seams would fall on parts of the slab with less movement and veining, so that the areas around the seams would blend and not have noticeable "intersections" of veins. Also, I was pleased with the samples of epoxy seams that I saw. They were very subtle. HTH.