Tell your fabricator you're willing to pay to have the bottom edge of the 2cm machined to have a 2cm built-up edge laminated on. With the right color matched adhesive, the seam will be inconspicuous and you'll have 4cm.

Thanks for the reply Trebruchet;

We thought of that but the fabricators couldn't guarantee that the seam would not be visible based on the design of the granite. We also like the deeper profile around the undermount sink when using a 3cm (1 1/4") granite.

Both fabricators also mentioned that the extra labor involved when working with 2cm to make it look like 3cm based pm the oggee profile etc, we're better off finding a 3cm to begin with since we wouldn't need a sub top and other advantages hence the reason for this thread.

Your best bet is to hoof it on down to the stone yard to see full slabs and only look at 3 cm stones. There are lots of great granites out there, and pointless to get hung up on one that is not available.

Greenhaven:

Thanks for the reply,

That's exactly what we did and after the 12th slab location we started exhausting various fabricator's recomended locations and decided to expand the search to 2cm. Since the selection is more then twice the amount we ended up finding Earth Glitter at a 8.5 out of 10. Unfortunately it's only 2cm and can't find anything that comes close to that in a 3cm.

Thanks for the reply Karin_mt.

We just got quotes from 3 fabricators, two are stating exactly what you've told us and one of them doesn't seem like they even want to work with it. The third isn't even mentioning there maybe problems and came in at the lowest bid.

The average price installed for the 2cm including tax is around $140 sq. ft which we feel is quite high consider there are no guarantees.

It's the only granite my wife likes after looking at 16 different slab places and over 1000 slabs.

Not a fun time.........

Don't know where you are but MSI has earth glitter in 3cm. That installed price is outrageous for our area. Should be more like 80 bucks installed. I am doing a quartzite which is harder and more expensive and it is not much more than that.

This double posted, but I just want to say again- that price really seems high. Is there another name perhaps for Earth Glitter. I found out that my material had a couple of different names. I saw a reference to Cosmos when I found the MSI listing for Earth Glitter.

This post was edited by musicgal on Thu, May 29, 14 at 20:47

I went through this and was madly in love with a similar look. I couldn't imagine anything else, just like your wife.
Eventually, I let it go and went with a lovely light granite that was less prone to issues, and much less expensive. Broaden your search a little and you may be surprised by what you find and love.

I looked for you at our local places and thought you might consider these granites if you cannot find your favorite, or maybe you could mix two with the earth glitter on one area and something less expensive and easier to live with on the rest of the cabinets.

Probably a long shot but here are some granites you might like that are all 3cm

Titanium
Feratto
Stormy Night
Lennon
Rocky Mountain
Black Sand

You can see some of these granites at the site in the link. Go to exotic specials (keep scrolling down) to see the slabs.

Here is a link that might be useful: 3 cm granite alternatives

Thanks for the reply musicgal;

We're located near Toronto Ontario Canada and were at MSI in Mississauga two weeks ago and didn't see Earth Glitter in stock. Can someone simply call the slab location and they can check inventory? $80.00 per linear foot would be great but finding somewhat at that price level and willing to guarantee fabrication and installation is next to impossible at this point.

I don't know of any other name for it and I don't believe Cosmos has any red in it.

Our doors species is Cherry with a Cherry stain and my wife wanted maybe 10-20% of the same colour throughout the granite to accent the doors.

Thanks for the reply Cinjos:

We have broadened our search several times by also viewing 2cm even though we prefer 3cm and have gone to slab places our fabricators don't deal with. We also got a 3rd fabricator on board which is why we've seen over 2000 slabs now.

Thanks for the reply gr8day;

Some of those names are familiar and is memory serves me right there is on red some of those granite names but worth checking into and reply back.

This post was edited by Renosarefun on Fri, May 30, 14 at 9:02

Renos - $140/sq ft does seem abnormally high - Is this a kitchen layout that will have a lot of unusable remants of the slab or need multiple slabs with lots of waste?

I know you said you wanted a 3cm stone, but considering you want an ogee - it might be ok to run with a 2cm stone if a 3cmm doesn't exist near you.

You can do some neat profiles on a 2cm laminated edge where the seam would be virtually invisible. I've included a link below that shows some laminated edge profiles, but with something like an ogee to a demi, the seam would be hidden well since it doesn't transition on a vertical. If you're dead set on a 3cm, then no worries! Just thought I'd post a few pictures to show that a laminated edge can be virtually invisible.

Here's an example of some different laminated edge profiles using a 2cm stone:

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Portland Tile, Stone & Countertops de la tierra, inc

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Sparta Interior Designers & Decorators Alicia Shearer, ASID, CID

Here is a link that might be useful: Edge Profiles Link

Thanks for the reply kjo_tx

Below is the layout of the kitchen and the slab was 123" X 63" of which they had 3 slabs in stock. They only had 2cm Earth Glitter and we're willing to accept that with a step profile as shown in your photo since I'm all about compromise since my wife truly loves the design of the stone.

We have two problems;

1. The $140.00 per sq. ft quote for what they claim is 44 sq. ft and I believe it's 38.

2. Two shopes won't guarantee it won't chip during fabrication or in the future.

I get 44.something when I do the math, (counters are 25.5, rounded up to 26" deep) which I would round up to 45. When you have a granite as fragile as that, there is no fabricator that will assume responsibility for it to not chip. You can shale it apart with your fingernails. It's that delicate. The responsibility will all be on you, because you've been fully informed of it's nature, and still choose to proceed.

It really and truly shouldn't be used in a normal working kitchen. It's for decorative situations or light use only.

Thanks for the reply Live_wire_oak.

I clearly can't add up sq. footage. What I didn't do is double up on the ends of the "U-shape corners". I also didn't include the fridge and stove area. When I add the corners where the angled upper cabinets are then it adds up to what you mentioned. Not sure why you would count it twice, but I guess you're suppose to?

The Earth Glitter that we saw didn't have a lot of mica or chits (sp) but the third fabricator still wanted to advice us of the possibility. The one we spoke to day came in at $120.00 per sq. ft installed including the profile edge a cut out for the sink and faucet.

My wife is now concerned about the edged chipping since our kitchen get a considerable amount of usage.

Our search continues and we haven't found any slabs that compare to Earth Glitter so we're second guessing what we should do.

Keep the faith! THE one will turn up soon : )))

Thanks for the reply gr8day.

The logical thing to do is take a break and when ready start looking again. We did that twice already and went out again yesterday evening and found nothing, therefore taking a break no longer aids in the search.

It's gotten to the point where we no longer look forward to looking at slabs and taking an even longer break doesn't seem to help either.

I'll try to "keep the faith".

To date, we've looked at approximately 2000 slabs and since we've given up on "Earth Glitter" due to fabrication concerns, our next choice seems to be Typhoon Bordeaux. Not as nice a stone but..............

Renosarefun,

Yes it seems this stage of the reno is no fun. I found searching for both counters and ceramics very painful. We stuck to quartz as we wanted less busy stones so that limited our selection more than the granite world. Where have you found in the GTA area had the best prices. I am in Guelph, and you and I have communicated about local slab shops before.

Have you guys considered quartz to open up more options. Have you seen what Cambria offers in quartz (you only see Cambria at kitchen design shops and their own Cambria showrooms). They have a big showroom in Toronto I believe where you can see full slabs.

Carol

Custom Granite & Marble in Stoney Creek had approximately 6 different slabs of 3 cm Typhoon Bordeau which helped with finding the one we liked.

I checked Homestars and they have a 5.3 average with reviews but I find it difficult to believe when they have several 10.0 reviews as well as several 0.0 reviews which makes the review night and day, so what do you believe.

One thing I don't like is they state they use 3rd party installers which has me second guessing whether to go with them.

Pricing was in line with Toronto Granite and about 30% less then Granite Worx and Stone Inovations. They also state that 2cm and 3cm is the same price.

Thanks for letting me know about Custom Granite and Marble. I was surprised that their prices were so much less than Stone Innovations. We will check them out as well (although I am not sure they have the Quartz we want judging from their website). Does Toronto Granite carry much quartz?

Carol

I don't believe Toronto Granite, has much quartz in stock as a matter of fact they probably had only 100 slabs on site at the time.

Of the quartz that we've seen they didn't seem to have much veining and blotching which is what my wife is looking for.

Update:

We put the down payment and now I need to get my butt in gear and install the cabinets. I have to be absolutely sure I don't give the installers a reason to blame the counter installation for a less then perfect granite installation.

I have my finger crossed that they can fabricate with only one seam at the sink in the u-shaped counter but they claim it will most likely be two.I guess I have very little over where the seam goes and it depends on the size of slab and where the design will match up with the end corners,

Ok, back to work. .

Can they do a corner seam? While some people prefer a short seam at the sink, I like the look of continuous stone on my sink rail, where I spend most of my time. My sink is on one leg of the U and the seam is 4" from the corner on the bottom of the U. I don't really care that there's a long corner seam, mainly because I have a great seam and have to look hard for it.

Oldryder explained that sink seams are not the preferred placement, but fabricators seam there to CTA as the sink rail is a weak point during transportation. So it's good for getting it in your home, not ideal for use and appearance for the next 15 years. One disadvantage of the sink seam is that they are unable to use the electronic device that pulls two slabs together and creates a very tight seam. So you might have a wider seam right in front of you at the sink. Some people have had horrible pattern matches on sink rails too. It may be that your granite has to be seamed there, but I'd question whether it's just the transportation issue. They can transport it using steel reinforcement bars under the granite.

Make sure you see and approve the layout of your slabs before they cut them!

Thanks for the reply may_flowers,

They're saying they may have two seams at each corbner of the U-shape which will end up being around 25 1/2" each since that's the size of the counter top. I always figured the less seams the less opportunity to have a bad seam upon installation as well as in the future.

We did ask for a photo of the layout and seam location/s before fabrication, I hope they comply. Our sink cabinet will have a 3" bump out, so I'm not sure whether that's a consideration when choosing the seam location

You "hope" they comply with your request to see pictures of the seam placement. Please don't leave that part of the process to chance! If your contract does not already state that you MUST sign off on the seam/template placement before cutting begins, I would suggest you insist upon a written change order that specifies this requirement.