They don’t need to be finished. So they aren’t. Ignore them.

Lol. I wish I could . I'm concerned that dust continues to fall into my drawers and cabinets. I also have an island and I can't just wipe the underside clean which is driving me crazy.

If there is dust left over from construction, then remove all the drawers and vacuum the underside of the granite. The dust in your drawers might just be construction dust and not granite dust. Look at your drawer glides are they clean or dusty? Your GC probably didn't do a good clean up.

Is this 3 cm stone? Here in CA we mostly have 2 cm, so we have a layer of plywood between our cabinets and counter top.

You don't say if this is new construction or old? Termite droppings can look like dust/sawdust ...

The kitchen is new and there is no plywood between cabinets and granite. This is the underside and as you can see is rough.

Like Sophie said, that's perfectly normal for 3cm counters. When mine were installed, I removed everything from my cabinets ahead of time as there was quite a bit of dust that settled during, and in the day after installation. I've had no dust settle since.

So the underside of your counters are the same as I describe ? Rough and chalky? If I pass my hand over it I can see pieces of granite fall off.

Polishing the underside of any slab would be an extra that you would ask for at fabrication. You don’t do that in home.

What you have is what 98% of everyone has. There is no reason to finish the underside. You don’t get on your hands and knees and admire the underside of the counters.

If it’s a bit dusty, vacuum it and move on with your life.

I'm inclined to think it's construction dust, and once it settles this will stop being an issue. I say clean out all your drawers thoroughly and give the underside a good wipe-down ... then give it a couple weeks. I do suspect your problem will disappear.

When my friends remodeled their kitchen last year, they too had quite a bit of construction dust that continued to settle for a few days after everything was done. Their quartz is rough on the underside too.

I am getting quartz and I was told to remove everything from the lower cabinets before installation and to expect some dust.

How big are these pieces of granite that all falling off? Are they little chips or big chunks?

I have tried wiping down the underside but because it is not finished granite dust still falls off if I pass my fingers along it. It's just tiny particles. I wish I would have know to request that the underside be finished before I had the granite installed. So now what do I do?

Mine are rough. No dust falling off, though.

If you've got bits coming off with your hands, I'd run a shop vac across 'em.

You don't actually see dust falling off unless for example you pass your finger along it. Again because it's rough and not finished. So I'm uncomfortable leaving it like this. Does anyone know if it can be sealed at this point. I'm ready to consider installing new countertops but just worried it would damage my cabinets .

Have you ever been to a stone fabrication yard? The dust is everywhere, inches thick! Remove all your drawers and run the shop vac hose over the granite several times.

I have plywood on the underside of my overhang because we have 2 cm quartzite. My GC didn't really sand it down, but he did stain it the same color as my cabinets. Looks good, but a bit rough to the touch ... don't expect anyone but myself to know or notice.

I appreciate the replies. I can keep vacuuming but it won't solve my problem because like I said the granite is rough . It was never smoothed.

It sounds as if you will never be happy with the normal installation. Have them removed and see if they can be polished underneath at the fabricator's. If not, you will have to replace them.

I can honestly say I've never heard anyone complain about this before, but if it bothers you, then take care of it. It is your house.

Anglophilia, so are granite countertops installed this way, without smoothing the underside and leaving it rough? Just curious , because most of the homes I've been in , seem to have smooth granite undersides.

The good news is that nothing is rubbing the undersides of your granite countertop to make the “dust” come off. Use your vac’s brush attachment to clean underneath the cab opening, clean the drawers, and tracks and call it “good enough”! I do not know anyone who has polished granite underneath/above cabs. Some may pay extra for polishing entirely under a seating overhang but most do not.

Virtually the only time a top underside is finished is when the underside of a bar is visible from the sofa in a sunken living room. Even then, it's just shiny, not perfectly smooth.

Thank you for your replies. Forgive me if I'm being repetitive but I do understand that the underside is not polished and shiny like the top but shouldn't it be at least smooth ? Mine is like chalk.

Are you sure you have granite? Do you have a name for it?

I used limestone for a fireplace and the sample I carried around for several weeks was a bit chalky on the cut edges

It is granite.

that's my thought too chispa, "is it really granite". i just felt mine and i have mesh underneath, but no dust, ( 5yrs old).

i think you should make sure its really granite.

I wonder if what your friends have that seems smooth is either the plywood sanded or maybe they have a laminate edge profile, which could be smooth for a couple inches. How far under did you feel theirs?

Mine is rough under due due to the mesh still on it in parts. I pulled most off that I could but it does feel a little chalky/ gritty to me. Nobody else has noticed.

I’m confused bc you say chalky but also say actual pieces of granite come off and I don’t think that should be normal. Rough, ok. But crumbling off?

Actually I've just noticed that what is coming off the underside appears to be crystals. I rubbed my hand on top of counter and found a few more crystals. What is this ? Do you think the counters need to be replaced?

i would call your fabricator & or stone yard where u purchased. if you do not trust them, them call your contractor or an independent person.

after the initial dust, IMO, nothing should be coming off the underside.

maybe u needed the mesh backing

"maybe u needed the mesh backing"

The mesh backing is only to stabalize the stone/slab during shipping, no other purpose.

I ran my hand underneath my granite counters for you.

Yes, it's rough, Yes, there was some chalky-like residue on my hands, with a few small grains of whatever.

I've had these counters - which I love - for over 5 years. And apparently they've been chalky on the underside this whole time and I never knew. It doesn't diminish how much I love them in any way.

Several really smart people here who know what they are talking about have told you this is perfectly normal. Hopefully that helps.

Have you ever noticed crystals coming off counter when you wipe it? I just wiped the granite counter and am now noticing small shiny particles that look like crystals.

In the beginning yes. In a new installation that granite dust gets everywhere and takes some time to settle out.

Between sealing the tops and the tincture of time, the dust I had dissipated.

When you say “the underside “ do you mean the small edge that is around the entire countertop, the underside of an overhang where you would sit, or are you removing a drawer and feeling the countertop inside there?

These granite countertops are 7 years old. I've never noticed this before so just wondering why I would be seeing crystals coming off the top when I wipe it? What did you use to seal them and how often do you have to do it?

The underside of all my counters which are the overhang of my island and when I pull out drawers.

That is standard. If you need a special section or if it bothers you that much discuss the additional cost with the fabricator. In my opinion it labor that is not necessary.

Sealing won't prevent it. It's not like a glue that bonds the particles to the slab.