Honing Existing Granite Countertops?

Hi there, We’re going to embark on a kitchen reno. We’re not changing the layout of anything – just new cabinets and appliances but everything staying exactly where it is. We currently have polished granite countertops.The countertops hang over the edge of our current cabinets quite a bit – there’s about a 2″ lip. I’m wondering if it’s possible to hone the granite and also cut/shape the granite so that it’s flush against our new cabinets. Could this be done in place? Would the granite have to be taken off site to do this? Would this process cost more than nice new countertops? Let me know if you have experience with this. Thanks!

bonald

in Bath & Kitchen 9 years and 8 months ago

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bonald | 9 years and 8 months ago

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daveinbedstuy – Thanks. I don’t know Swann Tile but it’s worth calling them just to see. bklynpwds -Good point about trying to coordinate everything, if we take our countertops off site, so that the counters are gone while the cabinets are being installed. But it’s good to know that this is somewhat possible and that I’m not totally crazy for suggesting it! One of my motives here is to waste less and also spend a bit less money on a new countertop.

bklynpwds | 9 years and 8 months ago

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We stripped the paint off of one of our marble fireplace surrounds and had a marble company come in and clean & hone it in place. They were able to do it, but it was incredibly messy, with both dust and water. We understood that from the beginning and that’s probably why they agreed to do it–we did this prior to a big renovation so we weren’t worried about wrecking anything. This was way over 15 years ago. We also had 2 very ornate marble fireplace surrounds removed, cleaned/honed and re-installed by Foro Marble recently. I think it may have cost around $1000\. This was very intricate work because they had to be very careful with all the small pieces. It might be worth it to get a few quotes to have the granite removed and honed off-site. You will need to remove it anyway to replace the cabinets underneath, right? Plus you may be able to coordinate it well enough that the granite is off-site while the cabinets are being replaced. You’ll have more room to work and less worry about the granite being chipped. I suppose it all depends on how much granite you have–if there’s a lot, it may cost less to send it out than to replace it.

espeon | 9 years and 8 months ago

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On-site is possible but it could be more trouble and yield worse results. How thick is the existing finish edge and is the stone solid? You might find yourself with only 3/4″ thickness after cutting off the bullnose.

daveinbedstuy | 9 years and 8 months ago

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Call Swan Tile and ask them. I’m just not sure if it can be done in place or, more likely, anyone wants to do that for you. A really large countertop operation would likely say no as their stone is cut and polished on huge benches.

bonald | 9 years and 8 months ago

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Thanks – that’s a good suggestion. I want to change the shape of the countertop edges – they’re currently rounded and I wanted to square them off. I’m also wondering if it’s possible to hone polished granite in place. I imagine a professional would have to answer that one (unless someone on the forum had this done in their home).

bradeichmann | 9 years and 8 months ago

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Two kitchen renos under my belt. If I understand correctly, you are planning on replacing the cabinets under your existing countertops. Rather than cutting or changing the countertops, just take them off, set them aside and set the new cabinets an inch away from the wall in the back (installer can use shims to make up the difference) so that the lip in the front gets reduced to 1 inch or whatever you want.