When I purchased my second home after outgrowing my starter home, I was absolutely in love with it. However, after moving in, I quickly realized how much I missed having a master bathroom. I didn't think I would miss it, since the nearest bathroom is right down the hall, but since I frequently have guests over for long weekends, I realized that we were "fighting" for much-needed bathroom space. I then looked into my remodeling options and a contractor told me that adding a master bath would be a very easy task to complete. The remodeling process didn't take long, and my home is now perfect. I am very eager to share what I learned about home remodeling with others who need the tips on my new blog!
Countertop installation projects are an exciting way to add interest to any home or place of business. You may be wondering, however, whether your job needs to go as far as hiring a countertop fabrication company to do the work. Let's look at some reasons why that may or might not be the case.
Putting Your Stamp on the Countertop
Uniqueness usually calls for some degree of fabrication work. For example, many quartz products can now be engineered in a variety of looks. Customers can ask for the countertops to be designed with a particular look, and then the piece can be cut to perfection.
Many new styles also call for the use of fabrication and customization techniques. Matte finishes are very chic right now, and they often require refining the material through a specific set of processes. This is particularly the case if you're shooting for a distinct finish.
Location-Specific Issues
Doing a standard-sized granite installation, for example, may be easy if you're dealing with a standard-sized kitchen. Different thicknesses, installation heights, and clearance requirements, however, can quickly change the picture. That goes double if there are odd corners and crevices in the room.
Seamlessness
Not all applications call for a seamless solution, but it almost always is going to look better. It's hard to perfectly match edges and patterns, and you're going to be much further ahead by using a single slab. This, however, does present its own set of challenges because a large enough slab can be a problem, especially during a remodel. It's a good idea to think about how a countertop is going to get into a building before you get too far into the fabrication process. Sometimes, using a seam-based design and assembling the sections on-site will be unavoidable.
Heavy Designs
While you may mostly think about the configuration of the countertop relative to how it fits in a kitchen or a bathroom, weight is a factor, too. Suppose you want to install a very thick slab of granite. The granite fabrication process for the countertop has to go far beyond just cutting the stone. Your fabricators will also need to engineer a solution that can support the weight of the countertop. This may entail using steel or other heavy materials to provide a base that goes into the counter itself. The slab will then have to be carefully dropped in place and secured using lag bolts.