thats artistry.

Thank you, oldryder. I think people take for granted that these are the kinds of edges they are going to get, but sadly that isn't always the case (as BlackChamois' recent thread unfortunately proves). I guess the lesson is to examine your countertops carefully when they arrive and before they are installed ...?

Thanks for sharing; loved the lesson and quality work.

Thanks for posting Oldryder, these edges are flawless.

May I please ask a fabrication question? Is it inadvisable to do a laminate edge on a carrara marble slab?

I am doing a laminate edge on the perimeter counters to save cost but was considering upgrading our island to a mitered edge. Our perimeter material will be quartz and our island is carrara marble. Unfortunately, the mitered edge is an added cost of $750 which is the same cost as the slab itself. After all the money spent on this remodel, I am not sure if the cost/benefit of the mitered edge will be worth it in the end.

Many thanks in advance for your unbiased feedback!

I agree--absolutely flawless!

SDgirlygirl; the mitered edge, if done correctly, will make your island look like it's the full thickness of the apron. A very nice effect.

Laminate, even done very well with a hairline seam, will show because there will be a grain transition at the seam.

It's your money so, of course, your decision. I like the miter but it does cost more because the fabricator has the additional steps of putting a 45 degree cut on the mating edge of both the top and the apron piece and then rounding the corner where the pieces meet.

IMHO worth the money if your fabricator has the expertise to do a really good job.

I love the mitered edge. That's what we're having done on ours :)

sdgirlygirl:

I know there is pressure to cut costs during remodeling, but you've really got to consider how long and how often you are going to be looking at the selections made.

What's worse, working overtime to pay for the top you wanted, or looking at a top that disappoints you everyday with money in the bank?

The big disconnect comes when people see work like the above and think that they have a right to that high quality work from Lowlife Larry with a ''shop'' in a van down by the river.

Every single person who goes around getting quote after quote for the ''cheapest'' price on their stone needs to read this. And understand that they are shopping for the WRONG thing. And probably will never see results like this. Then read the thread on the recent prefab disappointment where she found that cheap guy and got exactly what she paid for.

It's better to live with plywood counters for a year to be able to afford someone to fabricate your dream stone correctly than it is to search for the cheapest guy to hack your dream to death.

Beautiful craftsmanship, oldryder! Wish you were doing my counters :)

What are some questions you can ask to determine if the shop you want to do business has the expertise and equipment to do work like this. Many have impressive showrooms but their showrooms and what you get are two different things even when you pay the big bucks.

Good question, gr8day! That's why I like to see the fabricator's work in someone's actual home. You can't get those details from online reviews as people's opinions of "quality" can be vastly different. Knowing what questions to ask would be very helpful.

That waterfall edge with the Fusion stone is stunning. The edge just shows off the beauty of the stone.

Makes me wonder if sometimes the pattern of the stone should be taken into account when choosing your edge.

Really very useful to see what edges can look like! Thank you!
However, unfortunately, a high price doesn't necessarily mean that the work is done well. I have had lower bidders who have done beautiful work and high bidders who have done ok work at best.

Good point, nosoccermom. What I take from the "price statements" is that if you pay top dollar, you have a right to complain, but if you go with the low bidder, you don't.

" Many have impressive showrooms but their showrooms and what you get are two different things even when you pay the big bucks."

If you get work that is substantially inferior to what you saw in the fabricators showroom you have an absolutely valid reason to reject the work.

Re: the comment if you pay a low price you can't complain; I disagree. Regardless of the price you have every right to expect work that matches what the fabricator showed you.

When I used to work for the countertop equipment supplier I visited many fab shops and was often surprised at the mediocre (or worse) quality in the showrooms. When asked about it the answer was always "if we match whats in the showroom the customer has no cause to complain. If we exceed it all the better." I never thought that was a good approach.

Given the merger with houzz I thought a repost of this thread would be of interest. Also a few new pics. Bottom pic is an apron sink fabricated from the slab material used for the countertops. Very nice effect but expensive as it takes considerable labor. Middle pic is of a shower with a flat & level removable floor with no apparent drain. The 1st pic is of a outdoor grill make from the new Cosentino product Dekton. It will not fade, is extremely hard, and so far is stainproof even resisting oil stains from the barbecued food.

no apparent drain.

What sort of finish is on the shower floor to keep it from being slippery?

the floor "tiles" were given a leathered finish. doesn't show in the pic.

that sink is stunzo! i saw sinks done in neolith at hg stones in brooklyn. love the mitered edge you posted above as well.

I'm impressed with the edges, I can't find the seams! I'm hoping to find a quality fabricator when it's time to order my counters. My counters and my floors are probably the most important (and my cabinets, but my counters more so) important for me to get the best work on as they take the most abuse in the house.

I think more so than price is finding a contractor who is passionate, and who really cares about his/her craft, and invests a lot of thought and time into perfecting it, as you obviously have. It's hard to do when you don't know the contractor personally, but I think even in initial conversations you are able to get a feel for it.

Nice

I know this was an old thread just resurrected, but those pics from @Granite City Services are beautiful work. We see so much cr*p stone fabrication on this forum--because mostly people write in to complain. It's really nice to see how good that stone counters can look with the skillfully done edges.

We still do work like this every day. However, after the advent of the quartz supplier mega shops the standard for acceptable edge quality has fallen. 10 or more years ago an edge with "tool lines" (which are horizontal scratches left by the CNC tooling) was considered poor quality but today that is the standard. I added a "vintage edge" option to my edge profiles which is a machine shaped and hand finished edge that has no tool lines. A significant fraction of my customers opt for it even at the additional cost. If someone comes in my shop and immediately starts harping about price I respectfully suggest that other local fabricators that focus on low cost would be a better fit for them.