If you paid for the whole slab, then you're entitled to them. If you were charged by the square foot for the job, then the fabricator gets to keep them - sometimes you can get them to make you a cutting board or something out of a sink cutout which they can't really reuse for much.

That's not true everywhere. Here you pay for the entire slabs, but you don't keep the remnants. If you buy your slabs one place and have them fabricated elsewhere, the remnants are yours.

I asked my fabricator about this, and they told me there was nothing left to really make use of. Their CNC machine that cuts the sink and cooktop holes apparently drills holes into the granite, so what's left is a bit like swiss cheese...not really cutting board material.

That being said...they were sketch enough in the end that maybe this was a bit of a falsehood...

I've read about people who've made garden paths from sink cut-outs which were apparently free for the taking.

In my area, most people don't bother to take the leftovers, but since they paid for the whole thing they are entitled to take them. I was just looking for a small vanity top to be made, and my fabricator had a huge selection of remnants from past jobs to choose among so I wouldn't have to buy a whole slab to get 5 square feet. He charges about $20/sqft for the leftover material.

(Awnmyown...yes, that was probably a snow job. None of the hundreds of remnants I looked through had holes in them or other machining artifacts. Unless you used most of the slab so that there were only small cutoffs left, your fabricator was not being truthful. If you tour his remnant stock, you'll probably find some familiar-looking pieces for sale!)

We viewed and selected our slabs at AZ Tile and put them on hold while we decided on a fabricator. Once we selected the fabricator, the entire slabs were included in the fabricators quote. Note: we had to purchase 2 full slabs for our counters and island to accomplish the coverage and matching we desired. The fabricator provided a finished cutting board at no charge out of the leftovers. We also elected to pay for a round cut polished to be used as a lazy susan. We selected which parts of the slabs to use for the cutting board and lazy susan at the same time we went to the fabricator facility to oversee/sign off on the template placement. As far as the other remnants, we could have had all of them if we wanted, but we had no use or inclination to deal with them. If there was anything usable for the fabricator to throw in their boneyard and sell as a remnant, they had our blessing. I think the most important thing is good communication between the consumer and their fabricator. Some jobs are quoted per the square foot and the fabricator owns any leftover granite: and some are quoted where the consumer owns the leftover.

Around here, you purchase and own the whole slab, and can keep the remnants if you want them. For me, the remnants would end up being clutter I don't know what to do with. I know I'll never get around to making coasters, trivets, or a small side table top or the like. The remnants would annoy me every time I noticed them leaning against the wall of my garage. So I am happy to have the fabricator take the remnants off my hands.

I'm with sahmmy on this - keep 'em!.

My fabricator charged $18 psf for remnants (I didn't have to pay extra for use of my own remnants, though -- I got both my kitchen and one bathroom done out of two slabs), and made me a cheese board as a gift.

For us, we used 1 1/3 slabs. We made window sills for the windows in the kitchen and a base for inside our small appliance cabinet with our leftovers. I attached a picture of what we did for our small appliance cabinet.

Our fabricator charged us a small fabrication fee for the edges needing finished. We probably could have had any additional pieces that we wanted, but honestly, I wouldn't have known what to do with them.

There is a dealer near here with a dumpster of scraps. They might not want people dumpster diving, but it stands to reason they are paying for disposal and might save some sink cutouts for someone in order to save money. For garden paths, they need to be used polished side down.

It isn't unusual for ReStore to have pallets of remnants on an erratic schedule. All sizes and shapes. They sell out quickly.

You might keep a piece for repairs, especially if your top is solid surface, but stone makes a very poor choice for cutting boards and trivets.

We have two large remnants in our garage. We are planning on using them either for one of the bathroom vanities, or to make a fireplace surround.

Yes, they are heavy and take up space. :)

We turned ours into cake stands. Have them make you some round pieces and then glue them to IKEA candleholders! I have three different sizes for serving pieces--love them!

If you do take the remnants be prepared to deal with them. My fabricators gave me half of my cooktop cutout. They'd have given me the whole thing but I only asked for a small piece, thinking trivet or cheese board or something. They left a piece about 15x18 inches. It's still sitting right where they left it because I can't lift it!

I got to keep my quartz sink cutout. Not sure it is big enough for a small table top or how much it would cost to finish the edges but it is not too big and I can lift it so why not?

There are product lines of tile and landscaping pavers that refabricate unused scraps into usable products. Spendy, but agree with the upcycle philosophy.

We were only charged per sq/ft for what was used for the job.

This post was edited by Quadesl on Thu, May 15, 14 at 10:23

Greenhaven as long as you just want your quartz edges smooth and not a special edge you can sand and get it relatively polished with a palm sander. DH and I cut and finished the edges of a big quartz slab from the Restore. We bought our 5'x2' piece of Silestone for $20. It sits on my oak buffet DH built for me.

IowaCommute, NICE!!! Good to know! I will have to take a closer look at it. The fabricators used triangular starter holes for the sink cutout, which left a rectangular octagon. If the angles are all even I probably will do that! Frankly, if the angles are not all even the piece is probably too small to cut down evenly and reuse.

kitch4me, how do you keep that from falling on your head?!

lol!

Seriously, though, great idea!

Sometimes the photos that are posted upside down are just SO much BETTER upside down. That is one of them!!

I have a large leftover in my backyard. We brought it with us when we moved. After the giant fish tank, the movers didn't bat an eye. It probably won't match my new kitchen so maybe I'll get it into the bathroom. On the bright side, I'm running an extreme torture test to see how Bardiglio marble handles cherries and bird poop.

"On the bright side, I'm running an extreme torture test to see how Bardiglio marble handles cherries and bird poop."

ROFL! Oh how I love this place.....

Uh oh... Is my photo upside down? I'm posting on my iPad, looks right side up on iPad and iPhone.
So sorry!

iPhotos always seem to go on wrong. But it's okay! It makes one think.

Stone look smoke detector! No, wait...i bet it lights up.

fori, it certainly does light up!

In fact, it rotates while light of various colors is emitted from the slit. (The lights also rotate.)

These objects are often mistaken for UFOs.

Well, not quite the look I was going for... But it is a conversational piece ! Lol!
How is this?

lol, nope! But we get the idea. Don't torture yourself.

Found another thread on remnant material

Here is a link that might be useful: Remnants

Greenhaven,

Thanks, I needed that! You had me laughing out loud!

Glad to hear that we're not the only ones hanging on to granite clutter. I have two granite window sills under two different beds...not sure why I haven't been successful nagging DH to get at least the one that would fit in my sewing room window installed. Since I bought him a nice large tile saw to use for the Master BR he no longer has the excuse that he can't cut the second one down to size either! I must be losing my touch!

Mine are decorating the garage wall!

Window sills and lazy susans are awesome ideas for remnants. We've decided on Hanstone Aramis instead of Paperstone Gunmetal, which... well, I feel somewhat railroaded into it, but it's not so different from Silestone Merope that we care a great deal. It also looks nice against the cabinets and the flooring. I'll ask the fabricator when he comes to measure if we paid for the whole slabs and if there are any costs incurred by bringing the remnants out with the tops. Finishing the edges would just give me an excuse to rent a grinder. :-)

Kitch4me, what's the diameter of your lazy susan and how heavy is it? I'm also considering getting one done from my leftover quartz slab, but I want to be able to pick it up :)

Natasha: The pictured lazy susan has got to weigh 25-30 lbs. This is not a good idea.