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cursivesailor

Granite thickness?

cursivesailor
15 years ago

We are going to be on a tight budget. We can afford to get 2cm granite, but not the thicker, nicer 3cm. In your opinion, would you go ahead and get the 2cm? Or put something really cheap up and save for the 3cm in a couple years? Do you really see that big of a difference?

Thanks!

Comments (15)

  • igloochic
    15 years ago

    in many places you can't even get 3cm (california for one) so honestly...i would go ahead with the 2cm in a heartbeat and be sure to use a very reputable fabricator! if a good seam is done on the lip, you really can't tell if its 2cm or 3cm especially if you don't go with a really wild vein pattern.

    if budget were tight....that would be the FIRST skimp i'd make :o)

  • bluekitobsessed
    15 years ago

    In my visits to approximately 47,000 granite yards in southern CA, I never once saw 3 cm granite. Must be an east coast thing.

  • twobengalsandme
    15 years ago

    Here in Utah, both 2cm & 3cm are usually available. Overwhelmingly, even in the highest end remodels, you see 2cm. I had a long conversation with my fabricator about choosing between the two. The net cost is about the same, depending on the edge, because although the 3cm slab cost more, the laminated edge on the 2cm equal more fab cost. I asked him what he put in his own home. 2cm. So with my granite (Marron Cohiba), I'm going with 2cm.

    HTH

  • susan4664
    15 years ago

    It makes no difference in quality. I ended up with 3 cm only because I happened to like that particular slab. Like Twobengalsandme said, the material costs more for the 3cm, but the fabrication costs more with the 2CM. They have different requirements for overhangs, sub tops, etc., but a good fabricator will address those properly.

    A 2cm top will end up being thicker than the 3 cm around the edge. The 2cm has the extra piece glued all around, making it appear 4cm thick. The 3cm slab does not get this extra piece glued on so it remains 3cm around the edge. I am glad not to have the extra seam around the edge, however, I prefer the thickness of the 2 cm around the undermount sink than my thicker 3 cm.

    I guess the bottom line is there may be elements you prefer for both 2 and 3cm, but neither is a reason to set your sights on either. Choose a slab you like and a really good fabricator. Good luck and post pictures! Susan

  • weissman
    15 years ago

    That's interesting about pricing. I'm on the east coast where 3cm is very common which is what I got for my countertop. I was consider 2cm for the backsplash and was told it was the same price as the 3cm - I ended up going with matching granite tiles instead for the backsplash.

    As others have said, 2cm granite will be fine but you will need a layer of plywood underneath and a laminated edge. Have you checked pricing at other places to see if 3cm is more expensive everywhere in your area?

  • OllieJane
    15 years ago

    Hate to be a negative one here, but where I live in Oklahoma, only the less expensive houses use the 2cm. There is WAY more 3cm to pick from than 2cm. I am around the house building business, and that is just what I see.

    However, I am going 2cm in our hall bath, just LOVED the slab. Would have gone 2cm in the Master bath, but didn't like any of the slabs in 2cm. Like I said, not much to pick from in the granite yards here that are 2cm.

    If you see 2cm a lot in your area, I would go for that. If not, I would wait and get the 3cm.

    I haven't checked, but is it cheaper to go the 2cm with a wider edge? My parents did that before, but that was before 3cm was so popular around here.

  • pharaoh
    15 years ago

    2cm in socal. I prefer the lighter weight. In fact i have never seen a 3cm slab. We built our edges up to 4cm so using 3cm would not have been any better than using 2cm. Why waste material?

  • pbrisjar
    15 years ago

    3 cm is around here in the Bay area but 2 cm is still fairly common. We went with 2 cm because the stone we wanted only came in 2 cm. Also, we were told by multiple fabricators that since we were installing on already existing cabinets that the 2 cm was preferable.

    I doubt anyone is going to be going around measuring your granite thickness. If you see one you like then go for it.

  • ericstac
    15 years ago

    I found an installer that does a custom edge that makes it so that you can have any thickness you want, almost seamlessly, check it out:

    notice how the movement continues from the top over the sides... beautiful workmanship...

    here is a kitchen photo. In here you can see I have three different counter heights as well as two different thicknesses..

    and this one shows how you can have the thick edge and an undercounter mounted sink without the thick edge at the sink...

  • live_wire_oak
    15 years ago

    As others have mentioned, there really is no price difference in the overall installation because the 2 cm requires more fabrication and extras than the 3 cm does. So, pick a good fabricator first, and then buy whatever he's comfortable using.

  • OllieJane
    15 years ago

    ericstac, that really does look good! They did a wonderful job, and it does look thicker!

  • roserx
    15 years ago

    I think the 3cm looks more substantial and is not that much more $ vs 2 cm. The expense is in the fabrication and installation.

  • igloochic
    15 years ago

    i've never even seen 2cm granite here in the far north. i suppose with shipping prices they figure "why bother" with the thinner stuff. :) even the onyx is 3cm and 3cm marble is very common. it seems to be very regional given the posts...but if you look at blue's kitchen...i dont think you'd notice it was 2 or 3.

  • angeldolly
    15 years ago

    Find it interesting that it has been stated that 3cm granite doesn't exist in Ca. ! We had 3cm installed in our kitchen in Jan of this year by Marble City in San Carlos. As far as price goes, they were cheaper than a 2cm quote we had from HD, Blue Pearl in both cases. Very happy with our 3cm granite.

  • pharaoh
    15 years ago

    igloochic,

    3cm onyx! It will be very hard to back light such thick material :) Even though we get mostly 2cm material here, we bought some to try to backlight and discovered we would need stadium lights to backlight it :)

    So we ended up using onyx tiles (1 cm) that were epoxied to glass to create my kitchen onyx panel. The backlight looks even and bright.