Granite shopping, redux

[nlbarber]

"Return to the Granite Shop"...

My architect and I went to the granite shop this morning. Samantha had ordered some samples of the new floor and had cabinet color samples as well, and I knew I was looking for something considerably darker and with some dramatic banding of some sort--I want to make the countertops be the focal point of the kitchen. I expected to go straight to a slab I saw on the visit with my sister-in-law--a gneiss with dramatic banding of the mafic minerals, in an overall "gold" tint.

Surprise! The granite shop has much more turnover than I thought. No sign of the gneiss I remember, though there were some similar stones without the strong patterns I was now looking for. And then early on in our wander through the slab area, I saw a conglomerate (a rock that is a bunch of different rocks glued together by something), and commented to Samantha that I hadn't seen anything like that on the first trip. But we went on, looking for the gneiss.

And toward the back I spotted another conglomerate, and fell in love with it. It's called Black Amazon with Gold: I have a sinking suspicion that it doesn't meet my criteria of "tough, unlikely to need re-sealing", that it will probably be a bitch for the fabricator to work with, and that it might be prone to breakage. But I love it--this will be the dramatic "geologist's countertop" I want. Samantha will call a fabricator she has worked with to see if he's familiar with the stone and can tell her something about how it works and wears, but I'm not sure I care about the answers. We've put a temporary hold on 3 slabs, and she'll call me in Maine after talking to the fabricator so I can decide if I want a permanent hold.

Comments

[filkferengi]

Well, it certainly meets your criterion of being dramatic.

ah the joys of remodelling

[thebluerose.livejournal.com]

I just bought my first house in April, and promptly flooded it. Im not going thru dramas to get the new flooring down.

Oh and deciding about all the other things that need to be fixed or updated.

I think you budget stretches further than mine:)

SERIOUSLY cool counter top!

Re: ah the joys of remodelling

[nlbarber]

I've owned this one for 11 years now, so the financial shock of the initial purchase is long gone. The fixing and updating never ends, of course, but this kitchen is long overdue. It's not just the buckling laminate countertop, or the burners on the cooktop that barely heat, or the dying dishwasher, it's the lovely 1960's color scheme that I disliked when I first saw it. The real question is why I waited this long!

Just starting....

[shrewreader.livejournal.com]

So where -is- this Granite Shop? I know Floor & Not-Decor-because-it-takes-up-too-much-display-space out on the 85 access road, and I'm starting in on redoing my place (which will include new counters) and would love to look at granite for bath & kitchen....

Re: Just starting....

[nlbarber]

G&L Marble on Armour Drive. It's really close to you--Armour Drive is a little loop off Monroe Drive that ducks under old I-85, new I-85, and the Marta line, then makes a circle beside the floodplain of Peachtree Creek. Map link Be sure to wander in the warehouse area itself--they have a wall of small polished samples, but there's much more in the warehouse (and you get a much different idea of some stones when you see the whole slab).

My designer said there's another, smaller, granite place on Laredo Drive, which is the dead-end road that is opposite the entrance to the DeKalb Farmer's Market. I was going to go there if G&L hadn't had anything that caught my eye.

[coalboy.livejournal.com]

Oh, WOW!