"Revealing" How I Feel About Granite

I can't help it, I just LOVE granite!  The flow, the patterns, the colors and textures......... they just enthrall me.  When it comes time for a client to select granite for their kitchen remodel, I go with them to the supplier to look at the wide variety of slabs.  It's an important part of the total customer service that we offer our clients at HearthWood Kitchens.  We give them a great deal of guidance and advice so that they can make good choices for the materials that will become part of their new kitchen.  When we go granite shopping, I can guide them away from the softer and more problematic stones, and give them advice on color, pattern, texture, etc.  We make choices that will work together for a beautiful end result.  The bonus for me is that looking at granite is something I just love to do!  With my background in the visual arts, looking at some beautiful granite can give me that same "aesthetic emotion" that people get when they view a breathtaking work of art.  No surprise there, since natural stone is Nature's artwork!  And I never get tired of looking at it.

But, aside from expressing the fact that I get excited about granite, I would also like to mention one of the practical details that needs to be considered when choosing granite countertops.  That detail is called the sink reveal.  An undermount sink is the most popular sink choice when people opt for granite or engineered stone countertops (Cambria, Silestone, Hanstone, Caesarstone, etc.).  Take a look at the diagrams below.  The countertop is shown in grey.  The undermount sink will be attached to the bottom of the countertop, and the sink cut-out in the granite will have polished edges.  The "reveal" is the portion of the sink edge that will be either hidden (negative reveal in top diagram) or visible (positive reveal in middle diagram).  The bottom diagram shows a zero reveal, or a flush mount installation.

                                                             NEGATIVE  REVEAL

                                                               POSITIVE REVEAL

                                                    ZERO REVEAL (FLUSH MOUNT)

 The drawback to the positive reveal is that when you brush crumbs or spills off of the countertop into the sink, they will land on the exposed edge of the sink and you will then have to clean that off, also.   Not very practical, and it's surprising that many sink manufacturers actually recommend the positive reveal installation. We always choose the flush or the negative reveal. This is just one of the many details we guide you through when we help you select new countertops for your project.  Keep reading my blogs to learn a lot more about the process of getting beautiful new granite countertops and all the details and options that we can help you choose.