Remnant Granite for a Bathroom Vanity Top: Buyer Guide

Yes, when a piece is big enough and you can live with the color on the yard today. A vanity top is small, so a leftover from a larger job can cover it, and it is the same granite as a full slab. The trade is choice: you take the sizes and colors that exist, and matching a second piece later is hit or miss. Remnant availability changes week to week at any fabricator, so ask the shop what is on hand.

Two checks decide it. Does the piece still fit your cabinet once the sink opening and edge are cut? And do you like the stone in your own bathroom light? The sections below cover both, then care, then what to put in writing.

On this site: Granite countertops.

Measure the cabinet width and depth, then add the front overhang and any open end that needs overhang. The sink opening is cut out of the inside of the top, so it does not make the outer size bigger. What it changes is how much stone is left in front of and behind the bowl.

Published numbers vary a little. Fox Granite, a fabricator, says most standard stone vanity tops are 22 inches deep with a front overhang of 1 to 1.5 inches over a 21 inch cabinet, and that a sink bowl needs at least 6 inches of countertop on each side. SlabWise says depth is almost always 22 inches, gives a 1 inch overhang on the front and sides, and puts the practical minimum a shop will cut at about 12 by 12 inches. Treat these as starting points. The shop sets the real minimum at template.

• Cabinet width and front-to-back depth, measured at both ends and the middle, because old cabinets and walls are rarely square.
• Which ends touch a wall and which are open.
• Backsplash in granite from the same piece, or tile.
• Sink model, bowl size, and whether it mounts under or drops in.

Sources for this section: 4 5.

Go and look at it. Photos hide chips and true color. Use Natural Stone advises buyers of granite with a lot of movement to identify the section of the slab they are getting, so the best part does not wind up as a left-over cutting. For a remnant, ask which part of the original slab yours came from.

Natural granite varies inside one slab, so a leftover will not repeat a top you saw on another job. Judge this piece against your tile, paint and faucet finish.

• Bring a tile sample, a paint chip and a photo of the faucet finish.
• Look at it dry, then wet a corner. Wet stone shows the color a bathroom top will have in daily use.
• Turn it over or look at the back and edges. A crack can hide under a polished face.
• Lay a level or straightedge across it and measure thickness in several places.
• Find any crack or resin repair, and see where the sink opening would fall. A flaw across the future opening is worse than one near a corner.
• Ask whether any edge is chipped and what the fabricator can do about it.

Sources for this section: 3.

Granite comes in 2cm and 3cm. SlabWise says most residential vanity fabricators default to 3cm. The only thickness source I could open that covers weight is MSI's guide for quartz: it says a 2cm top weighs less and may be more prone to damage, and may need extra plywood for support. It adds that with 3cm you should make sure the cabinets, flooring and foundation can carry the extra weight. It does not cover granite, so ask the fabricator what your piece needs on your cabinet.

The shop's process page says cabinets must be completely set in place and level at template, and that corbels, brackets or steel supports may be required where a top extends beyond the cabinet. For the full comparison, read the 2cm and 3cm article.

Sources for this section: 6. On this site: 2cm vs 3cm countertop thickness.

Keep it simple. The Natural Stone Institute says most granite countertops do not need to be sealed. Its sealing page, a position statement adopted November 8, 2006, says the benefit of sealing is a further reduction of moisture migration into an already moisture resistant surface. It also says it makes sense in many cases to seal marble and granite with a quality sealer, and that a quality sealer should have a life expectancy of ten to fifteen years. It gives no water test and no resealing schedule.

For cleaning, the Institute advises a neutral cleaner, stone soap or a mild liquid dishwashing detergent and warm water. In the bath or other wet areas, soap scum can be minimized by using a squeegee after each use. It warns that lemon, vinegar and other acids may dull or etch calcareous stones such as marble, and that scouring powders may scratch certain stones.

SlabWise describes a field test: pour a few tablespoons of water on the surface and wait 30 minutes. If the stone darkens, ask a fabricator whether sealing makes sense for that piece. How often to reseal is covered in the sealing article.

Sources for this section: 1 2. On this site: How often to seal granite countertops.

This is New Granite & Marble's general process for countertops, which its process page describes mostly around kitchens. It does not mention remnants, and remnant availability changes week to week at any fabricator, so ask the shop what is on hand and whether a remnant follows this process. The page describes a written estimate from your measurements, and says a drawing that shows the sink and backsplash gives the most accurate one. It says the estimate will be subject to change after template, depending on your final measurements and material selections.

At template the sink and faucet must be on site and the cabinets set in place and level. The page gives 3 to 5 business days from deposit and slab choice, a 3 hour arrival window, and an installation that typically takes 2 to 4 hours. It says old tops have to be removed in most cases, and that the shop can remove and dispose of them for an additional cost. It also says the shop will not tear out, remove or dispose of any tile backsplash, appliances or cabinets, will not disconnect your gas, and is not responsible for any gas, plumbing or electrical work. The page tells you to schedule a plumber to reconnect plumbing the day after installation.

Ask the contract to describe the piece itself: length, width, thickness, color name and edge, plus any chip or repair you saw. No two leftovers are alike, and a verbal deal leaves that open. Ask whoever supplies the piece to hold it once you choose it, and to lay out the sink opening on it before cutting.

New Jersey's Division of Consumer Affairs says home improvement contractors must register, and its consumer brief lists bathrooms among the work covered. For registration, insurance and contract rules, read how to choose a countertop fabricator in New Jersey.

Sources for this section: 7. On this site: How to choose a countertop fabricator in New Jersey.

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