Twice As Strong As Granite!???
There it is!
That phrase that has become popular to promote some engineered stones.
Twice as strong as granite!
What does that phrase really mean though? Well—if you do your homework, it should mean NOTHING! Granite is actually one of the hardest materials available for countertops and has stood the test of time because of its strength, and durability, not to mention, beauty. Granite has been around for centuries and has been used for thousands of buildings and structures, some hundreds of years old, or more and still standing! …And what about those tombstones found in all of those cemetaries. How many of you out there have seen granite tombstones from your great grandfather, or others that are from the early nineteen hundreds, or older? How did they look? I’m guessing, pretty darn good, even after withstanding all kinds of weather conditions.
So let’s think about that phrase again. Do you think a granite countertop can withstand everyday common use such as food prep, tableware, wiping and washing with soap and water, and possibly cutting a slice of cheese on it?
YOU BET!
Trust me—you have nothing to worry about, unless of course, you decide to drive a cement truck over the top of them.
Thanks for reading!
Barb
Posted in Uncategorized on June 4th, 2009 by Barb | | 0 Comments
Film On My Granite Countertops?
Last week, while I was at a tennis drill, I overheard a fellow tennis lady talking that she sold her house in 4 days and just moved to an apartment, while their new house was being built. I thought “Good for you, and good for you!” Most people selling houses these days aren’t that lucky, myself included.
Anyway—of course I had to ask, “Do you need any granite countertops for your new house?” Unfortunately, she gave me a somewhat disappointed look, and said that she had granite in the house they just sold and just couldn’t get it to look clean. I looked at her perplexed, and said, “Really? That sounds very strange to me. What do you mean you couldn’t get it clean?” What she described sounded like a film of some sort. I stated that a film on granite is definitely NOT NORMAL, and most likely it was caused by using the wrong cleaning product, etc.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have too much time to discuss it further, since it was time to hit some more tennis balls, but I thought it would be a good topic for a blog.
Over the years, we have had a few calls about film on granite, but have always been able to remedy the problem with a service call, and applying some denatured alcohol to the area. Last year, before one of my daughter’s school dances, we had some of my daughter’s friends and parents over at our house for some pictures. I happened to meet a woman who was a designer, and she was talking about how much she loved our granite countertops. She also went on to tell me that she had granite in her house as well, but just couldn’t get it to look clean (it looked filmy). Although we didn’t install her granite, I told her to call our office and we would do a service call for her.
When our service technician got back from the visit, I asked how it went, and what the problem was. He said, ”It went fine, and her countertops looked good as new. Most likely, she was using a cleaning product that left a wax build-up (film) on her granite, or possibily the fabricator that installed the granite applied too much sealer and didn’t completely rub it in.”
Thankfully, these stories are few and far between. If you have questions about cleaning your granite, please give us a call. We’d be happy to answer any of your questions, including those about film.
Thanks for reading!
Barb
Posted in Granite on June 1st, 2009 by Barb | | 0 Comments
