Installing marble or granite countertops isn’t easy, especially when the counter has a hole in it for a sink. Any undue strain on the stone will crack the fragile, narrow bands of stone that border the cutout.
So on a recent project it was with considerable anxiety that I watched workers installing a 9-ft. by 7-ft. granite countertop. It had a 30-in. by 42-in. hole in it, cut dangerously close to one edge. I was concerned that muscling the counter top around for its final positioning would result in breaking it.
I needn’t have worried. Before laying the granite down on the counter, the installers placed small pieces of ice (about the size of hockey pucks) on the subcounter. Then, the installers effortlessly slid the countertop around until it was in proper alignment. When the ice melted, the counter was home.
Robert D. Haight, Woodstock, VT
