Think I made BIG mistake .. kitchen re-do

[phred52]

UPDATE post #23

We live in an older home and have wanted to 'do' the kitchen for years and years. 3 years ago we went out and priced things to get an idea of how much $$ to save for this project. Well, we ended up getting a granite counter top which had been hugely reduced. DH and I figured we'd enjoy that while we continued to save $$ for cabinets.

Fast forward to today. We simply can not find anyone to remove that counter top and put it back on new cabinets. NO ONE wants to touch it. DH finally got an estimate out of the original place where we bought it 3 years ago. They say it will be at least what we paid possibly MORE just to remove and replace it! Never even occurred to us that this would be an issue!

No one has even looked at it. Just saying that we wish to keep the same counter top makes people balk when we say it's granite.

Anyone have experience with this? Suggestions?

 

[snowy76]

If they remove it and it cracks... they probably don't want to deal with that.

Have you considered refacing your lower cabinets and just replacing the uppers?

 

[Swimalie]

I was going to recommend refacing the cabinets. It something that you can probably do yourself, which will save money and will cost a lot less.

 

[Marionnette]

We live in an older home and have wanted to 'do' the kitchen for years and years. 3 years ago we went out and priced things to get an idea of how much $$ to save for this project. Well, we ended up getting a granite counter top which had been hugely reduced. DH and I figured we'd enjoy that while we continued to save $$ for cabinets.

Fast forward to today. We simply can not find anyone to remove that counter top and put it back on new cabinets. NO ONE wants to touch it. DH finally got an estimate out of the original place where we bought it 3 years ago. They say it will be at least what we paid possibly MORE just to remove and replace it! Never even occurred to us that this would be an issue!

No one has even looked at it. Just saying that we wish to keep the same counter top makes people balk when we say it's granite.

Anyone have experience with this? Suggestions?

How bad are the cabinets? Can you just get them redone or are they a poor quality to begin with?

If it were me, I would just wait a few more years and continue to save. Then after getting 5 years or so out of the granite, I would replace it and the cabinets at the same time.

Expensive lesson to learn. Sorry.

 

[Evi]

I know exactly what your going through. When we purchased out home the kitchen had been renovated in 06. I felt it was too wasteful to renovate the kitchen yet and decided I'd see if I could live with it. From our previous home I had a water heater/filter system and wanted to be able to mount the faucet. It's taken me 4 years to find someone willing to drill the hole. I'm still thinking to add a wall mount faucet and just use the existing hole for the hot/cold water filter system. I also asked about being able to save the granite if I wanted to redo the kitchen and was told it can be done but it would mean demoing the bottom cabinets. I guess thats why no one wants to touch them. But my understanding is it can be done. I'm not sure who you've been getting estimates from. But I suggest you contact a contractor not someone from a supplier or retail hardware store. I find when you have your own contractor they are better able to tell you what is and what isn't really possible. If your trying to save a few dollars maybe refinishing the lower cabinets is not such a bad idea. You could still replace your sink and if you don't have one add a backsplash to finish the look.

I decided to tough out my kitchen for a few more years I mean it is new its just not what I would have chosen. But the quality is there and it does match the home.

 

[Disneygrandmareno]

I am not sure what type of cabinets you plan to purchase. If you are purchasing custom cabinets check with the cabinet maker. My husband has been a custom cabinet maker for 40 years and there has been many times that he has removed the granite to save for the customer or he has also refaced the bottom cabinets with new face frames and doors and drawers. Keep checking out there I am sure someone can help you.

 

[01spirit750]

I agree with the other poster that if they break it would you hold them responsible?

I was doing a home project and cutting some tile one time and one of the people who lived at the end of our street stopped by and asked me to make a cut in their granite counter tops. I guess they had bought a new cook top and it would not fit in the old opening.

Well I am just a dyi person and I have never worked with granite. I had never met this person before either. My thinking was, what if I messed it up or it cracked. So I just told him I was not the right person and he needed to hire a professional. He then told me that he could not get anyone to even come out and look at to get a quote. I reiterated that I was not qualified to do anthing like that.

I felt bad, but sometimes things are better left for the professional.

I remember one time my father inlaw recommending that my wife goto Mexico to get the cheap eye surgery so she wouldn't have to wear contacts. I told him, no thanks.

 

[LilyWDW]

They do not want the liability or risk associated with removing the countertop.

Lets say it cracks or chips when they remove it. Who would you hold responsible? Most likely, them. Then they have to replace the countertop out of their pockets. Why should they risk that?

Even the people who would come out and do it will charge you a decent amount of money because they want to be sure they gain some profit out of it.

 

[mistysue]

How is your top connected right now? If you can figure out how the mounted it, that information might help you get somebody to work with it. (is it glued? what sort of glue? are there anchors or screws?) What shape is it, if there are seams you might be SOL for good reasons. They can't just unseam it to take it off. They also can't carry some huge L shaped top around your house to wait for new cabinets.
But if it's a simple 2' x 4' top just sitting on the base, you need to be able to say that.

 

[phred52]

Thanks for the ideas. All the cabinets need to be done. They are disintegrating. I keep wiping up little piles of saw dust from where the drawers rub. Shelves sag ... its just ...time.

We've asked at kitchen places, home depot, lowes, and several contractors, DH even called places going through the yellow pages. It just never occurred to us that granite wasn't something that you could re-use.

I keep hoping we find that needle in a haystack and someone who knows what they are doing will be willing to do it .. and not charge an arm and two legs. sigh.

 

[cglaura]

Can you repurpose the granite? Do you bathrooms need counters? Or an island? Maybe you can get someone to do something with them? Or even craigslist it? I'd imaging someone skilled would be able to do something with it.

I know it won't get back the full price, but at least maybe you can get back something.

 

[Friendly Frog]

Maybe if you told them you would sign a waiver not to hold them libel if the granite cracked or broke?

 

[Evi]

If your willing to you can probably remove the granite yourself. The adhesive used is serious stuff. You may need a really sharp knife or a really long sharp item to wedge between the cabinet and the granit to seperate it. If you can I'd ask someone who installs them what they would do. Even though they won't do it maybe they can guide you.

 

[Anne34]

Can you repurpose the granite? Do you bathrooms need counters? Or an island? Maybe you can get someone to do something with them? Or even craigslist it? I'd imaging someone skilled would be able to do something with it.

I know it won't get back the full price, but at least maybe you can get back something.

We had the old green granite kitchen counters removed when we moved here. We really didn't like them, but the laundry room counters were in even worse shape. We repurposed parts of the green there and had new granite put in the kitchen. They took off the old granite without ruining anything....one of the workers asked if he could have the leftover pieces to use for himself. We told him yes.

They can usually remove them fully, but you never know and they wouldn't guarantee us that we would be able to use the pieces.

 

[Skye23]

Probably your best bet is to find a handyman or contractor and ask him what he charges per hour of labor. Then offer him that price for the time it takes to try and remove the counter top and salvage it along with a waiver that if it breaks you'll pay the labor cost and not hold him responsible. In addition, offer him a bonus for successful removal and replacement of the granite so he's got an incentive to try hard. Just figure out how much new granite would cost and make sure this offer is that much or less.

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Maybe if you told them you would sign a waiver not to hold them libel if the granite cracked or broke?

That's what I was going to suggest. I think it's a great idea. You could even get it notarized.

 

[Mickeyflower]

Have you considered checking Angie's List for a tile & stone specialist? Or like a PP said, research to see if there is way you can remove it yourself. If it cracks, well hey you got yourself a new bathroom vanity top, or a little bar top for your backyard.

 

[nilseks]

I agree, call a custom cabinet maker. We had our house built 4 years ago and have a Moen 'granite' sink (which really isn't granite, I don't know why they call it that lol). Our sink cracked and it's undermounted. The plumbers came out to look at it, and they wouldn't touch the granite countertops. They had to have the cabinetmaker come out and take off the counter. I watched him do it and it really didn't seem like a huge ordeal; I'm guessing that people who are inexperienced just don't want to crack it.

 

[nilseks]

One more thing--before you go to the trouble of having it removed, make sure you get a quote for the new cabinets you want to buy, with the exact sizing. Since your cabinets are so old, if you buy new cabinets they may not be the exact same size. You don't want to get into a situation of having custom cabinets made just to fit the existing countertop.

 

[phred52]

OP here. These are all good things to think about. Thanks guys. You've given us a LOT of ideas to kick around. I just knew you all would be able to get us out of shock and back moving forward again. hummmmm IF we tried to remove it ourselves ...... and it cracked ....... hummmmm .... we DO need a counter for the bathroom ........ onward to google DIY granite