[Katherine Swift]

This question comes through email by Mike:

So glad there?s a site like yours and people willing to share their knowledge!
 
I?m considering making a large (maybe 24X36) kitchen island, using large?ish pieces of cast-off 1? thick, broken granite with colored resin filler in between. The edges will be rough-hewn but basically rectangular. Also, the pieces will probably not fit together tightly.
 
I got this idea from some granite shops near my auto mechanic who seem to throw away 18X18 ? 24X24?ish pieces of granite ?waste? all the time.
 
 
My questions are:
 
How good is resin as a gap-filling medium?
 
How good is it once it?s dried at forming a hard bond with the surrounding granite? I?m thiningk perhaps I?ll need a substrate, like 1/2? varnished MDF or plywood, to stabilize the countertop on a base (I?m considering welded 2? square metal tubing).
 
Can resin be sanded and polished? I?m thinking I might need to pour it just a tad proud of the surrounding granite, then grind and polish it down even. Or perhaps that?s not a problem and I can pour it level with the surrounding granite??
 
As a work surface for food prep how is resin, sanitary-wise?
 
I?m sure there are many other questions I should be asking, but I need to educate myself a lot more about resin before I even know what?s important to ask. But I appreciate any and all answers and insight you can share.
 
Thanks in advance!

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Mike,

If youre going to over pour the resin and sand it down, I would suggest going with a polyester resin.  It will do well with sanding and polishing with a rotary tool.  I dont have any experience using it to bind together granite pieces, but I would expect it would work.  It cures the hardness of glass, but I dont necessarily know that I would call it food safe.  Perhaps your granite people could make a specific brand recommendation based upon their experiences.

Good luck!

[Mike]

 Thanks Katherine,

I?ll ask, though I doubt they use much resin preparing large slabs of granite for countertops (I?m just using their castoff pieces for my little project). But I?ll as

More questions to follow as I get more into this?

Mike

[Krissy]

Hello Mike,
I just happened upon your question today, of course it’s now almost 1.5 years later!… I’m quite curious though, did you ever make your counter-top? If you did, how did it turn out, are you happy with it? And, how long have you had it?
Would you be willing to share a photo – if indeed you made the counter?
Thank You,
Krissy

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