Granite Remnants: A Less Expensive Update for a Small Space

Granite Remnants Are Often Cheaper

If you’ve tried to replace a small counter with a piece of granite, you probably ran into a common problem: granite fabricators don’t want to sell a little piece, they want to sell the whole slab.

Or, they want to charge you an arm and a leg for the piece you need.

Fortunately, HGTV has popularized the use of granite remnants for small counter tops and has encouraged people to call around to local granite companies asking for remnants.

Smart companies sell what people want to buy, right?

Call Your Local Granite Company and Ask About Small Pieces

I had a listing last spring that needed a small counter top to replace some seriously ugly brown tile in the bathroom.

Fortunately, the owner’s niece runs Toluca Granite here in Austin and was able to cut a few counters from her supply of granite remnants left over from other jobs.

I know the owner of Toluca Granite personally, and have picked through her selection on many occasions, looking for small tabletops, or the occasional piece of marble for a cheese board.

Before and After: A Granite Remnant on a Small Bathroom Counter

You can see that the update to this bathroom was pretty much paint and the piece of granite. The little fabric skirt covered up the whole under the sink because the doors were missing.

Questions to Ask When You Call for Remnants

If you know the particular type of granite or marble you want, ask for it by name

Ask if you can come see the selection to pick out your counter top

If they don’t have what you want, ask to be put on a list to be called when a suitable piece comes in

If you need two or more small pieces, ask if they have remnants that match – pieces left over from different slabs might be called the same name but might not actually look the same due to variations in the natural stone

Ask if they charge extra for fancy edges, or for the sink cutout

Ask if they sell sinks to go with with your new counter – you might get a discount for buying the sink and the counter from the same company and some of the new counter-mounted vessel sinks are very very interesting

Ask what the turn around time is, after they come out to measure the space for your new counter

Make sure you select the actual piece they will use – because pieces of the same name as what you saw somewhere else may very well not look the same – some have large patterns, swirls or splotches that can either be lovely and interesting or just plain ugly