The Bedrock Quartz team is committed to making sure that every customer is completely satisfied with the natural stone countertops purchased through us. To that end, we offer professional installation of everything we sell. We also recommend professional installation. Though DIY installation is possible, there are risks involved.
We appreciate homeowners into the DIY thing. A person can save a lot of money doing things by themselves. And of course, there is always a huge sense of satisfaction upon completing a DIY project correctly. But it has been our experience that installing natural stone countertops is best left to professionals who do it day in and day out.
1. The Risk of Injury
Installation of natural stone countertops comes with some inherent risks. The first is personal injury. This is a good place to start, given the fact that your safety is a top priority. The last thing we want is for you to seriously injure yourself doing something that is better left to professional installers.
The risk of injury is directly related to the weight natural stone brings to bear. Quite frankly, natural stone materials are heavy. Improper handling of granite and marble can lead to:
- Back injuries
- Knee and leg strains
- Crushed hands and fingers
- Broken toes and feet
In addition to being heavy, natural stone is very unforgiving. Drop a piece of granite on your foot and you will quickly discover that it does not give – not even an inch. That’s why injuries are so common.
2. The Risk of Material Damage
Next up is the risk of material damage. The same unforgiving nature that makes natural stone so hard on the body is also that which makes precision craftsmanship so critical. You only get one shot at installing natural stone countertops correctly. Miss a measurement or misplace a cut and you may have to replace the whole slab.
There is also the risk of cracking a slab during installation. And of course, dropping a countertop could mean breaking it into several pieces. Too much can go wrong if you don’t know how to handle natural stone correctly.
3. The Risk of Silica Exposure
Cutting natural stone countertops creates dust. That dust contains crystalline silica, a material that is definitely not good for your health. Trained professionals know how to work with natural stone and their tools to keep silica dust to a minimum. We are guessing most DIY homeowners do not.
4. The Risk of Improper Installation
Natural stone countertop installation is not something you want to learn as you go. Little mistakes can add up to an improper installation that creates bigger problems down the road. Common mistakes include incorrect measurements, mismatched slabs, and improper grout lines.
5. The Financial Risk
Next up is the financial risk. Actually, this is several risks in one. You could spend more money on installation than is necessary by damaging your new countertops. You might also need extra materials because you don’t know how to use them properly. Worst of all, DIY installation might void your warranty. That could leave you paying for a whole new countertop out of pocket should the slab suffer some sort of otherwise covered damage.
One last thing to consider is the time and effort needed to install natural stone countertops. It can take professional installers the better part of a day under certain circumstances. A DIY homeowner could spend days on the project.
We get DIY enthusiasm. We even appreciate it. But time and experience have taught us that installing stone countertops is best left to professionals who do nothing else.