Sealing Granite Counter Tops

Recently Treated with Stone Tech Impregnator Pro

Why seal granite counter tops? 

To many people's way of thinking it would seem to be an unnecessary job and expense. Their reason is based on the fact that granite is so hard and the assumption that the hardness of the stone makes it almost impervious to staining. Wrong assumption! The hardness of a stone slab and its porosity aren't connected in a causal way. In fact some of the hardest stone slabs are natural quartzite. Yet they can be very porous.

What does a good sealer protect against? First, what don't they protect against...

What sealers don't protect against are acids in foods and liquids that over time can dull and etch the surface of granite. This is even more of a reality with marble and limestone which are softer stones and thus more easily impacted by food acids. So a good rule of thumb is to immediately wipe up that lemon juice spill and do not use cleaners that are acidic, or for that matter, alkaline. PH neutral cleaners made for stone are the way to go. 

Penetrating sealers will not prevent that calcium/mineral build up that one often

Clean Counters First

finds around the water faucets. Water deposits that over time regularly collect and sit around the counter plumbing fixtures gradually leave a mineral build. That process occurs as the H2O evaporates and the minerals in the water are left behind to bond to the surface of the stone slab. So fix the leaky faucet and give a regular dry wipe to those areas. 

Penetrating sealers will not protect against water rings and water marks. These annoying discolorations are a variation of the above mineral deposit problem. One usually doesn't see this on granite counters but it can be a problem with marble, limestone, and travertine. Again, dry off those wet areas and don't leave wet glasses regularly standing for long times.

So to the question: What does a good sealer protect against? Some sealers will protect only against water working its way into the stone. They are basically water repellants. They can be excellent as a water sealer but will be ineffective against protecting the stone from stains of the most common liquids found in kitchens such as coffee, red wine, and oil. 

To protect against staining one needs a sealer that is made for that purpose. There are several very good ones on the market. Different people have their own favorites. In a future post I'll discuss the different types and compare the tradeoffs between them. 

Then Apply Sealer

The main point of this post is to simply explain what a good sealer can and can't do and why treating your stone countertops with one of them shouldn't be neglected. A good sealer applied correctly can give several years of stain protection until needing a reapplication. But keep in mind, no sealer guarantees against staining. The sealer's function is to greatly inhibit staining, making it very unlikely in most normal situations. Also, the sealer helps prevent that coffee or oil from bonding to the stone so that in the event of a stain showing up, removing it is much easier than if no sealer were previously applied.

Focal Point and Layout...

Following up on my last post, I want to continue with the topic of layout by simply showing a series
of photos of a backsplash I recently installed in a home at Frisco Lakes. The tile is Dal-Tile Biscuit color/beveled subway tile. In this kitchen we have two long walls that make up the backsplash. Where to begin? It doesn't take much thought to realize that the window over the sink is the main focal point, i.e. to where one's eye is drawn. The question then is where to begin tiling in order to have symmetrical cuts, and thus balance, around the window.

Since the subway tile is being installed with a staggered joint or brick pattern consideration needs to go into how large or small the 3x6 tile cuts should be in each row around the window and how those choices will effect the cuts in other areas of the backsplash. Determining the right size cuts that will meet the vertical 2x6 surface bullnose trim on either side of the window will not only give the window area a balanced look but allow for decent size cuts on the rest of the backsplash wall and an overall successful installation.

Beginning around the window:

Symmetrical cuts around the window:

Tile layout into corner of wall:

Completed tile job:

The Key To A Successful Tile Installation...

Tile Vanity Top with Hammered Brass Sink, Hope Ranch CA

The key element to a successful tile installation and also the most neglected is?? Layout!... arguably the most under appreciated install-element. This despite the fact that proper layout is crucial if one is to produce a visually pleasing tile job. So then, why is this initial phase often given so little attention or even neglected? One reason is that proper layout takes time and thought. It is somewhat like solving a puzzle (how best and where to begin?) which can be frustrating to the over-eager tile setter who wants to start setting tiles and complete the installation. The irony here is that a well considered layout IS where the installation begins.

So the tile setter must begin well to finish well. Put another way - setting a proper course is necessary in order to reach the desired destination. Without proper planning the outcome of a tile job is often less than satisfactory. Yet when the layout part of the installation has been well executed, the result is a completed tile job that simply looks right. When that end is reached there will be no regrets on the part of the tile setter and certainly the customer for the time spent on this initial stage of installation.

The above photo is of a small vanity top that I did years ago in Hope Ranch, CA. The tile is the 4-1/4" Cobalt gloss tile manufactured by Dal-Tile. Notice that the tiled top has a symmetrical appearance, i.e. there are mirrored cuts around both sides of the sink trim tile. To accomplish this the tile setter needs to plan out a pattern and decide where he must begin setting the tiles. This takes time. How to proceed? In order to have the same cuts around the hammered brass sink, it was necessary to put a "dutchman" (a tile cut to a particular size in the middle of the field to create visual balance) in the center of the front edge trim tiles. Determining the need for a dutchman and its size was the key to the layout and a successful installation. Once the right size dutchman cut was set along with the rest of the front trim, the equally-sized cuts on the vanity top around the sink trim tile fell automatically into place. The saying in real estate is "location, location, location." In tile setting it is "layout, layout, layout!"