Why Seams?

Seams. What are they for and where are they going? Seams are necessary for a number of reasons. It doesn’t have to be something you dread as long as your fabricators know what they are doing! Here at GKS we do our very best to line up the veining in the stone so the seam is as unnoticeable as possible. If it can be done in one piece, we would prefer to as well! We are giving you the best insight we can to make sure your countertops are in the best shape they can be. When transporting the stone, it has to be carried vertically. That is 1) heavy and 2) large. Granite is roughly 20 lbs per square foot, so if you have a large kitchen, it isn’t always possible for the guys to be carrying it around by hand, let alone vertically. They have to have a clear path transporting your stone around the home to get to the kitchen, so every doorway and hallway would have to have a clearance high enough to leave it in a large piece. Another reason they are necessary is because the slab itself may not be large enough for the countertop. Say the lengthy portion of your countertop is 10 feet long; if the slab itself is just under 10 feet long, it will need a seam to connect to another portion of the stone. When deciding where it goes, make sure your installer is avoiding any spaces that are unsupported such as over a dishwasher. We tend to hide them near corners when possible, so it is in an area that is either tucked away or covered by appliances. This way, with the veining lined up, the seam being in a corner, and potentially being covered by an appliance in the area, it is hardly noticeable.