Granite countertops come with plenty of perks. They are durable, beautiful to look at, and easy to maintain. While this is the case, you shouldn’t install the countertops haphazardly—you should consider several tips.

Wondering what should I look for when installing granite? Well, there are plenty of things you should do, with the common ones being:

Granite slab

When you are new to granite, you might feel that all granite slabs are the same, but this isn’t the case. Granite slabs run a gamut of qualities ranging from cheap, low-quality slabs to high-end, premium quality slabs.

When you are in the stores shopping for countertops, you should be cautious of the quality of slabs you buy.

One thing that will inform you about the quality of the countertops is the price that the countertops are going at. If the countertops are cheap, they are most likely low quality, and you should be cautious buying them.

The other thing you should look out for is the presence of cracks on the countertop slab.

Since granite is natural, it’s common for it to have small fissures that are often harmless. These fissures resemble small cracks, and you have nothing to worry about when you come across them.

Besides fissures, it’s also common to find some countertops with large cracks, and you should be worried when you see them. Although, countertops with large cracks tend to sell at lower prices, don’t be tempted to buy them, thinking that you will fix them later on as you can’t.

These countertops with large cracks are low quality and weak, so you should stay away from them.

To get the most from the granite countertops, buy high-quality units that will last for a long time and look good for long.

Cabinets

The other thing you should pay attention to when installing granite is the cabinets that you will place the countertops on. If installing the cabinets for the first time, ensure that you put up strong cabinets that can withstand the weight of the countertops.

If you had installed other countertop materials such as wood, consult a professional to help you determine whether the kitchen cabinets are strong enough to carry the weight of granite. If they aren’t, highly consider reinforcing them before installing granite.

The last thing you want is the cabinets breaking and having to build new ones. As you can guess, this can be expensive, especially if the countertop slabs break.

Besides ensuring that the cabinets are strong, they also should be level and properly secured to the wall. This way, you are sure that they can’t come off, and your countertop will be level.

Lighting

The lighting in your kitchen heavily determines the granite color you should install. If your kitchen doesn’t have a lot of natural light coming in, install gold or white granite countertops. On the other hand, if your kitchen has plenty of natural light, install dark-colored countertops such as mahogany, black, and deep blue.

To have a feel of how your countertops will look after installation, bring your granite slab to your home before you commit to buying more slabs. How does the slab look? Do you like it? You should continue buying more but if you don’t like it, let a professional help you choose the right one.

Granite installer

Unless you have the skill, you should let an experienced contractor install the countertops. In the same way, you can’t let any mechanic service your car, you shouldn’t let any person posing as a contractor do the installation.

The contractor you hire should be highly experienced. This means that he should have handled similar projects in the past.

The last thing you want is a professional coming to train on your site and end up damaging your expensive countertops.

The easiest way to tell how experienced the contractor is by asking them during the interview stages. If the contractor has never handled several projects similar to yours, don’t hire them.

The granite installers Potomac you hire should also have a beautiful personality. This is especially important if you have a large kitchen that requires you to do the installation over a couple of weeks or even months. You don’t want to be stuck with a boring contractor with a horrible personality, do you?