Base board or plywood

10/31/2012 at 10:51:18 AM

If you indicated to your cabinet supplier that you were going to install granite counters, then they should have made the provision for it. As for the supporting material type, it should have been your countertop outlet that advised you.

I have had granite countertops installed in my spec house and they did not require anything different from the cabinet construction. However, my cabinets are custom made and are built much stronger than conventional cabinets.

Also, it you are purchasing from a box store, the cabinets may have to be reinforced. This would depend on the quality that you have selected. However, most cabinets (the boxes) are made by a few factories and the doors are then custom fitted.

10/31/2012 at 1:37:06 PM

There should be discussion with the kitchen cabinet supplier to let them know that you will have a granite counter top installed. They should advise whether the cabinets will need to be reinforced to support the counter top. Normally there should be a plywood support for the counter tops to make sure that there is no sagging of the top.

Also you should discuss with the granite supplier whether the cabinets will need extra support or even have them install the plywood on the top of the base units where the counter top is installed.

You mention baseboard in your question. But I think you are not using the correct term as baseboard is the finish material that is installed at the base of a wall where it meets the floor.

10/31/2012 at 3:37:23 PM

In the kitchens that I do that involve granite counters, I always recommend 1-1/4" full thickness granite. In that way, there is no plywood necessary and the granite suppliers simply glue the counter to my vertical cabinet sides and back. This is plenty of support unless you have a cabinet that is more than 36" wide.

The situation that calls for a plywood buildup is where you purchase 3/4" granite doubled up on the bullnose. In this case you would want to put a plywood underneath if your cabinets are frameless so that the counter bullnose doesn't interfere with the doors opening.

Where a plywood is necessary, the cabinetmaker should be informed from the beginning. This is not an expensive thing for them to provide

10/31/2012 at 8:21:15 PM

If your talking about the plywood used for 2 cm granite, the granite countertop people will take care of it.

It should be already attached to the counter top when it is delivered, then the installers will just silicone the entire unit down when it arrives.