Thermal (ing) Granite

[Craig D Peltier]

I was at Seattle Home Show this weekend. We liked a countertop in a model home. It was granite but it had "Thermaling" done to it. Apparently they bake it and it eats away some of the minerals and this is what it looks like after. Its a bit rougher not glass smooth.
I was wondering if anyone here knows anything about this stuff. I did a google search and didnt come up with much.
1) Is it way more expensive than normal?
2) Is it hard to get?

Thanks

See picture of thermaling counter we liked.

82060

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

It goes through a mechanical process that has a battery of torches passing across it at some speed and burning at some temperature. The heat pops little flecks off.

I would imagine that they need to polish it with soft felt pads to get it smooth.

So those events will raise the cost by some factor.

[Greg Funk]

This process is commonly used to 'roughen' granite that you might walk on to make it less slippery or to add texture to granite. Normally it is done with a torch or other flame and the surface is roughened and also a little sharp. I suspect they add some type of coating or buffing to make it suitable for a kitchen top.

It looks good in the picture you showed. My only concern would be how easy it would be to clean up.

Greg

[Jim Becker]

I'm having a similar, although less dramatic finish put on the absolutely black granite counters going in our addition. It's sometimes called "leather" or "antique". Whatever it's called it's wonderful...soft, rich looking and NOT SHINY!

Greg, no difference in cleanup over any other finish once the sealer is applied. I asked...

Cliff...same cost as "shiny" from my general contractor's supplier.

[Tom Godley]

This is not a new finish - It used to be less expensive to have this finish.

The most expensive finish was the polished one. With modern equipment the cost of the polished stone has come down in price and become ordinary.

Granite is very hard - and requires special equipment. You can put a mechanical finish on granite -- but the heat process is more stable -- I did a fireplace years ago with granite that was mechanically finished.

Not unlike "blue-stone" -- I love the look of blue-stone. But it is a very hard stone - to put a "natural edge" on it you must heat with a torch and pop off the edge as you move along. Limestone can just be hit with a chisel.

Things move in and out of style -- look at many of the newest kitchens -- No SS.