Just finished stuffing my face and drinking ’til drunk!

I couldn’t believe it!

Spoke to my work mate today and he said that he was working up until nine o’clock on Christmas eve!!

He had promised a customer that their worktop would be installed ready for their family and dinner on Christmas day…

To cut things short, the granite was only finished at the factory on Christmas eve, early afternoon. He picked it up and did a last minute installation – what a hero eh?

I mean, this poor family thought that they were going to be left with a worktopless kitchen for Christmas – a bit hard to prepare food on lol – I shouldn’t really laugh, but I am laughing more out of the irony of the situation.. Thumbs up all round I think!

It can be a really difficult time of year for granite worktop installations, as everyone wants their kitchen looking plush for when the family arrive; I suppose it could be said that you can’t please everyone…

I remember one Christmas; my Grandmother had just had a new fitted kitchen with multiple ovens installed.. I remember her joy to be in the kitchen; I mean she loved to cook and make cakes, so having a new, fresh environment in which to prepare, was the icing on the cake and something good to show off!

Any worker that gives up their Christmas eve night to satisfy the customer, needs a big pat on the back – my mate has his own family and I know this put him behind a bit; but I know, knowing him, that he wouldn’t have had it any other way..

Anyway, just thought I’d share this with you all – some dreams do still come true.. The customer definitely thought so…

Happy Days and… Happy New Year!

I hope everyone is cool fine and dandy!

Christmas is approaching us fast and I still have quite a few worktops to install in client kitchens.

For all of you who are in the granite worktops industry; you will probably remember a few years back when Baltic Brown granite was extremely popular with consumers? Presently, the market seems to have shifted to blacker colours.

Anyway, the point of the story is that I am due to install a Baltic Brown granite worktop tomorrow and I thought those in the know, would find this a little interesting (only a little mind you, lol).

I really like Baltic Brown granite; it blends extremely well with wooden flooring and with quality grades, can really bring a touch of class to your kitchen!

It’s going to be quite a nightmare day; the job is in a place near to Sudbury, South London and I will need to get up a little earlier than normal, to beat the traffic – especially at this time of year; Christmas shopping and everything that goes with it. Given that our base is Hertfordshire, this is going to be quite a trek!

Heck! I suppose I can always get there and fill up on a full English at the local café, drink tea until I can’t drink any more and read the morning paper – hey when I say it like that, I could even fool myself lol!

Anyway, I am off now, I have a meeting with my manager and then I am off down the pub for a quick half..

Happy Days

What a day I have had!

I went to see a customer in a village near Cambridge today, because they had had a party at the weekend and one of their guests had spilt some cooking oil on the surface of their granite worktop and had left it there – mistakes happen after all..

The customer was unfortunately left with a dark patch on the surface, which had really compromised the look of the stone.

When I got to the house, the customer was in quite a state, as they had paid alot of money for the granite and installation and had felt a little gutted, as the focal point was now a huge stain rather than a shiny surface.

I told them that I would need to apply a poultice stain remover, which is a product that is used to draw the foreign substance out of the stone; it then is left to dry and then is carefully scraped off – the customer felt alot better after I had explained all of this to them.

To be perfectly honest, the poultice method does not 100% guarantee success, but it has been a good method so far for me.

I hope you have found this tip useful and if you are to spill something on your granite worktop or one of your friend’s granite worktops, then always try to clean it in the first instance…

Happy Days

I found the video on youtube and thought I’d share it with you all here!

Sit back and relax – hope you enjoy the movie…

Hope everyone is good, fine and dandy? I must say, the client I went to see wasn’t!

This particular lady only bought her granite worktop recently from us and at the time we explained that cutting food directly onto the worktop surface was a bad idea, but still, she allowed her son to, in a heavily-handed style, to cut the veggies for Sunday roast… Very very bad idea indeed…

The poor lady ended up with a big chip mark in the stone and the focal point to her kitchen ruined!

This, I hope, will act as a warning to anyone that gets a granite worktop or is thinking of installing granite worktops in their home.

Don’t let it be a waste of time! Use chopping boards, not the worktop surface!

This particular worktop is going to be replaced as the son has a heart and big conscience lol – and an angry Dad lol..

I shouldn’t laugh really; the lady was truly upset and to be honest, who could blame her?

Not so Happy Days…

Hope you’re all having a great weekend? Did you like my granite worktop vid?

Well, if you enjoyed that then I am sure you will be interested in reading my friends recent article on the subject of how stone goes from quarry to kitchen for your granite worktop, or granite work surface.

It’s quite an interesting process and I am sure an exciting one too, for the people that work it! Boys with their toys an’ all what could be better – explosions on a regular basis…

Anyway, check the article out – if you are into this sort of thing then I am sure you will enjoy reading it!

Happy Days

Found this recently and thought I’d post it here for all you too… I will also say that this not an advert for this particular company, but more of an information source to give you an idea of what to look for…

It’s been a while…

The following tips are for anyone interested in worktop surfaces for the kitchen.

1. Buy from the best

You always need to buy from a quality supplier, one that has the experience required to manufacture your product to the desired specifications.

2. Check your grade

It is important to know that the material your surface is made from is of the highest grade / quality. If it is the case that you are purchasing a stone surface, then this point is particularly important; there are many stone types available, all with many variations in the quality.

3. Saving money

If saving money is your goal and you are a handy person, then some of the work could be a DIY job – checkout my article on granite worktop templates for a helpful guide. Additionally, waiting for sale products and clearance items are also great money saving options.

4. Installation

The installation could also be a DIY job, but in my opinion; this is a job that is best left for a Pro.

5. Maintenance

Maintaining your kitchen worktop is dependant on the material used – use common sense with hot pans on all surfaces and keep spills to a minimum. If you have a stone surface then this should be polished and cleaned regularly to keep the new-look present.

I hope these points are useful?

Until the next time…

I am on half day today… Got home and the garden is still wet – darn it – I was told we were in for some good weather!

Anyway…

I really need the rest – I have just done a solid week and when I say solid, I mean solid – I dunno who was saying that things are slowing down, but I certainly haven’t this week:)… (Monday to Sunday… Phew)

Hasn’t it been nice in the last few days havin’ a bit of rain? I certainly think so!

I do like the heat, but it gets a bit much sometimes, especially when you are running about like a blue fly – it’s just nice to have a bit of cool air!

I had a really funny bloke working for me this week – he is a plumber and does bits of contract work for me on occasion.

He plays the guitar and has a real talent for song writing, which makes it all the funnier when he is joking around – his vocab is vast, so he is always coming out with words you never hear! lol

Even when he is taking the mickey on me – it is funny… The witty sh’! lol

You just cannot come-back with better lines, so its easier to sit there and take it, hoping he might give it a rest if you do! lol

I must say, it splits the week up if you can manage a bit of banter! Even though we were installing Granite worktops (and boy they can be heavy at times), a bit of banter really takes the edge off things!

Anyway, I am off to take a shower and then… A cold one at the local!

Speak soon…

The man was an artist and was creating a series of mosaics, whilst researching Greek art – this sort of thing is truely amazing! Such talent goes into creating something such as this.

Following the gentleman asking us for stone off-cuts, I did a google search for stone mosaic images and found this mosaic:

It’s such a good use for the off-cuts, as they would normally just be thrown in a skip – it’s possibly the sort of use a school might have for it…

We tried to shatter one of our off-cuts for him but unfortunately ruined it’s use, so the gentleman took the off-cuts as they were and decided to break them himself. (A better idea in my opinion)

A list of applications for small bits of stone

1. Mosaics (art)
2. Mosaic-style vases
3. Mosaic-style bowls
4. Mosaic-style mirrors
5. Shaped stones for jewellery

There are probably other uses, but this is a start – if you can think of any others, then please comment and we can share!

Happy Days