SFA

Hey SFA.

A little background first. We have just bought this company that has been in business for sometime now. After going out on a few installs with the previous owner/fabricators we are unsure of some of the practices and want to get some input on changes we want to make. The previous owner left it up to the customer to cut out the excess PL after 24hrs and then caulk with a clear silicone themselves and purchase it themselves. To me this isn't a good practice as I see it as lazy and not something I would want to do after paying 4000 for a Granite top and sink.

Also, when you disconnect the plumbing if you have to remove the old counters and sink, do you hook it back up? Or leave that to the customer as well?

Just a couple of questions ref the install of under-mount sinks. We are currently using PL Premium to install our undermount sinks. What's the consensus and rest of you using and why? Do you use a 100% silicone product? GE type for kitchens? My concern with the PL is possible staining of the Granite.

When you do the install, do you silicone and caulk for the customer around the sink and counters or do you leave that up to the customer?

Any information would be great,

Thanks

Dave
Constructall Granite.

We use 100% silicone GE or similar. We also use some type of mechanical device to hold the sink in place. By mechanical device I mean anchors or bracket. There are many to choose from but the easiest to use are probably the Sink Its. Google them.

We never leave the clean up or the silicone work for the homeowner, it is part of our job and we can insure it gets done correctly in a clean manor.


If you just bought the company you should really think about joining the SFA. It gives you communication with over 3000 other fabricator who are willing to share. Every question you just asked is already in the members only section.

Thanks Graniteman.

I am trying to get my boss to shell out the money for the membership right now. just trying to convince him it is worth his while as I keep telling him about this place and all the useful information and assistance it will provide us.

Thank you again for the information, this is exactly what I was looking for and wanting to hear.

Leeworthy wrote:I am trying to get my boss to shell out the money for the membership right now. just trying to convince him it is worth his while as I keep telling him about this place and all the useful information and assistance it will provide us.

The $250 is mere pennies in comparison to all of the other costs involved in this business. And the membership covers ALL employees in the company. You have access to not only the input here, but also to any of the free workshops that members host at their own shops were you can visit to see how others are doing things. And many members will welcome you into their shop on any given day of the week to help you out. Membership is a real no-brainer.

I agree 110%. Just need him to lol.

Leeworthy wrote:I agree 110%. Just need him to lol.

Put it in dollar and cents to him. What is the cost of repairing a floor after the plumbing you hooked up leaks? I use this example b/c their is a post being discussed RIGHT NOW about this very subject.

I'll give you this option.....if after 30 days you don't think it is worth the money, let me know and we will refund your money. So far no one has ever taken us up on that offer.

GuyboR wrote:I'll give you this option.....if after 30 days you don't think it is worth the money, let me know and we will refund your money. So far no one has ever taken us up on that offer.

That is a great offer. I'll bet you can't read all the information in 30 days.

there are several mechanical system's we use that we discuss in the members only section. We generally dont post ansers to questions like this in open forum because there are several ways that are correct and would cause stress to homeowners who may read the post to find their sink is not mounted like that . Especially we don't want sink mounting information to be read by plumbers . When plumbers try to understand such information well its not good and just leave it at that.

Unless I was/or had certified plumber I would never hook up someones sink.

Steve A wrote:Unless I was/or had certified plumber I would never hook up someones sink.

x2

when you touch the plumbing, even if just to disconnect it, you expose your company to potentially large water damage expenses.

We insist the customer manage the disconnect and reconnect of plumbing even including an return trip charge if we arrive at a job which includes removing the existing tops and the plumbing is not disconnected.

water damage can run to tens of thousands of dollars. do you want that risk?

recently a plumber disconnected plumbing before install and did not cap lines and walked away to get parts came back 3 hrs later and house was flooded from small leak 50 thousand dollars damages

Leeworthy wrote:Thanks Graniteman.

I am trying to get my boss to shell out the money for the membership right now. just trying to convince him it is worth his while as I keep telling him about this place and all the useful information and assistance it will provide us.

Thank you again for the information, this is exactly what I was looking for and wanting to hear.

I tried to get the owners of several shops I was employed by in past years to join, and only had luck at one. (I was already a paid-up member.) When THAT owner didn't get enough expected SFA Discounts" from tooling vendors, he let membership lapse, but kept the SFA signs in the windows as a selling point. I thought that was cheesy, but couldn't really say anything, just bringing the tips, techniques, knowledge, and skills that extensive reading brought me, to the business and make our product top-shelf and help make a name for us here, which I did. I was layed-off as Shop-Manager when the recession hit, and was told to hand the keys to my trainee at the time. I had the bittersweet pleasure of attending the IRS Seizure auction of this business last weekend.
Lesson learned: DO join the SFA. DO make hours and hours of time to read-up on past threads. The dues are microscopic, compared to the value gained by ingesting the combined years and years and years and YEARS of experience and current state-of-the-art knowledge available, if you make the time to go read older threads, and make extensive use of the "search" feature. THEN try them out, in practice, on your own time; gradually incorporating them into your shop practices. These are ALL top-shelf peeps, and will spare NO effort to help you out, if you are genuinely interested in raising the bar of stone fabrication. (I may actually be the SFA poster-child for this point.)
The result will be a WAY-more valuable stone fabricator / installer / businessperson, within YOURSELF, which will translate into a MUCH more valuable commodity for your employer. IF he or she's an astute businessperson, this will add IMMEASUREABLY to the potential of the business, and result in a heightened reputation and bottom-line.
The REALLY HARD part, is keeping your mouth shut when the Owner isn't interested, and just "bringing the action" yourself.