Need to fix a crack

[GanassaWMG]

This may seem a little elementary but my installers are struggling with a crack in granite behind the sink of an older house.
Its about 7 inches long and about 1/16" wide in two places. Its large.
Biggest concern is water getting into the cabinet below. My first thought is to run penetrating glue through it, then patch up with Epoxy.
Thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance.

[Justzack]

is it a crack from a rod jacking or rusting?

[GanassaWMG]

Home owner thinks its structural, from his house. He removed a piece of metal from the exterior that backs up to the sink and he believes the wall shifted as a result

[1stonedr]

I would free the countertop from the cabinet, then re-shim the counter top to level the crack, use flowing epoxy, then skim with knife grade. If possible, I would skim the underside with silicone as an extra water barrier.

[Kowboy]

Michael:

It is a blown rod, I promise without pictures, and it must be removed. First order of business is to drop the undermounted sink and pull it out of the cabinet. If you can't back the clips off, place a stiff scraper between the sink flange and the stone bottom and drive it into the rusting screws holding the clips; they'll fail immediately. Smack the cabinet front off to get the sink out of the cabinet if you have to. Now you have easy access to remove the faucet without lying on your back.

Run a grinder or a Rotozip saw next to the rusting rod and cut it in half in the center if it isn't completely failed. Drive a screwdriver through the crack until you bend the rod enough to get a hold of it. Wrestle it out. Don't panic if you break the stone. Cut the rod at the cabinet ends if you can't remove it completely.

After you decontaminate the crack with a flood of acetone, apply color matched methacrylate or epoxy to the crack and clamp it shut if you can. Overfill and scrape to flush; polish if you're fussy and charging enough.

After reinstalling the faucet, strap the sink back in place with a Hercules Universal Sink Harness from BBIndustries or a couple Sink Straps from Regent Stone Products. No clips; they're leaking junk.

No way would this take me 6 hours, unless I got screwed on the plumbing, but I've done this job 20 times or so. Call if you need to. 248-842-5693.

https://ihatemysink.com/curing-countertop-cancer/
https://forum.stonefabricatorsalliance. ... =3&t=29496

Kowboy

P.S.:

The rod must go. I've already replaced other's rod "repairs" that didn't pull the rod with an apron front sink. Epoxy without rod removal and fixing the leaking sink is ripping off customers.

[gssfabrication]

Home owner thinks its structural, from his house. He removed a piece of metal from the exterior that backs up to the sink and he believes the wall shifted as a result
[

Hi Michael,

If the homeowner admitted to changing something and the wall has potentially shifted; potentially the floors and casework have as well. Its all connected. There are other internal stresses that are not visible to the naked eye however is evidenced from the stone cracking (wood, metal, adhesives all have some give/flex to them) stone however as we well know is not terribly flexible hence the crack. It cracked at the weakest point which is going to be at or near the sink cutout.

The temporary fix is to address the crack; whether it is changing the rod, or just sealing it as others have suggested.

The more extensive fix will be to pull the counter (which may crack in other areas because it has shifted and internal stresses have been going on since whatever caused the crack in the first place) check the cabinets for being level; shim or relevel them. Then see about reinstalling the counter after you have had a chance to address the crack of the counter (i.e. getting a better look at whats going on now that it is by itself such as the rod rotted away, the counter twisted and caused the crack, it was a microfissure that propogated after install, etc.)

If the wall has shifted, you may be playing whack-a-mole as things settle or maybe that is all that has happened. If the concern is prevent water damage seeping through a crack; the issue may come up where you fixed the crack and then if damage happens later through no fault of yours: your team was the last one touch it.

Maybe give the homeowner both options and document which one they selected so you are not sharing the blame sometime in the future. As a homeowner, I could easily see myself picking either option depending on the situation however you were the one to give me a choice how to address the issue. Consequently, if I had your team fix it the first time and something else was damaged later I would still stick with the company that made me aware my options as they took the time to look at the issue in depth rather than just give me a patch job. [This is why I bought a new roof at my house about 7 years ago ].

Let us know how it turns out.

Rick Graff.

[Kowboy]

"The more extensive fix will be to pull the counter (which may crack in other areas because it has shifted and internal stresses have been going on since whatever caused the crack in the first place) check the cabinets for being level; shim or relevel them. Then see about reinstalling the counter after you have had a chance to address the crack of the counter (i.e. getting a better look at whats going on now that it is by itself such as the rod rotted away, the counter twisted and caused the crack, it was a microfissure that propogated after install, etc.)"

There is absolutely no reason to pull the tops; all risk, no reward. The only tops I pull are solid surface; they are strong enough to pull, stone is not. The cabinets provide the strength in tension necessary to keep the tops from cracking. The second the tops are pulled, that strength is lost.