Granite Countertops: Timing is Everything
(The Venetian Gold granite we chose for our new kitchen.)
Timing is everything. Coming as I do from the Granite State, I've always wanted granite countertops. Their natural beauty, hardness, and non-synthetic origin all appeal to me. But until now, I never had a kitchen to put them in.
Recently, my wife and I decided to redo our kitchen. The economy has slowed to where we could get reasonable pricing, faster delivery (six weeks intstead of twenty), and put some people to work who need work. I'll skip the ordeal about our kitchen being relocated to the living room and bedroom, and washing dishes in the bathtub— we're never remodeling again, ever!
In the process of designing our new dream kitchen, we discovered that despite skyrocketing demand for natural stone, for the same price as synthetics like Corian we could have real granite. Sold! We picked out our slabs weeks ago— two slabs of Giallo Santo in an unusually golden tone and spidery pattern. Unfortunately, the countertop guy called Tuesday and told us he'd accidentally sold them to someone else— and the new slabs of the same type weren't nearly as golden. Instead, he offered us Venetian Gold, a more expensive granite, for the same price. His guys came out yesterday to measure our new cabinets for the installation.
Today, I read on the internet that certain types of granite emit unsafe levels of radon gas and radioactivity. Huh? The article says these types are most commonly from Brazil or Namibia. But ours is from Italy... isn't it? It's called Venetian Gold, after all.
Several online sources list a color called "New Venetian Gold," which hails from (you guessed it) Brazil. Obviously, we've got questions. There won't be any answers from the countertop people until Monday, because today is a state holiday and everyone is closed for the weekend. Timing is indeed everything.
Here's an update on the safety of our granite countertops:
First, a study sponsored by the Marble Institute of America found that our granote, Venetian Gold, added "insignificant" amounts of radon to the interior of a home. (http://news.stonebtb.com//Industry_News/view12909/Marble-Institute-of-America-tests-emission-of-Radon-from-granite-countertops.shtml).
Second, a Houston professor says some granite countertops exceed the EPA allowed level of radiation. (http://news.stonebtb.com/Industry_News/view13226/Professor-says-granite-countertops-are-radioactive.shtml) The MIA insists that 85% of the granite countertops sold in this country are safe... but what about the other 15%?
It does appear that our Venetian Gold is not in the high risk group, since radiation and radon levels are proportional. So we're going ahead, and will hopefully have our kitchen back (with sink!) by Wednesday.
Reply to this