The Hole Truth
Yes, folks, the smartly dressed fabricator should pay close attention to the current fashion trends of Ralph Lauren & Tommy Half-figure) for this coming spring and summer. And, should we recommend Manolo Blahnik pumps or high heels – with or without those ever-attractive optional steel toes – for wear in the shop, or a light-hearted night out on the town?
OK, I’m really not talking about fashion for the GQ fabricator (and I know that many of you are real snappy dressers), but many fellow veteran fabricators can tell the newcomer that lack of attention to accessories can kill a job (and any potential profit you would have made) in the blink of an eye.
Some people have a tendency to view the big picture when it comes to a granite installation, only to get tripped up by the details. This, unfortunately, is human nature, but in our business, mistakes can’t always be made to go away – they’re literally etched in stone.
One of the important details – often overlooked until it’s too late – is not paying attention to where the holes are to be drilled, as well as the number and angle (or arch).
I recently heard about a near-disaster because of a communication breakdown between the customer and the installer doing the drilling of the actual holes.
There’s an old saying I use on my kids a lot that goes something like this – “If Could-Ofs, Should-Ofs, Ifs and Buts were Chips and Nuts, the Whole World would never Starve.” Many times, excuses are all that’s left when a hole is drilled in the wrong spot, or the opening is made too big, or one-too-many holes are drilled at a sink location. I’m sure that this either has happened to you, or possibly lays in wait for you to step on like a fresh cow pie in the vast green pasture of life.
So how do we, as fabricators, make sure that we keep our feet out of these kinds of “bear-traps”? In my opinion, the best way to steer clear of these dilemmas is to incorporate a few CYAs (Cover Your Assets) into your daily SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) and assume a pre-emptive posture to eliminate these problems from your daily tasks – prior to some expensive land mines appearing when you don’t need them in the first place.
One of the first techniques that helped me keep from replacing lots of tops is to standardize my approach, and try not to stray from the program. These starts with (and I borrow this phrase from my esteemed colleague, Maurizio Bertoli), “Always Educate BEFORE the Sale.” I’ve always said that if your customer knows what’s coming before it gets to them, they won’t be shocked when it arrives.
The next mechanism that you can employ is the sign-off form that’s basically a disclaimer. It can prevent a multitude of nasties from occurring to you – if you design the form properly.
Here’s an example: One of the most popular sink openings at our shop is for the Kohler Executive Chef two-bowl cast-iron sink. We do 99 percent of these in an undermount configuration; when it comes to the actual opening, we have a disclaimer form that has a plan view of the sink mounted under the stone, and a section view of the stone overhanging the sink unit. What’s important about the section view is that it details the amount of overhang that we allow (1/8” to 1/4”).
We don’t give our customers a choice. What they see and sign off on is what they get. Let me repeat that last part again – what they sign off on. On the form, there’s a block for the customer to initial showing they were made aware of the amount of overhang; that there is one opening with no strap of stone separating the two bowls from each other; and the location of any accessory holes that need to be drilled.
When it comes to holes, we typically will drill two – one for the main faucet, and one for a soap dispenser. The location of both of these holes is indicated on the sign-off form by showing a cross for the center point of each hole. The dimensions are also shown on the form, so there is no question as to where and how many holes are to be drilled.
This form is attached to the work order; it follows the templater out to the jobsite; and then follows the templates through the shop as the pieces are fabricated. The original sign-off form stays in the job file for easy reference if there’s a question at any point during the life of the job. This way the holes can actually be drilled in the shop, saving our installers about a half-hour to do the same task out on the jobsite.
This is a pretty foolproof “simple-stupid” method that works for me. I’m sure that there are exceptions that have to be made, such as additional holes for reverse osmosis water lines (try drinking Phoenix city tap water sometime – blecch). Instant-hot-water dispensers and spray fixtures will always necessitate the drilling of additional holes; if you get it in writing first, you’ll be covered. Don’t fall into the old “I-thought-you-meant-what-I-guessed-you-assumed-that-I-presumed-you’d-like-me-to-do” excuse after reaching that hole-has-been-drilled sand trap.
At the very least, you can refuse to drill any holes until the locations of the hole centers are marked by the owner and initialed, and you digitally photograph or videotape the positions. Then, to be safe, there could be the 24-hour cooling-off period between the sign-off and the time when the holes are actually drilled … is this insane or what?
In such a litigious culture, we have to have multiple layers of CYA-type butt covers in order to protect ourselves as fabricators from drilling a stupid hole in the wrong place. But, if it keeps you from doing a countertop twice, than I say, “God bless you”.
When it comes to the actual drilling of the holes, I prefer to drill the holes in the shop – as long as I have clear documentation that shows the exact number and location of each hole – as noted by the customer on a sign-off form. This saves on my labor costs, and controls my costs on tooling.
If you’re nervous about drilling prior to getting on the jobsite, there are a number of drilling setups that can help make the quick and efficient boring of holes a snap. At the very least, a template to keep your drill tool from wobbling or drifting away from the intended location of the hole is a must (unless you have lots of extra repair time built into the job cost to fix all of the deep scratches left from the drill bit).
For those of you who’ve never, ever drilled a hole in granite or marble before, please remember to use water at all times to keep the drill bit cool and the dust down to a minimum. You’ll find some really cool devices that act as a water reservoir for cooling the drill bit, and also minimize the dust that would have been generated – had you drilled dry.
In any event, knowing not only how to drill your holes, but where to drill them and how many holes to drill, will make the difference between a great finished product and an heartbreaking (and costly) obligation for you to fabricate it all over again
Until Next Month – Happy Fabricating!!!
Kevin M. Padden operates KMPadden Consulting in Phoenix.
This article first appeared in the April 2004 print edition of Stone Business. ©2004 Western Business Media Inc.