How do I cut a mable bathroom countertop?

[billmarsano]

I have salvaged from a neighbor's apartment a beautiful green marble two-sink counterop 1.5" thick and 72" long. If I can cut it to 36" it will perfectly replace the aging laminate top I now have, which accommodates one sink.

What do I use to cut it? Tools I have at present are a 7.25" circular saw and a small Makita tile cutting saw.

What special blades do I need? Or other tools?

Do I try to cut in one pass or is it better to make several passes, increasing depth of cut each time?

Do I cut dry or wet?

If I succeed I will have a 36" top with a cut-out for a round sink. What to do if I prefer to install an oval sink?

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

cutting marble hole

A long time ago I used a saber saw --jig saw
to cut some old marble

I think I used steel cutting blades in the saw and it
cut the marble pretty well...

getting the starte hole might be done with a
hole saw type lennox
bit....

if you only got one shot, it might be best to
wait till tuesday and call a professional marble guy
and ask them first.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

Are you going to put in a drop in sink or an undermount? Whatever you end up cutting the thing with to chop it into the smaller size should work if you are going for a drop in sink. If the cut edge will be visible, it is harder, as it would need to be polished. If it is going to go against a wall, if it is smooth, you could caulk it. Some marble is softer than others...don't know if a saber saw (steel) blade would do it, it might. Hard to get a straight cut with one, though. Before you cut it, if it is going to fit up against a wall, make a template. You'll probably find that the wall is not square, or possibly straight. It would be a big pain if you cut it square, and then had a big gap! A dry cut diamond blade would do it, but would be very dusty. You need to support it very well, wear a dust mask. HD sells a small diamond wet saw that looks like a circular saw. It would make quick work of this. It's not a pro tool, but works okay, and would do what you want. If you have a grinder, you can buy a diamond cup for it. Again, very dusty, but it would allow you to both cut it off (you'd loose more material, but if you don't care about the other half...) and make the hole bigger to support your oval (drop in) sink. Note, green marble is notorious for warping, but if it hasn't, it may not. If this is not real stone, then you can probably cut it with carbide tools. That includes the sink opening. If you used a router with a template bit (a template should come with the sink), then you might be able to do an undermount. Polishing thatinside edge is a pain, but doable. My unprofessional opinion.

 

[Terry]

If it's cultured marble, you can use an abrasive blade on your circular saw.

One pass would be fine. You may want to put some masking tape on the marble so the saw doesn't scratch the marble.

If it's real marble, you could be looking wet saw.

 

[hj]

saw

Use a fine tooth plywood blade on the circular saw and cut from the bottom and backside to avoid chipping. Or a saber saw with a "reverse" cutting blade used from the topside.

 

[Jimbo]

If this is the composite or so-called cultured marble, the above suggestions should help you. If it is actual marble, I believe a wet cut is mandatory, and I think you would be well advised to take it to a stone fabricator and let them do it. The stone piece is actually quite valuable and why take a chance?