The Technical Forum:<br>Rodding granite countertops
Answer: Like any other topic, you are going to find as many opinions as there are ... well, you know. In my book, rodding is definitely worth the effort, and here is why. We have conducted numerous rodding experiments with granite using the following procedure:
During each of our fabrication seminars we take a 2-cm granite strip measuring anywhere from 50 to 60 inches long and about 2 inches wide. We have tested Black Absolute, Gaillo Venzinio, Mt Airy, Blue Pearl, Tan Brown, Dakota Mahogany and over a dozen others. We insert a rod as per the procedure I will describe later in this column. Another strip is not rodded and serves as our control. We lay the pieces across two 2 x 4's and place a metal bar approximately 3¿inch wide in the center of the granite strip. We first test the unrodded strip by placing weight on top of the metal strip. In almost all cases, the stone breaks anywhere from 20 to 30 pounds.