Grinding or Sanding Quartz counter top?

Mar 3rd, 2022 1:42 pm

#1

alee23 [OP]: Member; Feb 2, 2008; 457 posts; 48 upvotes; Toronto

Mar 3rd, 2022 1:42 pm

Grinding or Sanding Quartz counter top?

Hello all,

Looking for some help and appreciate any advice!

I inherited a vanity top that is slightly too big for my space by half an inch. The vanity is 36 inches wide but my wall's width is 35.5 inches. I was thinking whether it would be possible to sand/grind down the sides so that it would fit. The edges won't be exposed so I'm not too worried if they aren't perfectly polished.

Would this work? I have a cat sander (Ryobi P401). Is this good enough to use? Or would something like an angle grinder be better?

Thanks again for any advice in advance.

Mar 3rd, 2022 1:51 pm

#2

engineered: Deal Expert; Feb 11, 2007; 19938 posts; 23518 upvotes; GTA

Mar 3rd, 2022 1:51 pm

Sanding would be a terrible idea and would take forever. Same with grinding.
Why not cut the extra half inch off?

If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

Mar 3rd, 2022 1:52 pm

#3

baymoe: Deal Addict; May 24, 2004; 2322 posts; 516 upvotes

Mar 3rd, 2022 1:52 pm

Although half an inch of material may not sound like much, but to grind that much material to dust with a sander would be a terrible idea. Grab a cheap corded grinder and a diamond blade and do it outdoors with a n95 respirator.

+5

Mar 3rd, 2022 4:00 pm

#4

gr8dlr: Deal Expert; Sep 1, 2005; 18999 posts; 13850 upvotes; Markham

Mar 3rd, 2022 4:00 pm

You could in theory cut drywall with a oscillating saw....push it in there and patch drywall.

We're all bozos on the bus until we find a way to express ourselves...

Failure is always an option...just not the preferred one!

+12

Mar 3rd, 2022 9:06 pm

#5

TLSRULZ: Deal Addict; Apr 18, 2005; 3604 posts; 1831 upvotes; Mississauga

Mar 3rd, 2022 9:06 pm

Or ask in the countertop thread if the OP can help you out for a small donation

Mar 3rd, 2022 10:27 pm

#6

zaius: Sr. Member; Sep 2, 2005; 852 posts; 516 upvotes; Toronto

Mar 3rd, 2022 10:27 pm

baymoe wrote: ↑ Although half an inch of material may not sound like much, but to grind that much material to dust with a sander would be a terrible idea. Grab a cheap corded grinder and a diamond blade and do it outdoors with a n95 respirator.

you can always keep the blade and material wet to cut down the dust, but this will be a sloppy mess.

Mar 3rd, 2022 11:04 pm

#7

engineered: Deal Expert; Feb 11, 2007; 19938 posts; 23518 upvotes; GTA

Mar 3rd, 2022 11:04 pm

gr8dlr wrote: ↑ You could in theory cut drywall with a oscillating saw....push it in there and patch drywall.

+1, easiest solution.

If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

+1

Mar 3rd, 2022 11:34 pm

#8

alee23 [OP]: Member; Feb 2, 2008; 457 posts; 48 upvotes; Toronto

Mar 3rd, 2022 11:34 pm

Thanks for the responses! Both ideas using a grinder or cutting a drywall seem like better solutions than sanding it down lol.

Leaning towards the drywall cutting solution more closely. I would have to remove the existing vanity top so the drywall may get slightly damaged anyway.

Mar 4th, 2022 8:15 am

#9

Elendil: Member; Sep 25, 2007; 257 posts; 243 upvotes; GTA

Mar 4th, 2022 8:15 am

Or just notch the drywall (an inch or so) out on either side of the area and slide it in. Did that myself.

+1

Mar 4th, 2022 9:05 am

#10

jm1: Deal Addict; Jan 5, 2003; 4882 posts; 4715 upvotes; Toronto

Mar 4th, 2022 9:05 am

+1 on just notching the drywall so that you can slide in the vanity and patching it up afterwards. Much easier solution.

Walls are rarely square. It may be that the space is 35.5" only at the back and at the front you have a little bit more space, so you only need to notch it a bit. Or, it might actually be worse... measure the entire space to be sure.

Mar 4th, 2022 9:43 am

#11

IndyBeak: Deal Addict; Sep 13, 2016; 3488 posts; 2258 upvotes; Mississauga

Mar 4th, 2022 9:43 am

gr8dlr wrote: ↑ You could in theory cut drywall with a oscillating saw....push it in there and patch drywall.

Another vote for this. This is exactly what I did to fit in a vanity top which was a quarter inch wider than the available space.

Mar 4th, 2022 1:12 pm

#12

RCLapCar: Sr. Member; Dec 21, 2020; 623 posts; 548 upvotes

Mar 4th, 2022 1:12 pm

A grinder with a diamond blade is the easiest and fastest way to do this. If you're making the width smaller then presumably you have walls on each side....so unless you know how to fold the countertop (magic?) you will have to notch out a lot of drywall on one side to be able to drop it in.

Mar 4th, 2022 1:40 pm

#13

koffey: Deal Expert; Oct 6, 2010; 15506 posts; 10161 upvotes; Toronto

Mar 4th, 2022 1:40 pm

Could there be electrical or plumbing in the wall that you plan on cutting open to stuff the counter into? I'd vote with diamond and angle grinder, super fast. I cut a drain guide in concrete floor this way and just keeping it a little wet kept a lot of the dust down.

DYI difficulty scale:
0-joke
10-no joke

Mar 4th, 2022 3:57 pm

#14

IndyBeak: Deal Addict; Sep 13, 2016; 3488 posts; 2258 upvotes; Mississauga

Mar 4th, 2022 3:57 pm

koffey wrote: ↑ Could there be electrical or plumbing in the wall that you plan on cutting open to stuff the counter into? I'd vote with diamond and angle grinder, super fast. I cut a drain guide in concrete floor this way and just keeping it a little wet kept a lot of the dust down.

It is just half an inch, which would be the rough thickness of the drywall. So I don't think OP would be going in any deeper to risk cutting a wire of water pipe.

+1