THE HOLE IN THE FLOOR AT AFFORDABLE GRANITE

Why are we digging a hole in our workshop floor?
We pride ourselves on being installers of the best granite worktops in our area. That doesn’t just mean that we use good quality stone – to be honest, with the exception of the total fly-by-night man with a van, most solid stone kitchen worktop companies are using very similar materials. But we aim to be the best in the whole experience of buying granite worktops. What do people hope for and expect from a  quality worktop firm? Helpful pre-sales conversations and honest information. A hassle-free buying process. Clear and reassuring ongoing communication. Courteous, competent and clean staff in your home on template and installation. Superlative craftsmanship in the workshop. A smooth invoicing and settling up process. Ease of access to further information and help after sale. And a guarantee that really is no quibble.

What has any of that got to do with digging a hole in the workshop floor?
At one level, not a lot. But at another, everything, because that hole is symptomatic of a whole attitude – a whole philosophy – which is part of the Affordable Granite story. That hole is a symbol of our commitment to give you the best granite worktops customer service.

At Affordable Granite we are committed to further improvements to our workshop
That hole is to make the footing for a crane. A jib crane. That’s a kind of tower with an arm sticking out and a vacuum slab lift on the end. We buy them, bespoke made, from Harrison Fabrication Lifting Ltd. This will be our fifth crane in the workshop, with a longer reach than either of our two existing jib cranes. Because of the massive leverage on a long crane arm, a stable footing is the essential starting point for installation.

Why do we need a new jib crane?
Getting the crane in is a vital first step to installing a new CNC machine. Without a crane to load granite slabs onto it, an expensive CNC machine would be useless. The humble hole for the footing is a key, though messy, first step in getting a new, super high-tech piece of equipment for our workshop.

Why are we installing a new CNC? Why spend money on new kit?
In some ways, market indicators are not encouraging at the moment. Brexit is looming, at the time of writing a No Deal “option” looks likely, and we face the possibility of very significant disruption to the supply of the materials which are our life blood. On top of that, there may yet be a significant economic down-turn, who knows? How do we plan for and cope with such times?

Affordable Granite is a grown-up granite and quartz worktop fabricator. We are not a man with a van, holding no real stock, and doing the cutting and polishing work in your garden. We have big-scale, high-end kit that we are always looking to maintain and upgrade. We are not going to just vanish in the night, taking your deposit with us. That good kit is also an assurance of quality: your cutouts will look better done on a CNC.
At the same time, we are still a small firm. Our typical customer is still the individual home-owner who is looking to buy kitchen worktops direct from the fabricator, rather than through a kitchen company. The chances are that you will speak to the same office staff throughout your process with us. If there is any problem with your installation, you may well find yourself talking to the same sales person who took your initial enquiry. That means ownership of your installation, a pride in the job that is carried right through, and a personal determination to leave you happy. We are not a massive outfit where staff will forget you!

Andy Phillips, Owner and MD

We are big enough to have the kit, and we are small enough to care. We are Affordable Granite.