Joe you got mail.... let me know if you have any questions and feel free to call me 

I forgot my camera, so I had to take some pics with my cell phone. Here is the right side and left sides of the top:

If I could figure out how to get captions under my pictures, I wouldn't have to make a new post every time, sorry.

I have a British tool called a Bullfinch which is a torch that runs off a propane tank. This baby puts out about an eight inch blue flame. Taking the advice of those here and on www.nsraweb.com, I kept it moving and it softened the adhesive in the seam in minutes without discoloration of the stone. I used the dremel where it didn't show and slipped a thin-bladed carpet knife into the seam on the exposed parts with minimal damage.

I found another use for Gorilla Grips. I attached both sets next to each other and placed a 2"x2" against the tile wall. When I applied the wrecking bar between the 2X and the GG's the wall bowed and the GG's schooched, but the top didn't budge. With me picking up the top end and wriggling and my just-out-of-the-Marine-Corp nephew on the bar, we finally got it out.

Despite clamping a straightedge to the back left arm of the right sink piece, again as instructed, it broke. This is not a big deal because only about an inch of the break will be exposed behind the sink when it goes back together. Had the sink hole been cut with a CNC instead of hacked out in the field, my chances would have been better.

We got the left side out but not without breaking the front right arm. I am not concerned, this color looks very forgiving.

The next time I do this, I think I'll dress some 2x4's with my planer to get a dead flat edge and hot melt them to the granite. There was simply not enough purchase for conventional clamping.

If I had a set of those vacuum cut-out supports, I would set them, break the whole top loose as a unit, remove the supports and then break the seam.

I got paid and the lady was happy. She got a bid from her remediation contractor for $950.00 for removal and reinstallation and a local granite fabricator offered her a $400.00 demolition and a $1,500.00 new installation. I don't know if either included the plumbing I did.

I'll be back in a few weeks to reinstall after the cabinets go in. I'll post more pics.

Joe

Mark:

Thanks for the response, but I can't figure out what you guys who advocate clamping are clamping to.

After I removed the sink, as you looked at the cut-out it was flush with the back of the front cabinet rail. The edge profile was almost as deep as the overhang. Where to clamp on the front?

The back "arms" of the sink cut out were maybe an inch and a quarter wide sitting on a 3/4" rear cabinet rail. There may have been a 1/4" of overhang inside the sink cabinet. Where to clamp on the rear?

What am I not understanding, or was this just a huge cut-out?

Thanks,

Joe

Andy:

There's just something a little eeewwww about bonding granite and plywood to me. The different expansion and contraction rates have played hell with too many installations as documented on other sites. Maybe it's just my solid surface background and training.

Joe