By the Sacramento News & Review
August 25, 2009
We met with Jay Polson over at Granite Transformations yesterday to discuss our countertops and cabinets.
Jay‘s store in Rancho Cordova has some amazing stuff. One of their products is a glass mosaic slab that comes pre-grouted with stain-resistant latex grout, making for easy maintenance, which can be adhered to surfaces. Although the Granite Transformations Web site only offers five of the color-themed patterns, Jay‘s store carries all 35 of the glass styles.
One of the items we were really interested in is a recycled glass product, called Trend Glass, which can be used for everything from counters to kitchens to bathrooms. According to the Granite Transformations Web site, Trend Glass is made out of “transparent tempered glass, post-consumer recycled glass, and semi-precious man-made stones,” which are combined to make a beautiful product that is designed to go on top of something else – a floor, ceiling, or countertop. One of the designs (see photo) incorporated that signature blue glass from recycled Skyy Vodka bottles. Somewhat apropos for the fun-lovin‘ crew here at the News & Review (in fact, right after our meeting with Jay, I walked into our operations department and spotted a HUGE – empty – Skyy vodka bottle sitting on top of an old DVD player. Was it a sign?).
Jay explained that all of the glass used in the product is recycled, although the finished product is up to “72 percent post-consumer recycled material” since the product uses polymer agents that binds the glass back together. However, it‘s never less than 60- to 90- percent glass, depending on the pattern. It has the same use-ability as granite and is scratch, stain, and heat-resistant.
The granite countertops that Jay has use the same concept as the Trend Glass. They use the leftovers – or “the crap that‘s left,” as Jay succinctly put it – to create slabs that fit over existing floors, walls, and countertops. They do all the cutting, fitting, and fabrication onsite, and then install them in their clients‘ homes or businesses.
And for cabinetry, Granite Transformations can either reface and modify existing cabinets, or build custom-designed ones.
This unique way of taking beautiful materials and instead of using them to replace things, using them on top of existing things makes these products truly green. By keeping the cabinets and countertops and resurfacing them, Jay estimated that they‘ve saved hundreds of thousands of tons of materials from going into landfill. It‘s green in its most basic, true form – reusing and recycling.
“Using that slant,” Jay said, “everything we do is green.”
