Leftover granite pieces

I have come across a source of unlimited granite pieces leftover from a granite fabrication business. I plan on starting out by making a pathway in the garden of granite slabs. They range in size from 4-6 inches across, up to 3 feet in diameter. They are all about 1-2 inches thick. So, I have some questions!!! How quickly will the pieces dull, since they are really shiny right now? And any suggestions on a VERY low growing, drought tolerant creeping plant for in between the slabs? Or could I possibly use concrete to set them on and attach them together? Or maybe a very small diameter pebble would work best? Also does anyone have any other ideas for projects using leftover granite?

Wow! I probably would have someone tile my countertops with them.

Wouldn't they be slippery for a pathway?

Creeping thyme always seems to work well for in between stepping stones. It stays very low and can take being walked on plus as a bonus it has a nice smell when it gets crushed underfoot.

Fly girl- I am hoping that they are not too slippery for a pathway. Although I had thought about that very same thing. I guess I am about to find out, I will keep you posted!
Flowerchild95 - Thanks for the recomendation! It looks like creeping thyme is just what I was looking for.

Does anyone have any other ideas for projects using scrap granite? And does anyone now how it will look after being exposed to the elements and if it will be slippery?

Wow you are so lucky! There's got to be a way to keep the granite pieces from being too slippery. Maybe the business you are getting them from would have some ideas and suggestions. I'm wondering if there's something you could brush on the pieces to give them a little rough texture. I think they would make a lovely path.
Lin

Dirttiger, there's a forum under Home Talk called 'Outdoor spaces.......'. You could post there too.
Maybe someone over there would have some ideas, alot of do-it-yourselfers there. Whatever you do it will be beautiful. I hope there is a way to use them for a path.

A bit of sand-blasting will rough up the surface, making them both duller (but still pretty, IMO) and less slippery. Another option is to break them into smaller pieces so that a normal-sized foot will never rest entirely on a piece and can use the thyme/whatever for traction. I'd set them on sand and fill the cracks with soil if you're going to plant between them.

If they are a standard thickness (or if you don't mind settling the thicker ones deeper in some cement), you could also use them to make a mosaic-style outdoor table or bench. Look in the 'Hypertufa' forum for some cement-working ideas you might be able to use.

Other ideas: tiling a shower, making a hearth, an outdoor-kitchen countertop, a waterfall for a pond, I'm sure there's more.....

Can they be flipped over, or are they polished on both sides? (Or too rough on the flip side?) I think you may be able to find an acid that would damage the polish enough to rough them up a bit. (Look for something that says "do NOT use on marble or granite surfaces".)

If you have to have them sandblasted, and they're already on your property, try contacting your local monument dealers - they will know of someone with a portable sandblaster who can arrange to come to your site and knock the polish off for you.

Dirt....I would stack them up...have someone drill through all layers...and either make a sculpture out of them OR a fountain!! As a matter of fact, I was going to do just that thing (the fountain) before my plans for a water feature in my front yard changed to making it a small pool....and the "granite guy" said that could be done.

Vinegar will rough up the surface.

I don't know if you have 2 or 3 pieces that are large enough for this...but I used leftover granite to do this in my powder room:

Connie, that's beautiful! Love the sconces, wallpaper, sink, mirror...all of it.

I thought about just flipping them over but the colors are so dull on the other side. Maybe I will try breaking them into smaller pieces with the thyme growing inbetween them. If that doesn't seem feasible I will try the vinegar. Thanks for all the input!
I have a question for Backyardzoo. So I looked at the "hypertufa" forum that you recommend and I was wondering if it is possible to imbed pieces of granite into a sculpture? I know that I could do it with regular concrete but didn't know how hard it would be with "hypertufa".

Should be able to. As long as the surface of the granite that you put INTO the mix is rough enough for it to hold on to it. (the side facing out can be as smooth as you want)

Polished granite is mighty slippery to walk on. I worked at a granite quarry in Maine for a few years, and one of the guys raided a scrap pile at a counter top place. Occasionally we'd make memorials and such, using different methods. The thickness of the pieces you have kind of limits what you can do, but here are some ideas...

Use a small, cheap angle grinder to sratch designs or drawings in the surface. Get a bunch of carbide disks as cheaply as possible, maybe a $1.89 apiece or so. Fifty dollars worth of these will outlast a fifty dollar diamond blade. If you really get into it, maybe you'll want to get more expensive stuff later, making something to drip water on your work, etc.

Sandblasting is cool, VERY messy, unless you have one of those parts cleaning type hoods. You know, a big windowed box with gloves built in, and the blasting nozzle inside. Different sands work , well, differently... you can get corundum or carborundum grits, expensive, but reusable in a box type set up. You can rent sandblasting stuff.

Here's the hot tip: find some heavy, flat, rubber and make stencils. Use contact cement or other adhesive to hold the rubber down where you don't want to blast. The so-called torch-down roofs use rubber that's good for this. I snag pieces out of dumpsters at job sites, and use it to kill grass for new flower beds.

Think long and hard about safety doing this. You don't need goggles, you need a hooded canvas suit with a built in mask. Rental set ups would come with one. Needless to say, if it goes through granite, it will go through just about anything. The sand bounces off the rubber and goes everywhere, do it where it won't matter.

My favorite was a water-cooled liquid oxygen torch, but that's hard to come by. It would probably crack thin pieces anyway. Never tried vinegar, I'd be surprised if it did much, but you could try muriatic acid, it's used to clean masonry etc., probably a lot faster.

If the material were thicker, I'd suggest a hammer and surfacing bit chisel, or a hammer drill or jackhammer with a surfacing bit. You might get away with supporting the piece you're working on in a box of sand, and chisel designs or words on it. You can use regular iron chisels, they just need sharpening to cut well. Goggles are a necessity, more from bits breaking off the chisel, but granite hurts, too. Try some smaller pieces with a hammer and chisel, you might like it.

A couple more thoughts: All the other ideas are good. I like Backyard zoo's idea of using very small pieces. And Connie W's idea is absolutely brilliant. A regular masonry bit will drill granite no problem, but you will be a lot happier using a hammer drill, even an inexpensive one. You could then stack all the drilled pieces on a copper pipe that supplies water to the top of the stack! I wish I'd thought of it. Seriously, drilling the holes would be easier than running the plumbing, it's definitely do-able.

If you try drilling the pieces, be sure to support them on soft ground or sand while you drill. Also, as you drill, dust will form in the hole. Stop and remove it every so often, either by blowing it out with compressed air, or rinse it with water. Most drills are compatible with a little water, make sure it's "double insulated". There's a little symbol, a square inside another square. Also, don't breathe the dust. If you make a lot, put it in your garden.

All these places making tops for the new granite craze have scrap. Most of them use pieces for take home samples, and have plenty to give away. Usually the pieces are either sink shaped, or bars from end cuts or rips.

I just thought of this..you might use them on your kitchen countertop just as they are in the irregular pieces and try to do the thinest line of mortar you can! Try to match the colors (same type, if you have enough) and who knows...you might start a new trend! Or if you know someone who could cut them into squares....that is done all the time for kit. counters.

Connie~
Claypa just directed me to this site, your powder room is awesome!
Here is a pic of what my SIL did in their guest bath. K~

Somer....wow, that is a truly unique application! Is the material granite, marble, Silestone, gessoed wood?
So cool....I love the free-form mirrow "window"....

Connie