Do I Need to Replace a Cracked Marble Counter Top?

Fissures

• While accidents can certainly cause cracks in your marble countertop, they can also form naturally, such as on top of fissures. You can find fissures in your marble by looking for veins of color that run across the slab and all the way through. These are natural parts of marble stone that may even feel different if your finger rubs cross the surface of one. Occasionally, they crack over time with movement along the fissure, but this can be repaired.

Surface Cracks

• Surface cracks are common across marble countertops after they have been in use for years. They are hairline fractures that are barely noticeable to the naked eye and are generally discovered when washing the surface and feeling the slight difference in the stone with your finger or palm of your hand. As long as they are just surface cracks, they can be filled in with epoxy or resin.

Cracks

• If you have actual cracks in your marble countertop, you have a decision to make as to whether you need to replace it. Marble tiles will generally need to be replaced as the movement from two pieces on either side of the crack will spread outward to the other tiles, causing them to pop up over time. Slabs, on the other hand, will only need to be replaced if the crack is severe enough to cause a significant height difference between the sides of the crack. Otherwise, it can be filled in.

Structural Integrity

• The structural integrity of marble slabs is near impenetrable if proper installation methods were followed. And even if a crack does appear in the slab, you can still fill it with epoxy or resin to retain the strength of the overall installation, because the entire slab is glued into place. You cannot remove or repair a single piece of a slab; instead the whole slab must be removed. As such, you can generally fill most cracks without worrying about the overall integrity of the slab.