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 Why Natural Stone?

The most common types of stone used for countertops include granite, marble, limestone, travertine, slate, sandstone, quartzite, and soapstone. Natural stone increases the value of your home and is preferred over other alternative materials for countertops. It provides inovative solutions that achieve a perfect blend of beauty, elegance, quality, durability, and functionality for your daily needs in your home. Stone is used in homes as well as in commercial applications such as offices, restaurants, and retail stores around the world. So to impart an air of style and sophistication, while insuring superior quality and reliability, choose natural stone for your countertops from SNC. 

Natural Stone: The Creation

Stone is a natural solid formation of one or many minerals. There are thousands of types of stone that have been quarried through the centuries. Quarries are located all around the world. A majority of stone comes from Italy, Spain, Turkey, United States, Mexico, China, Taiwan, India, Greece, Canada, France, and Brazil.

The minerals in stone came from the same liquid and gas minerals that formed the Earth. The Earth developed as a massive body of gas and liquid minerals that slowly cooled and condensed to a solid core.  Through pressure, the Earth's crust began to form and heavy minerals were forced down to the core of the Earth and were trapped. As the crust got thicker, it squeezed around the inner core which created intense pressure and heat from within the Earth. Crystals and other solid forms began to grow from the mineral vapors that were being released. As the Earth's crust began to expand and erode, heat and presssure pushed the solid minerals up to the Earth's surface which formed colossal rock beds. It took up to one hundred million years to form some of these beds. Many of the beds are now used as quarries where the stone is mined.

Most of these minerals can be identified by their color variations, hardness, vein pattern, and crystal formation. Crystals come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The wide array of these minerals are often difficult to identify. Many stones look very similar to each other; however, they are all very different.

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Natural Stone is also considered a low maintenance product because it typically requires only warm water, mild dishwashing liquid, and a soft cloth to maintain it's beauty. The annual or semi-annual sealing process is also a very simple and quick. Generally only taking a few minutes to complete.

(Stone Care International & Marble Institute of America)

 Natural Stone: The Process

Natural stone is quarried  from all over the world out of mountains and under the surface of the Earth. The blocks that are cut out are then taken to plants where they are cut into various shapes, sizes, and thicknesses. The stone face is then finished into a polished, honed, flamed, brushed or hammered texture. These slabs are then sent to numerous locations to await ther selection and purchase.

Once a slab is selected, a template of where the stone will be placed is usually made. It is important for the customer to be on site when this step happens to review radiuses, corners, seam locations, overhangs, and other issues which commonly arrise. Any changes made by the customer after the template is made can add price and delay to the fabrication process. Sinks and faucets for countertops and vanities will need to be adjusted for as well. Once the template is created and finalized, the fabrication process can begin. Fabricators then finish the stone to the desired appearance and create an edge profile ranging from simple to highly decorative.

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Once the stone has been fabricated and the edge profile is complete, the piece is ready for installation. Scheduling this installation is tentative because with natural stone, issues can arrise that can cause time delays. Natural Stones can have pits, fissures, cracks, corrosive minerals, and other unique attributes that can be some of the issues that may cause these delays. Typically stone issues do not  arrise and timelines flow without hinderance. To ensure there are no time delays on your part, arrange for cabinetry, plumbing, electrical, and any other construction necessary to be completed before countertop installation to be completed. Also, make sure to have any contractors or subcontractors lined up for reconnecting any electricity or plumbing because this is not the responsibility of the countertop installer.

Natural Stone: The Finished Product

During natural stone installation, a substantial number of trips will be made from the outside work area to the project site inside. Please clear a path for the installers to utilize. Installers are not expected to move appliances. Cook top and Drop in sink cut outs are sometimes made on site because the front and back rail of the sink are too thin to transport without breakage. Preferred industry practice is to cut out the openings using a diamond blade saw once the tops are secured in place. A vaccuum will help remove dust while the cutting is done. We recommend that you remove items from the area that the cutting will take place. To minimize dust in other parts of the location, a drop cloth or sheet can be used to isolate the work area. Undermount sink cut outs will me made according to manufacturers specifications, no alterations will be allowed. While the install service does include general clean up, customers should expect to clean up dust for a few days after the installation. Scheduling the reconnections of cook tops and water is recommended to be set up for the day after the installation of the stone to prevent shifting while the silacone adhesive is drying. After everything is installed and the adhesives are dry, you will have a beautiful piece of stone to admire for a lifetime.