Wet Process Only: Stone’s Edge Granite completes each stage of manufacturing with a wet process. Quartz or Silicone Dioxide is captured “in-solution”, commonly known as slurry when water is present during cutting, grinding, shaping, and polishing. Without this addition of water, the airborne particulates can contribute to adverse lung conditions such as silicosis. This wet process creates not only a clean work area for staff and customers, but a safe environment as well.
Recycling Process: Stone’s Edge believes in conducting business not only in a safe and educated manner, but also in an environmentally friendly one as well. Slurry is filtered out of solution and our water is recycled and is estimated that the same water actually is re-used 50 times before it is cycled out of the system.
Templating: Our customer’s kitchen/bath/bar/fireplace/furniture pieces are digitally measured and manipulated by desktop AUTOCAD software to capture ALL variables. By taking ALL variables into account, we guarantee that your finished project will have these characteristics reflected into their final installation and appearance.
Machining: Your stone creations are machined and shaped by our Park Industries TITAN CNC. “You expect the Best, so we have invested to bring you the Best!” Your countertops will fit in every conceivable manner. They will fit humped/dipped wall, various wall angles, along with having a perfectly matched seam which will join together to be less than a razor blade thickness in width, all the while exhibiting edges that are “gauged” to fit together not only on the top surface but equally on the underside.
Polishing: All of our final machined granite is hand polished. Hand polishing generates the very highest quality sheen available. Our hand polishing is Permanent Process. We never use liquid/solid waxes or any other chemicals to “pop” the shine on your stone. Please be advised that there are many different ways to cover up a bad polish temporarily. After time and use wears on a temporary process, the edges or other areas will dull. Be rest assured, Stone’s Edge does not believe in temporary fixes, only Permanent Processes which guarantee your investment and future satisfaction. Please consult with your Sales Agent and arrange for a demonstration to fully understand these differences and remember that every fabrication facility creates a product with differing structures/philosophies/processes. It is the responsibility of every fabricator to explain these processes and how they affect the final price to their customers. Only then can the customer make an informed decision and have a true expectation upon completion of any project.
Granite Countertops may be damaged in the following scenarios:
Because of its crystalline structure, it can chip if subjected to sharp, hard objects such as dropping a cast iron skillet on a finished edge.
Unsealed/unresined, granite or stone countertops can absorb stains such as oil, which can ultimately cause dark spots or discoloration. At Stone’s Edge, 95% of our granites are ‘resined’ and 100% are sealed. Remember there are cheaper products that will not be resined nor sealed, ultimately, the savings are only $2.50 a square foot equaling $125.00 per Kitchen. Is it worth the savings to risk the above problems with such a large investment?
Please be aware of the type of stone you are purchasing!
Any abrasive (silicone dioxide/trioxide) or quartz containing product may scratch a polished surface. Be very careful not to use a final granite countertop as a work bench for tools, etc.
Do not use a chopping method directly applied to the granite countertop. It’s a good practice to always chop on a wooden or plastic cutting board. You will dull any knife used on a granite/quartz surface.
Maintenance of your Granite Counter Top:
Polished Granite is a very durable surface, much harder than marble. Granite has been used in the past in the commercial industry and throughout history. Some of the obvious applications have been panels on the outside of buildings and walls. One such notable example is the Royal Bank Building in Downtown Saskatoon. The walls are paneled in Blue Pearl, matching the Banks’ Colour logo.
Granite is one of the least poreous stones which you may select for a countertop material. Before being sent to our fabrication facility, it is polished and impregnated with a resin. After fabrication and installation another sealant is applied to further protect it from staining. Water left on the surface, for a long period of time, may show evidence of moisture, however, over time this water spot will disappear.
Oil left on the surface will slowly be absorbed into the stone; wipe these areas as they occur. If an oil stain should occur, you can wipe the area with a poultice, to draw the oil out. Over time, the oil will redistribute through the granite and become undetectable. But typically, if there is any type of spill and if it is wiped up in a timely manner no issue will result.
Although little to no staining is usual for most common types of granites, there are some with mineral families that may react to certain household cleaners. At Stone’s Edge Granite, all granites are tested with a common household acidic test to spot check for staining (etching). Only after testing new stones will we offer these to the general public.
Occasionally, a customer may request a stone that is prone to certain problems. Only after direct consultation pending the application, will Stone’s Edge allow the sale and installation of such materials. Again, education is the key! This is why we have a professional Geologist as a consultant to forward truly specialized applications to, should our staff have a decision to make outside of our knowledge base.
Recommendations
Overhangs: At Stone’s Edge, we allow for a standard 2″ inch front overhang as measured away from the face of the cabinet (not the drawer face but the actual place where the granite will meet the cabinet). When dealing with peninsula, island, or raised serving bar tops, your sales agent will guide you through the appropriate overhang as suited to your specific application.
Seams: Due to the limitation of slab size, seams on a granite countertop can be necessary and sometimes unavoidable. Most average slabs of granite arrive in the yard with a useable 116″ length and 66″ width. There are larger slabs than these, although we suggest to maintain an application that can utilize these average slab dimensions.
When dealing with seams, a good place to incorporate a seam is near a corner or a shaded area within the kitchen layout. We anticipate where the seam will be located as to minimize the direct lining up of this seam with any walk area. The human eye has to adjust to the change in direction which makes the seam appear less noticeable. The visibility of a seam will depend on the granularity, colour, and pattern naturally occurring within the stone. If your kitchen requires a seam, rest assured that our staff will achieve a seam to the highest standards possible.
Within our industry standard, a seam should never be more than 2mm-2.5mm in width. Seams are expected to be flat and smooth as well. Stone’s Edge Granite incorporates the highest level of digitalized templating and CNC machining/fabrication to ensure our customers will have a seam which will fit correctly and be within these industry standards.
Templating: Stone’s Edge guarantees our customers a trouble-free process with the use of the most technologically advanced templating system found anywhere in the world. This system captures all angles/all measurements of both cabinets and adjoining walls, along with sink/stove/cooktop cutouts within a slight fraction of the time and with the highest level of precision.
The benefit of our system is the ease of change. If our customers are undecided about a particular outcome of a final shape for an island, our templater can simply click a few buttons and change these designs in real time. If a picture is not visual enough, we will print off reproductions of these designs and send them back to the job site for final approval. This process is the way it should be, EASY and PRECISE. Your investment is not only guaranteed and safe, but allows you to see your actual countertops pieces either overlayed on your actual slabs, viewed by email, or visualized right in your home. With this process, visualizing and capturing so many details takes only a few minutes and a “click of a mouse”.
Cabinetry: Cabinetry by definition is “CUSTOM”: built to fit the customer’s requirements, given spacial limitations and customer expectations. Cabinets, much like stone countertops, are not built identically by all shops. In fact, every shop has a slightly different style and set of standards which drives the production process. These differences must be taken into account when designing/approving a project or when selecting/purchasing a sink/faucet combination. Please bring your cabinet layout with you and allow your sales agent to review all layouts and offer advice if you should require a final opinion.
Sinks: As with design and layout, our staff will give you advice concerning the proper allowances for the many various sinks that are in the marketplace. Do note that all sinks will not work with all applications of cabinet design. This is a mistake that many plumbing houses contribute to. In order for a sink decision to be made, the customer must have actual cabinet layouts with them before purchasing a sink. Your kitchen layout dictates the type of sink that you should purchase. Please remember that a stone countertop will yield slightly different outcomes than found with an ordinary laminate countertop. Please bring as much information as possible to our sales staff for our advice.
Purchasing a new sink: Please consult with your sales agent to determine the suggested application of sink/faucet combination that will best suit your stone application. Upon selecting this combination, your sales agent will gladly assist you with pricing and supply of these fixtures from one of our selected suppliers to ensure the best possible pricing, along with reliable availability and ordering of these fixtures.