FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Standard Sizes and Thickness
Residential Applications
Commercial Applications
Climate & Applications
Clefting on Slate & Quartzite
Hardness of Materials
Cleaning and Maintainence

Standard Sizes and Thickness:

Slabs:

2CM & 3CM

Tiles:

12"x 12"x 3/8"
16"x 16"x 3/8"
18"x 18"x ½"
24"x 24"x ½" OR 3/4"

In the case of slates and quartzites, the sizes are nominal sizes and not exact sizes.
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Residential Applications:

Typical usage of various Natural Stone products:

Lobby - Entry Areas: The most preferred material is Marble or Limestone. Considering the use and traffic, it may be advisable to use Granite.

Bathroom Floors & Kitchen Floors: Marble and Limestone have been used for Baths and Kitchens. Keeping in mind the heavy use, moisture and heat, Clay Tiles and Porcelain tiles may be a better product.
Kitchen & Bathroom Vanity tops: Granite is the most favorable. Easiest to maintain and will last a lifetime.
Exterior Patios: Slate, sandstone or quartzite. These are more durable, and have a rusticated look and feel.
Pool Decks: Quartzitic sandstone or Slate. Specially with the Chlorine we do not recommend using and Calcium based (Limestone or Marble) products.
Exterior walls: Granite, Sandstone or Slate are the best for this application. They will be most suitable for weather conditions and durability.
Roofing: Slate is the oldest traditional material of choice. It is by far the best material for the use.

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Commercial Applications

Technical Data:

Is available for specific products on request. As a Member of our Website, you can excess this information for most of the products. In case it is not available, please request your Sales Rep for the Technical Data sheet on the product you choose to use.
In some instances Technical data may not be readily available. We do provide the service to have the product tested for projects. However, we can provide ASTM information that relates to any specific product group.

Cladding:

Granite, Quartzitic Sandstone and Slate are the most extensively used products for Cladding. These are the hardest materials and most recommended for this application.
We provide special Cut To Size in most of the materials. However, this is Special Order material and is not readily available in stock.
Thickness of stone required varies on the type of installation. This is also determined by the Building Code in the area. However, as a guide we recommend the following:

Tiles upto size 24"x 24" - ½"~ 5/8"
Adhered Veneer Max size 720 sq.in ½"~ 5/8"
Anchored Veneer 3 cm

Paving:

Flamed Granite and Slate are most frequently used for pavers. We also provide Granite Cobbles for special applications. The most recent development has been the “Riverwash” finish for Granite. While it maintains the color of polished granite, it provides for a textured surface similar to Granite.

Thickness to suit application:
Granite for normal foot traffic 2 cm
Heavy Traffic or Vehicular traffic 3 cm
Slate tiles upto 24x24 12-15 mm

Lead Time for Special Orders:

Typical Lead time for SPECIAL ORDERS is 90-120 days, depending on the sizes and quantity.

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Climate & Applications

There are certain Slates that are not suitable for colder climates that experience freeze thaw conditions. We recommend that you should consult with us or do the required testing to ensure the suitability of the product fr a specific use.

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Clefting on Slate & Quartzite

Every Natural Cleft material has different amount of Clefting - Heavy, Medium and Light. Please check for what is suitable for each application. Typically, Heavy Cleft materials are suitable for exteriors and the Light cleft for Interiors.
Natural Stones also have a different range of color variation. While we try and sample representative pieces, we recommend that you should see the full color range. There is also a lot of variation from lot to lot.

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Hardness of Materials

While selection of Natural stone is more an esthetic decision, there are certain stones, more suited than others, for certain specific applications. In order to get a better material for a specific application, we recommend that you keep in mind the Hardness of materials comparative to each other. The following list indicates the Hardness of materials by Product Group (the hardest being Granite). There are different hardness within the group, for materials within the category.

GRANITE
QUARTZITE
QUARTZITIC SANDSTONE
SLATE
LIMESTONE
MARBLE
TRAVERTINE

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Cleaning and Maintainence

Recommended Cleaning, Sealing & Maintainance

Granite Vanity/Bar Tops

AFTER INSTALLATION; THE TOPS SHOULD BE WASHED AND CLEANED THOROUGHLY. WE RECOMMEND THAT THE MATERIAL SHOULD BE SEALED WITH A SILICONE IMPREGNATOR (EG. HMK - S34 OR EQUAL). THIS WILL MAKE THE MATERIAL IMPERVIOUS AND PROTECT AGAINST ANY STAINING OR SPOTTING. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS RECOMMENDED BY THE MANUFACTURER FOR THE SEALER, APPLICATION; PLEASE COMPLY WITH MANUFACTURER’S RECOMMENDATIONS (PROCESS AND NUMBER OF COATS).

CLEANING SHOULD BE DONE ON REGULAR BASIS WITH A MILD CLEANING SOAP & WATER. DO NOT USE STRONG DETERGENTS FOR REGULAR CLEANING. STRONG DETERGENTS WILL EFFECT THE GROUT, AND JOINTS WILL COME APART VERY QUICKLY. THESE WILL ALSO EFFECTS THE LIFE OF THE IMPREGNATOR.

WE RECOMMEND THAT OCCASIONALLY THE TOPS SHOULD BE WASHED CLEAN WITH A CLEANING COMPOUND, USING COMPOUNDS RECOMMENDED FOR CLEANING OF GRANITE TOPS. SUBSEQUENTLY, RESEALING OF TOPS MAY BE NECESSARY.

IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE TOS ARE THOROUGHLY CLEANED AND RESEALED AT LEAST ONCE EVERY 18 - 24 MONTHS. THIS WILL KEEP THE TOPS LOOKING CLEAN AND EXTEND THE LIFE OF THE PRODUCT.

Recommended Cleaning, Sealing & Maintainance

Sandstone/Slate

AFTER INSTALLATION; THE FLOOR SHOULD BE WASHED AND CLEANED THOROUGHLY, WITH A MACHINE WITH BRUSHES TO GET ALL THE LOOSE DUST OUT OF CREVASSED AND THE CLEFT. WE RECOMMEND THAT THE MATERIAL SHOULD BE SEALED WITH A SILICONE IMPREGNATOR (EG. HMK - S34 OR EQUAL). THIS WILL MAKE THE MATERIAL IMPERVIOUS AND PROTECT AGAINST ANY STAINING OR SPOTTING. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS RECOMMENDED BY THE MANUFACTURER FOR THE SEALER, APPLICATION; PLEASE COMPLY WITH MANUFACTURER’S RECOMMENDATIONS (PROCESS AND NUMBER OF COATS).

DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE CLEFT MATERIAL THERE IS A TENDENCY FOR DUST AND DIRT TO ACCUMULATE ALONG THE BOTTOM OF THE CLEFTING. TO CLEAN THESE DEPOSITS, WE RECOMMEND THAT OCCASIONALLY THE FLOOR SHOULD BE WASHED CLEAN WITH A MACHINE WITH BRUSH, USING COMPOUNDS RECOMMENDED FOR CLEANING OF FLOORS. SUBSEQUENTLY, RESEALING OF FLOORS MAY BE NECESSARY.

IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE FLOOR IS THOROUGHLY CLEANED AND RESEALED AT LEAST ONCE EVERY 18 - 24 MONTHS. THIS WILL KEEP THE FLOOR LOOKING CLEAN AND EXTEND THE LIFE OF THE PRODUCT.

POLISHED SLATE: AFTER THE INSTALLATION AND CLEANING OF THE FLOOR, YOU MAY USE A WATER BASED POLYURETHANE SEALER, MATT FINISH - NOT GLOSSY (PRODUCT TYPICALLY USED ON WOOD FLOORS). DO NOT USE ANY OIL BASED SEALER. THIS WILL HELP PROTECT THE FLOOR AND ANY POSSIBLE SPALLING.
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