The Stone Process
Once you have decided on your stone selection, you have the choice of not only viewing your slab, but if necessary seeing the general layout of your project (with your templates that have already been done). All effort will be made to layout your project in such a way that it will have fluidity from section to section. Please realize that this is a natural product and no one piece of stone is exactly like another. Natural stone markings and shadings are all inherent characteristics in this product.
The only exception to this is Engineered Stone. This will have a minimum of variations from piece to piece.
Upon cutting your project down to size, all granite will be polished with diamond grits to ensure a true and even shine. Wax is only used to compliment an already good job, it is not the reason your granite shines. Diamond grits are used from a low cutting grit all the way up to a 3,000 and sometimes 7,000 grit to ensure that true polish.
Marble and Limestone are easier to polish and don't always require diamond grits to bring to a full shine, but as with all natural products there are always exceptions.
Once your project has been cut, polished and cleaned it will then be checked a final time; put onto a rolling cart then moved away from the general work area. This keeps any damage from occurring to your stone while it waits for your Installation Date. By this time you should already have been
called and an Installation Date has been set.
The average size kitchen will take approximately 2-1/2 to 5 hours to install depending on size. Complexities of cutouts, back splashes, and multiple seaming are factors in gauging times.
During installation we will use a quick setting bonding agents as well as epoxys that need overnight to dry. The reasoning for using two kinds of bonding agents is strength. The one that dries fast holds things in place while the other dries overnight to an incredibly strong bond. We tend to over glue rather then under glue. The better the glue contact is to stone being installed over, the stronger the long term installation will be. This is increasingly important in the weaker areas of the
stone installation. In front of sinks, cook tops, and any area where stone mass has been decreased.
We also install the under mount sinks using lead anchors set either into the stone or by bracketing the sink in place, depending on how much room we are given to work with. Though we don't hook up your plumbing, we do make sure it will fit the holes drilled out.
Dishwashers that are in place are bolted to the bottom of the stone during installation (same lead anchors as used for sinks) or if the dishwasher isn't present at time of template, we will mill a piece of 1/2" thick approximately 2" x 25" plywood into the bottom of stone so that when your dishwasher does arrive, it can be easily screwed in place.
A good rule of thumb, is we reinforce any areas in stone that we consider weaker using 3/8" stainless steel-threaded rod. This will increase the strength of the area by at least double.
Your kitchen stone surface will be sealed either in our shop or after installation. Sealing is a very important factor for medium to light-colored stones. Darker colors are not as critical. If your stone has been sealed in your home, you should wait 5 to 7 days before saturating the area with water. Using the surface is okay, but to get stone very wet during its 5 to 7 day curing time will dilute the effectiveness of the sealer.
A quick test of your sealer is to take several drops of water and let it sit on your counter top 3 to 5 minutes and observe how much, if any, has been absorbed into the stone. Did it leave a temporary mark? This will give you insight into how effective your sealer is for your stone.
At Carbone Brothers we are very conscience of cleanliness in your home. We will make every attempt to minimize messes.
We have spent over 45 years perfecting our process. This is just a very quick summary of what we do.
We do not take any shortcuts in our template, fabrication, or installation.
