Tips for selecting marble & granite

[ardesarchitects]

Just finished with marble and granite selections, for one of my project.
Thought to share some precautions one should take while purchasing natural stones.
Marble
1. Marble is a soft material, all ways try to get as thick as possible in slabs or cut pieces. Since you polish it 7 times to get the mirror finish.
2. Since it is polished after laying ,you should ask the vendor to pour water and show the slab(only then you can see the hidden cracks in the slabs)
3. As you see more white patches (milk white ) the slab rate comes down
4. Marble has the biggest problem of yellow patches formed deep in to the slab, they cannot be removed with any chemicals or girding
5. Measurement of slab is done with the biggest rectangle possible to fit in the slab after leaving the cracks, cutting edges, spots etc….
6. Make sure they make straight lines while measuring the slabs , try to check with a straight scale
7. All ways prefer to have biggest slabs possible. In case there is a crack in the center of the slab and the vendor makes it to two pieces leaving crack area, don’t prefer it.
8. Marble Is available from the range of 50/- sft to 500/- sft
9. Italian marbles are costlier and you can get nice English shades in this
10. If you are buying Italian marble make sure thickness is uniform, it comes with backing net glued to it.
11. Low quality marble will have lot of cracks, the vendors fill it with marble paste to make it look uniform .observe every slab carefully and select it.
12. There are chemicals used to color the marbles, these are injected in to the slabs to make them more interesting.
Granite
1. Granite is the harder stone than marble, these are available in pre-polished slabs
2. There is no way to polish the granite at site, so make sure polishing is done properly
3. Two type slab cuts are available in market 1.kerosene cut (cheaper and less polish) 2.Water cut (costly and high glossy polish)
4. Kerosene cut slabs are in smaller size called cut slabs , water cut slabs are usually bigger slabs called gang saws
5. Choose only with best polish, once the granite loses its charm there is no way you can polish it.
6. There is lot of color epoxy coatings used on granites to make it look brighter; you can check it by observing the sides of the slab. If you find colored pigment on the sides of slab it means they used colored epoxy.
7. Epoxy coating is used to make the granite look shiny without polishing it properly.
8. You see circular kind of impressions behind the slab if it is a kerosene cut slab (only kerosene cutters make these impressions )
9. Granite with lesser thickness are cheaper , while you pick for kitchen or nosing slabs make sure you pick it in one slab. Joining two different slabs with nosing is very difficult in case of one mm difference in thickness.
10. In light colored granites there are chances of yellow patches, so be careful.
11. Never use light color granites in outdoor, if they use epoxy or other chemical treatments it loses its shinning very easily.

Regards
Ar.Praveen.N
Ardes Architects and Interior Designers
ardesarchitects@yahoo.co.in

[ardesarchitects]

* Minimum 2 persons should be there while selecting the slabs, they measure the slabs so fast that you miss cracks and faulty slabs .
* While holding the tape one person should check one side and the other on other side

Regards
Ar.Praveen.N
Ardes Architects and Interior Designers
ardesarchitects@gmail.com
www.ardesarchitects.com

[parkom]

Praveen, this article was indeed full of insights; thanks ! As we have moved to branded garments from the tailored clothes, when are we going to have branded granites and marbles. These alongwith other building materials could be sold through countrywide chain of reputed shops where one could go and buy quality with eyes closed and without any chances of being cheated on measurements, quality, or quantity. Is this wishful thinking still in modern India?

[Chandu]

Praveen - Thanks for the write-up.
I was very useful

[sun]

Good inputs Praveen.

[sanchitnis]

regarding measuring marble, the supplier subtracted only the rectangle around the broken portions at the corners. He did not measure the biggest rectangle as in case of granite. Is this the standard practice?

[girishshk]

Yes Based on the experience its better to take a granite laying labor also during selection and measurement.

Brought 3400 sq feet @329000 including all the taxes.

3 different colors has been selected and laying charges are 25 for floor and 35 for wall cladding

[ausraja]

Anybody interested in buying granite on a group basis ? if purchased in bulk the qty will be high and we can negotiate better.I am looking for something under 100 rs only(not sadaralli).

[Purusoth Ariputhiri]

Hi. Instead of purchasing from the dealer, try to buy it from the processor for better price and quality. we had recently purchased from star granite s way to hosur - krshnagiri highway. the above marked granite (Paradiso) for 65/SQft. transportation & unloading extra.the truck can carry around 1200-1600 sqft of granite slabs (Appox. the transportation cost you around 7k).

[girishshk]

Please note, the price depends upon the Type of polish, quality of granite and size of the slabs.
i have closely observed that wastage of 10-15% happens during transportation. Hence low distance is preferable.
Also i have noticed some category done for slabs like 1)Export quality 2) High 3)Mid 4)Low
Better to take an experience granite expert before buying and measuring.
If you know exactly each slab needs to be deducted for any hairline cracks and then measured leaving that area.
You dont find this process at factory because it is just processed.