Quarried from the earth, cut and polished to reveal its inner beauty. A material with impeccable environmental credentials. 99.9% natural – there are some resins used in modern production techniques to fill and strengthen the stone. It can be cleaned with neutral detergents and will last for 100s of years. And when you’ve finished with it, return it to the earth from where it came.

So which to choose – Granite, Marble , Limestone, Slate, Quartzite,  Sandstone, Onyx? The finish? Polished or honed, flamed or sand blasted, antiqued or tumbled – the texture needs to suit the application. The where, the how, the what for?  Shower floor, bathroom wall, an entrance floor, garden paving, a vanity top, a kitchen work surface, the dining room table, a cantilevered staircase. The choices.

Selecting the right stone for the right application with the most suitable finish will ensure lasting beauty and easier maintenance. Shower and bathroom floors should be non-slip and the material have a low water absorption. Entrance floors must be hard wearing with  appropriate abrasion resistance to avoid tracking. Kitchen surfaces need to be resistant to liquid absorption,  heat and acidic content of food and drink. Granite , slate and quartzite work best.

And the design, how to cut economically while maintaining the affect, creating that felling of luxury without compromising safety or methods of installation.

And how to install to the correct sub-base, thin bed or thick bed adhesive, solid bedded, mechanically fixed, epoxy or cementitious grout, sand and cement bed.

And finally to maintain it to help keeps it looks. Now we could all do with a bit of that.

If you need assistance with any of the above or would simply like to talk to a stone expert about your project, your choices and how to use this gorgeous material to achieve fantastic results please call Robert Merry on 07771997621 or visit the Stone Consultants at www.stoneconsultants.co.uk. John Ruskin said … “Quality is never an accident: it is always the result of intelligent effort.” Look forward to hearing from you.