Hi everyone,
I hope you are all well...
I have been a little distracted for a bit, but I have just started work on a few more posts that should catch your fancy!
Please view this blog over the next few weeks to get a real feal for what has happened, what is happening and what will happen to the granite worktops industry!
Speak soon....
Showing posts with label stone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stone. Show all posts
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Friday, 17 July 2009
Granite Worktops North
So, you need a granite worktop and you come from North England?
Well, here is a good start for your project!
Granite worktops are a fantastic product and can truly make that focal point to a traditional or contemporary kitchen! Swirling colours or plain designs whatever your preference, there are many places up north to get your stone...
Heck it's not all Grim ;)
If you are based in Manchester, then a good place to start is MisterMarble. Being based in Middleton, they serve the entire area of Manchester and some of the surrounding areas.
Specialise with a number of home related products including; granite worktops, stone bathrooms and other kitchen and bathroom accessories such as sinks and taps.
They are open Monday to Saturday and even bank holidays and with their online quote system you could get an online worktop estimate today.
With a wide selection of colours and patterns to choose choose from, this kitchen and bathroom supplier is worth the visit!
If you are based in Liverpool, then The Worktop Center is a perfect choice. Being a third generation family business and being established since 1950, The Worktop Center specialises with kitchen worktops and can offer you over 700 patterns and designs to choose from...
If you live a little further a field say York and are looking for a kitchen or granite worktop surface then a great place to start is J.W. Smith (Masonry) Ltd. As well as offering kitchen and other home granite surfaces, they are also able to supply granite head stones and memorial products.
The suppliers that I have listed are only a few, but hopefully they will give you a fair start to your project.
If you are searching Google for company listings, then the following search strings may help!
Have fun!
Well, here is a good start for your project!
Granite worktops are a fantastic product and can truly make that focal point to a traditional or contemporary kitchen! Swirling colours or plain designs whatever your preference, there are many places up north to get your stone...
Heck it's not all Grim ;)
If you are based in Manchester, then a good place to start is MisterMarble. Being based in Middleton, they serve the entire area of Manchester and some of the surrounding areas.
Specialise with a number of home related products including; granite worktops, stone bathrooms and other kitchen and bathroom accessories such as sinks and taps.
They are open Monday to Saturday and even bank holidays and with their online quote system you could get an online worktop estimate today.
With a wide selection of colours and patterns to choose choose from, this kitchen and bathroom supplier is worth the visit!
If you are based in Liverpool, then The Worktop Center is a perfect choice. Being a third generation family business and being established since 1950, The Worktop Center specialises with kitchen worktops and can offer you over 700 patterns and designs to choose from...
If you live a little further a field say York and are looking for a kitchen or granite worktop surface then a great place to start is J.W. Smith (Masonry) Ltd. As well as offering kitchen and other home granite surfaces, they are also able to supply granite head stones and memorial products.
The suppliers that I have listed are only a few, but hopefully they will give you a fair start to your project.
If you are searching Google for company listings, then the following search strings may help!
- Granite worktops York
- Granite worktops Manchester
- Granite worktops Liverpool
- Granite Worktops North
Have fun!
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Absoluto granite for kitchen worktops
Absoluto granite is one of the blackest granites available and the premium is truly premium!
I suppose to a customer looking for black granite worktops then black probably means black, but to a stone specialist, this is definitely not the case.
There are three main types of absoluto; African absoluto, Indian absoluto and China absoluto and these are the three I will be discussing today.
African Absoluto, also known as Zimbabwe Black is an extremely sort after stone and with this in mind; it is also hard to obtain too... It tends to not be as black as the other types of absoluto and can be a little misty within, but all in all, this would definitely make your kitchen into a million dollars!
India absoluto can actually be more misty within than the Afrinac granite, but the absoluto from India is probably the best absoluto that money could buy!
China absoluto is probably the most popular with consumers. This is probably because it is in a large supply and it is also probably the cheapest of the three here. China absoluto is also known as Shanxi Black granite, this being due to it being quarried from the Shanxi region of China.
Incidentely; my Auntie just had her kitchen worktop resurfaced with Shanxi black and I must say that it looks absolutely fabulous!
Cya
I suppose to a customer looking for black granite worktops then black probably means black, but to a stone specialist, this is definitely not the case.
There are three main types of absoluto; African absoluto, Indian absoluto and China absoluto and these are the three I will be discussing today.
African Absoluto, also known as Zimbabwe Black is an extremely sort after stone and with this in mind; it is also hard to obtain too... It tends to not be as black as the other types of absoluto and can be a little misty within, but all in all, this would definitely make your kitchen into a million dollars!
India absoluto can actually be more misty within than the Afrinac granite, but the absoluto from India is probably the best absoluto that money could buy!
China absoluto is probably the most popular with consumers. This is probably because it is in a large supply and it is also probably the cheapest of the three here. China absoluto is also known as Shanxi Black granite, this being due to it being quarried from the Shanxi region of China.
Incidentely; my Auntie just had her kitchen worktop resurfaced with Shanxi black and I must say that it looks absolutely fabulous!
Cya
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
It's not all just about granite worktops!
I spend so much of my time using stone for commercial purposes, that I sometimes lose track of other reasons for digging up rock.. There are quite a few!My mother is a Geologist and so I have gained a fair amount of knowledge throught the years, just by knowing and having conversations with her..
The image to the left is of an archeological dig site that was actually going on in Cedars Park, Waltham Cross. What can be seen here is the start of a road, but it was also around the start of my dinner and I needed to be off! lol
It was actually quite a nice day - my Sister met us there; she had brought her two children for the ride!
I find it interesting that if you remove a few grains of soil from the surface, then stones can be seen, but what may first appear as a handful of stone, could later prove to actually be the top of a wall, which is exactly what we are looking at here.
Cedars Park was home to the central control for England and although this is the case, there is little documentation that remains, so this dig was sort of essential!
Speak soon...
P.S. Sorry it took a while to post this - sort of happened a few days ago, but I was with my Dad at the time and the pics were on his camera; needed to wait for the email!
Friday, 10 July 2009
Granite for your garden
Had a customer come in this morning looking for granite tiles for their back garden, with a possibility of having steps made in the same material.
Of course - I said; We can do that!
It is important to remember that if you are to use natural stone for stone paving outside, the stone shouldn't require sealing. If you were to be using the stone for indoor use, say a kitchen worktop or a bathroom vanity, then sealing the stone is a must, but for outside use this is truly not necessary to have this done.
It would be far better to let the stone weather naturally; this offering its own beauty.
The customer selected black granite - Absoluto granite from China, namely Shanxi Black.
In my opinion; this was way too expensive for me, but the customer was adament and didn't really care about the price of the stone - they said that they were more bothered about the aesthetic qualities the stone had to offer the design of his garden.
Well, I must say that I am actually looking forward to doing this job - that is if the weather in the UK holds out - we need to order the stone in for this job, but we are set to install in the first week of August... Praying for a nice day ;)
Heck! I have worked in the rain and I can say it ain't much fun!
Anyway, must dash - going to Maccy D's
Of course - I said; We can do that!
It is important to remember that if you are to use natural stone for stone paving outside, the stone shouldn't require sealing. If you were to be using the stone for indoor use, say a kitchen worktop or a bathroom vanity, then sealing the stone is a must, but for outside use this is truly not necessary to have this done.
It would be far better to let the stone weather naturally; this offering its own beauty.
The customer selected black granite - Absoluto granite from China, namely Shanxi Black.
In my opinion; this was way too expensive for me, but the customer was adament and didn't really care about the price of the stone - they said that they were more bothered about the aesthetic qualities the stone had to offer the design of his garden.
Well, I must say that I am actually looking forward to doing this job - that is if the weather in the UK holds out - we need to order the stone in for this job, but we are set to install in the first week of August... Praying for a nice day ;)
Heck! I have worked in the rain and I can say it ain't much fun!
Anyway, must dash - going to Maccy D's
Thursday, 9 July 2009
A good use for granite worktop off-cuts
If you work for a granite worktop fabricator, supplier, showroom... whatever!
A good use for stone off cuts; and I am talking about the off-cuts around 10cm squared and bigger, is to use them for crazy paving... I know it sounds dodge, but it truly is a great idea...
A mate of mine who works for a large supplier of granite, marble and slate, said that they are in the process of resurfacing their yard, with the view to using the stone off-cuts to create an artistic-styled surface - sort of like a mosaic.
They are even creating basic shapes and images in the surface, using batched colours of stone.
What a great idea eh? Just thought I would share it with the World..
Anyway, hope you all have a great day ;)
A good use for stone off cuts; and I am talking about the off-cuts around 10cm squared and bigger, is to use them for crazy paving... I know it sounds dodge, but it truly is a great idea...
A mate of mine who works for a large supplier of granite, marble and slate, said that they are in the process of resurfacing their yard, with the view to using the stone off-cuts to create an artistic-styled surface - sort of like a mosaic.
They are even creating basic shapes and images in the surface, using batched colours of stone.
What a great idea eh? Just thought I would share it with the World..
Anyway, hope you all have a great day ;)
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Internet selling vs worktop showrooms
Hmm... Granite is durable, Cushdie and great for your Kitchen!
What do you do if you wanna get a worktop for you English country ki-itchen - lol
Sorry just a bit of humour from me!
I know that lots of people shop online.. But granite is such a touchy feely product, can you really get all you are look for in a picture... I suppose there are some people who can, but I would say that I am one of these people who like to see things face-to-face; if you get my drift?
I mean, like how do you understand what effects can be achieved with light and pearlescent stone such as Emerald Pearl, if you haven't actually experienced it for real?
With REAL knowledge, you can achieve the ultimate in kitchen designs, joining stone together, with positioning as a key factor to your design.
Imagine... A minimalistic style kitchen, a window to the left, southwardly facing so that the morning light captures the night stars within your very own breakfast bar - heck I know my explanations are shi** but hey I am sure you get the picture... haha
What I am trying to say is that an internet only shop cant offer you this REAL factor for your shopping experience... I know, I know; you are thinking that there are virtual-reality type sites where you can actual see the worktops in different houses, so you can design your kitchen in a real environment, but I feel that these tools are only effective if they combine with a real worktop showroom and therefore both services compliment each other.
Interestingly enough; I found a site where you can design a 3D kitchen, that you may want to check out for yourself... The site URL is: http://www.merillat.com/space/planner/index.aspx but just click on the URL and it will take you to the starting page for the designer.
I do think that a granite worktop showroom who doesn't offer this kind of tool, is lacking to that of a company that does. There are always customers who wish to shop online and capturing the audience with a useful tool is handy - Diapol are a company that offer a granite worktop calculating tool... Pretty cool ;) and I have heard that quite a few people have used it.
A better one is with Hart Granite and they have a Hertfordshire-based granite worktops showroom but when I asken them about it, they said that they are in the process of redesigning it and that it would be a few months before it is back online - ok; if it is better than before, then that can't be bad hmmm.. pondering.. pondering some more... yes... hmmmm... Could be good!
So, to summarise; Internet shopping is great for touchy feely products, as long as this can be backed up with the REAL thing once the choices are at that stage... Capiche!
Ciao Baby
What do you do if you wanna get a worktop for you English country ki-itchen - lol
Sorry just a bit of humour from me!
I know that lots of people shop online.. But granite is such a touchy feely product, can you really get all you are look for in a picture... I suppose there are some people who can, but I would say that I am one of these people who like to see things face-to-face; if you get my drift?
I mean, like how do you understand what effects can be achieved with light and pearlescent stone such as Emerald Pearl, if you haven't actually experienced it for real?
With REAL knowledge, you can achieve the ultimate in kitchen designs, joining stone together, with positioning as a key factor to your design.
Imagine... A minimalistic style kitchen, a window to the left, southwardly facing so that the morning light captures the night stars within your very own breakfast bar - heck I know my explanations are shi** but hey I am sure you get the picture... haha
What I am trying to say is that an internet only shop cant offer you this REAL factor for your shopping experience... I know, I know; you are thinking that there are virtual-reality type sites where you can actual see the worktops in different houses, so you can design your kitchen in a real environment, but I feel that these tools are only effective if they combine with a real worktop showroom and therefore both services compliment each other.
Interestingly enough; I found a site where you can design a 3D kitchen, that you may want to check out for yourself... The site URL is: http://www.merillat.com/space/planner/index.aspx but just click on the URL and it will take you to the starting page for the designer.
I do think that a granite worktop showroom who doesn't offer this kind of tool, is lacking to that of a company that does. There are always customers who wish to shop online and capturing the audience with a useful tool is handy - Diapol are a company that offer a granite worktop calculating tool... Pretty cool ;) and I have heard that quite a few people have used it.
A better one is with Hart Granite and they have a Hertfordshire-based granite worktops showroom but when I asken them about it, they said that they are in the process of redesigning it and that it would be a few months before it is back online - ok; if it is better than before, then that can't be bad hmmm.. pondering.. pondering some more... yes... hmmmm... Could be good!
So, to summarise; Internet shopping is great for touchy feely products, as long as this can be backed up with the REAL thing once the choices are at that stage... Capiche!
Ciao Baby
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