By Tom McNall
One of the most-difficult floors to re-finish is the dreaded checkerboard. Now not all checkerboard floors are tough, but – for some reason – architects and designers continually insist on pairing one of the softest stones (Crema Marfil) with one of the hardest and densest stones on the market (Black Absolute) for the pattern.
MATERIALS
GRANITE
Marmi Bruno Zanet, Volargne de Dolce, Italy, introduces Ouro Brasil, a granite from Espirito Santo with a uniform light background with intense interplays of gold and brown. The company also introduces Crema Brasil granite, also originating from Espirito Santo, with a large grain and a cream white color.
Contact: Marmi Bruno Zanet, +39-45-6861706
MATERIALS VENEER GRANITEUnited Builders Supply Co. Inc., Westerly, R.I. announces the availability of Westerly Pink, Westerly Blue and Westerly Gray granites for full-depth veneer and thin veneer. The supply is from cut pieces of...
At some point, everyone comes across an opportunity so good that it fits that immortal advertising catchphrase: It’s a steal of a deal.
Unfortunately, that’s a concept moving from hype to reality for more than a few stone shops. Occasionally, I’ll get a call from someone offering a long, oft-convoluted tale of a fantastic purchase or partnership that couldn’t miss, and yet ….
By K. Schipper
The biggest problem with kitchens, if you’re in the stone business, is that there’s generally just one to a household.
Oh, sure, the well-to-do may add a kitchenette to the basement rec room or family room, but it’s a rare home where the number of kitchens equals the number of bathrooms.
A new kitchen market, though, is growing out the back door – literally. Despite the economy, the outdoor kitchen market is on the rise in popularity, especially among high-end homeowners.
CARROLLTON, Texas – There’s no question as to the emphasis of Ryan Burden’s business. He readily admits that Countertop Specialty focuses on all types of stone countertops – including outdoor ones.
By K. Schipper
OKLAHOMA CITY – The year may be 2009, but for the Young family of Southwest Tile & Marble, the significant number is four.
LAS VEGAS – It’s a move to familiar turf for StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas this month.
The journey off The Strip and back to the Las Vegas Convention Center on Oct. 21-24 returns the stone industry’s event to the scene of its biggest successes, with a series of seminars, workshops and other events designed to meet the needs of fabricators and others in these challenging times.
The relationship between a fabricator and the template/install crew can be an orderly and mutually beneficial if it’s based on cooperation, an open communication channel and a well-defined set of operating procedures.
It can also be the opposite: a tension-filled, adversarial relationship with ambiguous or condescending communication, lots of finger-pointing, and inconsistent fabrication from one job to the next.
By Tom McNall
I get many e-mails and calls asking for standard procedures for stone restoration. They want to know times per-square foot, and hard-and-fast procedures for each and every stone.