Granite and marble slabs for
Toronto area homes can be seen at showrooms. Learn more about the process of
choosing stone countertops.
Have you decided to choose a
granite or marble countertop for your new home or renovation? Great idea!
Natural stone adds value to your home, and it adds beauty to your living space.
Stone endures through the ages, and is a timeless and elegant choice. However,
many homeowners are uninformed about the process of choosing stone slab
countertops. Clarifying the process with your professionals can help you
understand what’s involved.
Stone Samples
Some contractors or fabricators complicate
the issue by providing small stone samples blocks for you to choose from. While
your professional may only be trying to make the process simpler for you,
selecting stone from a small sample is not recommended. There are several
reasons for this, including:
- Colour.
All natural stone contains impurities. The impurities, or
additional minerals, help to give the stone colour, texture, and pattern.
Because stone is created by nature, these minerals are not always distributed
evenly throughout the slab. For example, you may see a sample that is a light
cream but the entire slab may have areas that range from light cream to medium
gold, and you may be getting more colours than you want. Small stone samples
can be deceptive in other ways too. You may like the look of a sample that has
a light maroon background punctuated with a few black specks. However, when you
see the slab, the dominant colour may actually be the black rather than the
maroon, making the countertop darker than you expected.
- Pattern.
It’s nearly impossible to tell much about the patterning of a
slab from a small sample. The patterns on a single slab can range from a few
faint lines or flecks to bold striations, splashes, or waves.
- Scope. You can’t get
a real idea of how the countertop will look until you see the entire slab. The
whole effect is simply not visible when you look at a small sample. A view of
the entire slab will likely give you a different impression than a view of a
small sample of it.
The
Showroom
Some homeowners don’t realize that there are
stone importer-distributors in the Toronto area that have extensive showrooms
where you can go and view all types of stone, ask questions, and select slabs.
The best of these showrooms are warm and welcoming places where it’s easy to
spend hours perusing all the different varieties of granite, marble, and other
natural stone. In fact, one GTA stone showroom has a policy of serving espresso
to all its customers, making a stop at Starbucks unnecessary!
Once you’ve chosen a slab from a showroom, you
reserve it (or "tag” it.) After it’s tagged, the stone company will fax your
professional with all of the details. The tagged slab waits at the stone
company until your contractor or fabricator orders it. (Stone distributors
generally do not sell slabs directly to homeowners.)
Your contractor should be able to recommend a
fabricator. If you don’t have a contractor, ask family, co-workers, and friends
for recommendations, or use search engines.
Visit a showroom today, and discover the natural
beauty of stone.