Consumer Education—A Must in the Fabrication Process.
I recently read, “From the Quarry to your Home,” an article published in the Spring/Summer 2007 issue of Stone Dimensions magazine, an MIA publication, that sparked my interest. 
While natural stone has become increasingly popular, especially for countertops, over the last several years, there are still consumers that have questions in regards to the fabrication process, etc. They not only want information and knowledge about the products they are buying, but desire information about the whole process.
As stated in the article, “It all starts in the quarry. Giant blocks of granite, marble, limestone, travertine and other natural stones are cut out of the earth with technically-advanced cutting systems, which have drastically reduced the effort it takes to achieve this once time-consuming task.” From there, the blocks are transported to facilities with high-speed gang saws that slice the stone like slices of bread. From there the slabs go to polishing lines, (large automated equipment with multiple polishing heads), where the front face of the stone is polished. The polished slabs are then shipped to various distributors, suppliers, or directly to the fabricator for viewing, or fabrication for the consumer.
After material is selected, a measure date is scheduled to measure the granite counterop, island, bar top, bathroom, fireplace, etc. in your home. In most instances, this should take place after the cabinets are set and in place. A measuring technician will come out and make drawings, or templates of the designated areas and also indicate where there will be any sink cut-outs, cooktop cut-outs, faucet holes, edge detail, etc.
When the drawings are made, they are brought back to the fabication facility to be made into your countertops. At PGC, a large bridge saw is used to cut your stone. Undermount sinks and curve work are run with our CNC mill, while edges are polished with our edge polishing machine.Various other hand tools are used for finishing edges and touch up work.
When all pieces for your job are fabricated and complete, they are loaded on a PGC install truck to be delivered and installed in your home.
Throughout the whole process, much care and attention is given to bring you, the consumer, a beautiful product. As stated in the article, “from the quarry to slabbing and polishing; to measuring and templating; to cutting, edging and polishing and finally installation—people in the stone industry strive for two things—enhancing the beauty of natural stone through perfection and your ultimate satisfaction.”
Thanks for reading!
Barb
Posted in Company, Granite on May 14th, 2007 by Barb | | 0 Comments
