Choosing Stone

For Your Home

• Fabricators, Showrooms & Stone Yards
• What Do You Look For When Choosing Stone?
• How Do You Know Which Stone Is The Best Stone?

Not everyone picks their stone out. Some people don't know choosing their stone is an option. Your fabricator will do this for you. The big box stores give you about 20 choices and have you choose your stone based on small sample tiles.

In reality, there are over a thousand...
YES, over 1000 stone choices.

Most of us have color preferences and once at the showroom, we gravitate towards it. This is what makes selecting stone so personal and unique. Look, touch, feel, imagine, and absorb. Choosing stone is an exciting experience where you let your personality shine through! Browsing and choosing a unique stone specifically for you.

So, if you've never picked out your stone you don't know what you're missing. An awing experience where you truly come to respect mother nature and the beauty she offers.

Fabricators, Showrooms & Stone Yards

Fabricators are the ones who turn that piece of stone into a countertop, a vanity or whatever you have requested. They cut, polish and sometimes install your stone. Fabricators have color samples on hand, remnants, and stone slabs. Some fabricators stock the 'most popular' colors while others have only presold slabs on hand. Your fabricator will work with the showroom or stone yard to get your stone to their shop.

Showrooms have stone slabs on hand as well as tile, color samples and finished projects. They have quite a selection of stone. This is where you can visually see a lot of different ideas fro using stone. Look at slabs, choose stone, ask questions and get ideas.

Stone yards have hundreds of colors to look at. They have rough blocks, tiles, slabs, curbing, memorials, remnants, etc. Most stone yards import stone in from all over the world and many times they have their own quarries.

You will find combinations of the above - fabricator, showroom, and stone yard all in one. Or, fabricator/showroom... showroom/stone yard, etc. It doesn't really matter - everyone works together seamlessly from start to finish.

A Few Things To Keep In Mind When Choosing Stone

• Check the surface of the stone.
  Some stones polish smooth while others have dimples, pits, or fissures. Run your hands over the stone to feel for pits or dimples. Use a flashlight to check the character of the stone... the lighting may not be the best and it's most likely different than the lighting in your home. Since stone is a natural product, fissures and dimples aren't a bad thing. They are characteristics of the stone. But, is it a character you like?


• Check for fractures or deep long lines and scratches.
  These may weaken the stone or cause it to break. Scratches have to be polished out by your fabricator and may incur additional charges. If you have questions on a particular stone, call your marble and granite contractor to get their opinion.


• Look for blemishes in the stone.
  Strange swirls or large masses may be an eyesore to you and a selling point to me. On some stones, the color and pattern can vary quite a bit from one end of the stone to the other... good lighting is important. Look over the entire slab and choose a stone based on what is visually appealing to you.


• Amount of stone.
  Your fabricator will tell you how much stone you need as in how many slabs.


• Need more than one slab?
  If the stones will be seamed together (run concurrent), try to find slabs with consecutive numbers. This way any veins or patterns can run parallel. If the stones are across the room from each other, it's not as important. It is essential that the color and pattern or variation in colors and pattern is acceptable to you.


• Size.
  Different stones come in different sizes (lengths and widths). Know the longest run you have to minimize seams. For example: If your 'future' countertop is 100 inches long and the stone slab you are looking at is only 80 inches long, you will have a seam.


• Bring along your fabricators phone number.
  For immediate questions, concerns and pricing.

Once you choose your stone, put the slab(s)on hold. It's a good idea to have them hold an extra slab or two for you. Be certain you are VERY CLEAR about the slabs you want held.

The Best Stone

You'll find More Help On Choosing Stone Below:

• An elegant natural stone rich with beauty.
• This exotic natural stone is about luxury and glamor.
• A traditional and old fashioned natural stone.
• Soft and delicate to look at. The feeling is peaceful, tranquil, serene.
• Adds warmth and character to your home.