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Why does not my Granite look exactly like the sample

Recently, my friend wished to buy a countertop and went to a shopping center to look for one.  He was shown a sample of the granite that would be used for the countertop.  My friend seemed satisfied and went back.  He got a rude shock though when he got the countertop at his home.  The sample was a bit different from the countertop he received!  He wished to know the reason for the difference.

Granite found in mountains undergoes a great deal of processing before they hit the factories for manufacturing countertops.  Find below the finishing process that cause different-looking granite used in countertops

•    Large granite blocks found in mountains are sawed into slabs.  Saws as big of 14 feet in diameter are used for sawing.  In some cases, even diamond is used as granite in its raw form is very hard!

•    These slabs also known as slices are divided into squares by cutting.  A powerful press is used for this purpose.  Sometimes, even special circular saws are used for cutting the slabs into square shaped slices.

•    The wired saws used for sawing the granite to smaller slabs leave behind traces of rough and streaky lines.  These lines are smoothened by a process called milling.  Milling is usually done by using pads and abrasives.  Granite dealers also call this process, grinding.  The process of grinding continues till the granite is given a smooth and a polished finish.

•    Polished granite can be further cut and chiseled into a desired shape using wire saws controlled by diamond.  This is done to ensure the polished granite is thus ready for a variety of uses.

People ask me about the better version of granite.  I normally tell them “If you wish to use granite for domestic purposes, you should be using polished granite.”  In all other cases, you could be fine using the rough granite.  Polished granites are generally scratch resistant than the rough ones and are found usable for countertops and other domestic purposes.

Granite dealers spend a lot of time in finishing the granite.  Granite not polished will find very rare use, at least for domestic purposes.  Dealers provide additional coloring to the granite slabs, to make them usable in tailor made weather conditions.  For example, an individual wishing to use his countertop outdoors should stay away from blue-colored granite slabs as they are prone to attack from the UV rays of sunlight.

Transportation related defects are normally not noticed by individuals.  Your granite countertop could get minor scratch marks when they are transported to your home.  These marks are minor and can be removed with minor cleaning exercises. 

Did you now get to know the reason for a different-looking granite slab?  The granite may look different but the process behind making it look different can only be helpful to you in using your countertop.  Granite dealers use many tools and instruments to give granite the desired look.

All to ensure that you get the granite countertop that could be scratch and stain resistant!