Understanding The Process Of Granite Fabrication

The grandeur of granite makes almost every homemaker want a granite kitchen countertop. It adds immense amount of style and character to the kitchen and is therefore one of thee best kitchen countertops.

 The only problem with a granite kitchen countertop is the price tag associated with it. The natural stone is expensive. A lot of the costs are associated with the work involved in installing and fabricating a granite countertop.

 The sequence of events by which granite slabs are extracted from the mountains has not changed over the past several centuries. Still large amounts of dynamite are required to break the granite slabs.

 However, one area in the production of granite slabs that has changed dramatically over the years is prefabrication process. Advances in technology have improved the granite countertop installation and fabrication process.

 There are three basic tools that are used for the purpose of kitchen countertop fabrication: saws, polishers, and routers. The saw is required to cut the size of the granite slabs into desired lengths. These saw are usually studded with diamonds so that they can cut through the surface of granite easily. Water is sprayed on the slabs to cool them down during the cutting process.

 Due to technological advancements in machine tools, saw these days are available with water jets. This makes the process of kitchen countertop fabrication go on more easily.

 Polishers are required to smooth the surface of the rough granite slabs and hone them into the shiny, smooth surface that all homeowners associate with granite kitchen countertops. The polisher consists of rotating pads which are fitted with abrasive tools. These abrasive tools help scour away the rougher surface of the granite slabs and produce a clean, smooth surface.

The final stage in the kitchen countertop fabrication process is the creating edge profiles. Routers are used to create any one of the several edges that are commonly used with granite kitchen countertops including beveled and straight edges.

 All these machines used for kitchen countertop fabrication are controlled by computers these days. This makes the cutting and fabrication more precise as well as faster.

 Granite countertop installation should be left to professionals as it is hard work that requires a lot of precision. The measurements need to be exact for the countertop otherwise the stone will not sit in the space very well.  In addition, since granite slabs are expensive materials, it is wiser to waste less of the natural stone.