What is Granite? and where does it come from?
Granite is mined from all over the world in large blocks, it is then sliced into slabs and polished on one face, the slabs are then cut up into worksurfaces / flooring / vanity tops / cladding. Eventually being installed in your home or on a commercial site.
Granite is extremely durable and will last a lifetime if looked after correctly, all natural stone is porous to some degree, meaning that the material will absord liquid, but only a small amount if left unattened for a period of time. The percentage of this absorbtion depends on the density of the material. Some granites are better suited for certain applications then others, as a general rule of thumb the darker the granite the less abosrbtion there will be. Ferazzi is always happy to advise of granite materials and help you select the correct one for your application. Granite is much harder then Marble.
Granite can come in a number of finshes dependant on material and availability
Highly Polished - High reflective sheen
Honed - Matt finish very smouth
Flamed - Rough texture, matt finish
When selecting granite for kitchen worktops it is important to take into consideration the dimensions of your hob and sink, as large appliances often dont leave the granite with enough strength, although very strong granite is so rigid that it has zero flexible strengh.
Images displayed on this website are only samples and gives a general idea of the materials, being natural the materials can vary in shading and structure, materials that have alot of vening or large fossils in will vary the most even in a single slab.
There is nothing like seeing the material in person at our showroom.
You will need to measure the lengths of the worktops you require and the depth of them. If there are any cut outs (Hob / sink) these need to be marked on your sketch. The more information we have the more accurite the price will be, information we require is the location of the project, edge detail (shape and polish of the seen edges, Sq edge is the most commonly used). If you require additionals like upstands (100mm pieces of granite at the back of each piece). We are happy to advise you Tel: 0151 530 4787
Measurements can be taken over the phone for a quotation, by fax or a Pdf by email if you wish to send your sketch to us
Templating & Installation
We template the worktops out of ply wood before manufacturing them, this allows you to discuss and customise with our templater how you would like each worktop down to the finest detail. Manufacturing is usually very quick 3-5 days.
Deciding on which Granite for your worktops can be a nightmare as there are so many granite materials to pick form. Quite often it is best to decide if you want a dark colour or a light coloured material as a starting point. Lighter colours give more light to otherwise dark rooms with little natual daylight and appear to make the room more spacious.
Darker granite materials used in small areas make the room look smaller and denser, however if you have light kitchen units it can stand a darker material, maybe a black granite with shades of grey in it, pure black is very heavy in colour tone.
If your room is large and spacious almost any colour will work, the three things you have to decide upon are floor colour, kitchen unit colour and then make your worktop compliment both of these, wall colour can be changed at any time.
Lighter units tend to work better with darker worktops and vice versa.
Granite worktops are easy to look after with regular cleaning, allowing substances to build up ontop of the surface will make it harder to clean, often creating a film ontop of the granite surface.
Warm water with a tiny bit of low ph soap in it, clean with a j cloth, and then rub with a dry tea towel or kitchen roll will bring the surface up nice and shiney.
If you have spots of build up of say oil, or fat, use something a bit stronger like jiff spray or ciff, make sure its the neautral ph version, they sell them for kitchens and bathrooms, spray affected area and scrub off the residue and then clean with warm water and dry with kitchen roll.
Repairing chips or cracks in granite is possible dependant on the size of the chipped out piece and the location of the chip. For instance if the chip is on the edge it may be able to be machined out or resin filled back into the worktop.
However if the chip/crack is in the surface even with resin repair the affected area will always be noticable. Due to the highly reflective surface of the granite a filled area would always be noticable.
Some scratches can be polished out of the surface but usually this results in the area polished being different to the rest of the surfaces. The original machines that polsihed the granite to give its high reflective sheen use extreme amounts of pressure to get the final result, anything done by hand can never apply the same pressure.
Some softer granite materials and marble may be able to be polished
This is quite a tricky one, all natural stone is porous and wants to absorb liquid water, each known granite has an absorbtion rate. Darker granite materials tend to absorb less liquids then lighter granite materials due to their density. Some granites are so dense they do not require sealing, putting a sealer on these materials will create a film ontop of the granite causing things like finger marks and cup marks to show. however other things like cooking oils, fats etc from daily use can also show these things up even on quartz.
If the granite material is one that needs sealing it is done before it leaves our factory, however some materials require unlimited sealing and needs to be applied periodically, sealants can be purchased from us, we are also happy to advise on the correct materail for your project.
Granite is still very very durable and only prolonged liquid on the surface will absorb into the material, if a spill occurs of wine lets say onto a lighter granite material, simply wiping it up after the spill will stop any absorbtion. Clear liquid water can go into the granite worktop and will just dry out
Also humans have been using stone since the stone ages and only in the last 20 years since the salesperson came along have we been told to use sealers, so dont let this put you off the natural beauty and uniqueness of granite for your project.
Black granite worktops are stunning and has been the best selling granite for worktops year after year. The reason this question is on here s because alot of people i have talked to have said they wished they had gone for something else if they could decide again, heres why.
Black granite is like a black car or a mirror, it looks absolutley amazing when clean, there is no better looking granite, it just oozes class. However once you start using the worktops for daily use black granite will show up every little finger mark, cup mark, streak of soap, dust.
If you would like black granite worktops it is worth bearing this in mind as it is high maintenance, there are alot of other granites which are black in shade but have a pattern within them (Star Galaxy, Angola Black, Rustenberg etc), this makes the marks less noticable at a glance and still gives you a great looking black granite surface.
Feel free to ask us, by phone or email, we are always happy to help you decide on the correct granite worktop for your project. We at Ferazzi are not interested in the quick cheap sale, we want it to be the right product for you that lasts a long time and is practical.
Tel: 0151 530 4787