Archive for October, 2010

Granite Colors – A Wide Spectrum of Choices for Your Home Improvement Plans

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010

Granite has turned out to be the leading option for quality kitchen, business and outdoor countertops. Besides adding a sturdy elegance, they are durable, brilliant and are easy to maintain for decades. It is formed from magma which was cooled over thousand years to form a rock.

The minerals found in granite are quartz, feldspars, mica and hornblende. Quartz is main component to crystallize so that it fills in extra space between other minerals. Its deficiency in chemical reactivity and cleavage with hardness gives attractive durable properties. K-feldspars present in granites give its color variations.

Depending on the geographic places of granite quarries, colors of granites vary and they look amazing. The granite colors do not fade away and the surface remains polished forever.

Granites come in variety of colors. Specific shades of granite depends from the country they are mined. Some of them are as follows:

Beige

Beige is one of the most admired granite colors, and it is generally used in bathrooms and kitchens. Quarries that produce this color with well known shades are Golden Flaring and Darkas Beige, Crema Marfil from Spain, Century Beige from Europe and Shell Beige and Egypt Creme from Egypt.

Metallic Colors

Granite colors include metallic gold and copper. These shades also feature secondary black, grey and white colors. The quarries mining these colors are South America and Brazil.

Green

Norway quarries green granite with secondary colors that include blue and aqua shadings. They are generally termed as Emerald Pearl.

Blue

These are mined from Brazil and Coastal Africa and features greys, whites, blues and blacks as secondary colors. The rarest and most required after blue granites are Azul Blue Granites.

Red/Brown

These are popular and available in China which is mined from Brazil. The secondary colors include red to brown and burgundy.

Gray & Black

Gray and black are widely used colors in granite. Gray granites are mined from Georgia and they shade from bare gray, Moonlight gray and Sierra white. Black Granites are mined from Sweden, India, Australia and South Africa. The secondary colors for black are blue, white, gray and, even green.

Uba Tuba Granite

Uba Tuba granite is igneous rock shipped around the world. Due to its quartz and mica composition, it is hardest and dense stones used mainly in kitchen countertops. It is durable; resists wear and endure with heat and water. Their colors range from black to green with gold and brown lines on it. The color varies from the quarries it has mined from and also lighting. Benefits using Uba Tuba Granite are as follows:
•    It has unique appearance when used and are not subjected to scratch or stain.
•    Maintenance and cleaning is easy
•    Water droplets readily blend with its surface making it look tidy
•    It is affordable combined with beauty and durability.
•    It’s highly well-suited with glass and wood furnishings.

Black Galaxy Granite:

It has black background with golden dots on it. These golden dotes are due to ferrous rich Enstatine (Bronzite).It has a remarkable appearance and it is used in the whole house to maintain uniformity. They are mainly found in Andhra Pradesh State in India. The black galaxy granite is classified into three times, namely the small speckled, medium speckled and large speckled.

Experience the Stonework of Art with Marble and Granite

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Marble and granite are stones which are quarried from Earth’s crust. Both are formed from Magma which is cooled over thousand years to form a rock, is the only similarity between the two. These rocks are classified in 3 types: Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic.

The difference between marble and granite is as follows:

  • Granite is hard stone formed by crystallized minerals under high temperature and pressure. Marble is considered to be sediment from plant matter, shells or even animal skeletons. After many years of resting under the earth’s crust, these super hot bodies start to rise and solidify as it cools to form hard stone called as Marble.
  • Granite is considered to be Igneous and Marble is Metamorphic.
  • Granite contains minerals like Quartz, mica and feldspar. After many years of pressure, results in hard, stain resistant and durable stone. Color of the granites depends on difference in the minerals .Marble, similar to granite also formed thousand years back. It is created from limestone. After much pressure and heat, the limestone texture begins to experience a transformation process called recrystallization.
  • Minerals present in granite creating unique textures, patterns and colors. It is resistant to heat, scratches, stains and heat. They are long lasting and are considered very durable. As marbles are made of calcite, it is sensitive to tile cleaners and acidic foods like lemon, wine, vinegar, and tomatoes which make the finish of marble dull.
  • There are two types of granite stones: Flamed and Honed granite. For flamed granite, a flame is applied on the surface causing melting of surface crystals. Honed granite is shiny and has reflective surfaced with soft matte appearance. Marble contains different kinds: Calcites, serpentines, Limestone, onyx, and travertine.

However, both the marble and granite are the most demanded stones to add beauty and elegance to the architectural design of your surroundings.

Marble is considered to be versatile stone known for its luxury, beauty and durability. Home decorators usually prefer marble for its elegance and artistic look. It is mainly preferred in kitchens due to its availability in many textures, colors and designs. It has also got many rough and tough features for which it is easy to maintain them.

The most usage of Marble in the house is Kitchen countertops. Your construction would not be completed unless you have marble kitchen which add value to your house. If the surface of the marble is sealed, then you can easily keep hot and cold items on its surface which would not damage unlike other countertops.

They are easily installed and with the large variety of marbles available in the market, the price of them has also reduced .The only thing we have to take care is to seal the Marble tiles to avoid stains as they very porous. As kitchens are most popular rooms in a house, it’s great to invest money in marble kitchen.

They have many advantages and some of them are as follows:

  • Marble kitchens are soft, smooth, shine and bright which make kitchen look striking.
  • It has wide variety of colors to choose from making it look class, style and true elegance.
  • They are easy to maintain if they are taken proper care and good sealers are used time to time making it more durable.
  • Though they are regarded as expensive, they are available all around the world making it affordable and cheaper.