Granite in the Kitchen
Granite Facts & Information
So you are looking at purchasing some granite to place in a kitchen, bathroom or any other room within your house, not only will this add value to your home, but it will last a lot longer that wood, chipboard or plastics. Stone is ageless will always be in demand.
Granite is a natural stone and has been used as a building material for many centuries. Granite is an igneous rock which means that it is formed by volcanic activity, which strength approaches that of diamonds.
When buying granite, be sure to inspect the piece 1st, never buy granite online without seeing the actual cut, as every slate is unique and could be bad quality. The granite mineral composition is composed primarily of quartz, mica and feldspar as well as other minerals. The minerals are what determine the colour variations in the stone. most of which are unique, here are some great examples!
http://www.landfordstone.co.uk/stone-collection/granite-worktops/
Granite in the Kitchen
Granite is tough, but not unbreakable and it is important that you look after it with the right products, Before granite is fitted into a home, it is cut, inspected, polished and treated. Granite generally comes scratch resistant and heat resistant, resistant is never 100%. Granites melting point is around 1215°c, so you should be pretty safe putting pots and pans on the side.
Italy
At present, there are several companies in the world that make use of generic names to denote different kinds of stone. Because of this, a problem has taken place for the market of stone maintenance. The original nomenclature was in Italian. Normally the name contains two parts, of which the first part explains the color of the stone and the other denotes the place from where it was quarried.
Stone Colors |
|
| Italian Term | English Translation |
| Dorato / D’oro | Gold |
| Breccia | Broken Portions |
| Azzuro | Blue |
| Fiore | Flower |
| Nero/Negro | Black |
| Giallo | Yellow |
| Rosa | Pink |
| Perlato/Perla | Pearl |
| Bianco | White |
| Verde | Green |
| Bianco Rosso | Whitish Red |
Example:
Negro Marquina is a black-colored marble belonging to Marquina in Spain.
Bianco Carrara is a white-colored marble from Carrara in Italy.
Colors
As mentioned earlier, stone was produced from natural minerals of various kinds. Marble’s major consistency is of calcium. The natural basis is Calcium carbonate that binds the stone. Some additional minerals mixed with calcium during production to modify these vivid colors. The additional minerals are color developers too existing in granite as well as other stones.
Stone Colors/Minerals |
|
| Stone Color Shade |
Mineral |
| Brown | Limonite |
| Black | Carbon, Hornblende, Biotite |
| Green | Mica, Chloride, Silicate |
| Gray | Various Minerals |
| White | Hematite Calcite, Feldspar, Dolomite |
| Red | Hematite |
| Yellow | Limonite |
Individual Mineral Colors |
|
| Mineral | Color of Mineral |
| Augite | Purple, Black, Green, Brown |
| Biotite | Green, Brown, Black |
| Calcite | Pale Colors and Pearlenscent |
| Dolomite | Pale Brown, Pink, Colorless |
| Feldspar | Grey, Green, Pink, White, Yellow |
| Hematite | Black or Metallic Grey |
| Hornblende | Limonite |
| Hornblende | Black, Brown, Yellow, Green |
| Limonite | Yellow, Brown or Black |
| Sulphur | Pale Gold |
Written by Brad Houston
http://www.landfordstone.co.uk/