What is granite?
How long has it been used in kitchens?
Does Australia quarry stone?
How hard is it?
Will it scratch?
Why is Absolute Stone’s granite so much cheaper?
How does it compare to man-made plastics?
Is granite available in white?
How about cream tones?
What about putting hot pots onto it?
Does it need to be sealed?
How do I care for it?
What if I get a stain?
What if I get a chip?
Does it need re-polishing?
Granite is basically a natural rock or stone, sometimes also called quartz or feldspar. It is formed over millions of years. It occurs naturally in every country around the world.
How long has it been used in kitchens?
Granite has been used for the past 50-60 years as bench-top surfacing in kitchens. Prior to that, most kitchen bench-tops were manufactured from marble. (Generally white "Carrara" marble was used, a marble sourced from the mountains surrounding Florence, in Tuscany, Italy).
Yes, in relatively small quantities. However due to the high cost of processing the stone (cutting and polishing), it is available at a cost that very few people can afford. The determining factor as to whether stone will be quarried in a country depends predominantly on the particular country’s labour costs. Many Australian companies have gone to the wall trying to quarry and process granite.
How hard is it?
Granite is one of the hardest materials known to man (only slightly softer than diamonds). Hence, it is ideally suited to use for kitchen bench-tops and vanities.
Will it scratch?
Not with general kitchen usage. Steel is softer than granite, hence a kitchen knife should not scratch the surface.
Granite will only scratch when rubbed with another piece of granite or a diamond. Silicon carbide is hard than granite hence green scouring pads should be avoided on granite and most benchtop surfaces.
Due to the extreme hardness of granite, it is not advisable to cut on bench-top surfaces with knives, as they will blunt very quickly. A timber chopping board is far more practical.
Why is Absolute Stone’s granite so much cheaper than the traditional product?
We produce bench-tops using a modular system. Edges are pre-finished in China. Wastage is virtually nil, compared with up to 30% with traditional methods.
Absolute Stone has a unique "leveragable" installation system, thus allowing volume markets to have access to this "world-class" product.
How does granite compare to man-made plastics?
(i.e. Corian, Granite Transformations, Caesar Stone, Silestone and similar)
Absolute Stone’s granite is a 100% natural, breathing material. It will have slight shade/colour variations, some veining (depending on the stone selected) and some composition variations, much like natural timber. These variations contribute to its’ natural beauty. It is generally harder than the resin or plastic based products. These companies usually advertise their product as having xx% of granite, the inference being that the higher the %, the more hard wearing it will be. Granite will NOT burn. Most resin-based products create highly toxic fumes when burnt. Most house fires start in the kitchen……make your own deductions!
Is granite available in white?
No, which is one of the main reasons plastic based products became necessary. The closest stones with pure white backgrounds are marbles. Marbles are used for bench-tops but are softer than granite so require more care. There is an Indian stone called "Kashmir White" that is a granite and has a white background, but is definitely not as consistently white as the man-made materials.
Granite does come in some cream tonings. "Amber" which is part of the D.A.H. range is an example.
What about putting hot pots onto it?
Generally items transferred direct from stove to bench-tops will not damage the surface of your Granite. The only time a problem can occur is if the stone were to have a natural fault line or fissure that cannot be seen with the eye. Thermal heat transfer could cause this to open up, appearing as a crack. For this reason we suggest a timber board or a granite off-cut be used as a pot stand, rather than sitting pots straight from stove to benches. Common sense should prevail.
All natural stone used in wet areas requires sealing from time to time. Absolute Stone’s installers seal all stone at our factory prior to installation. As each coat is applied and absorbed by the stone, a barrier is created. Each coat penetrates 2-3mm into the surface.
On completion of the installation, it is again sealed and any excess sealer remaining on the surface is buffed off. With most granites, this two coat process is enough to give years of maintenance-free service in your kitchen and/or bathrooms.
Some lighter coloured stones and marbles may require additional sealing to achieve a non-porous state. For these lighter coloured stones, our installers can supply you with a small quantity of sealer to re-seal the surfaces over the period of a week or two following installation.
Application of the sealer is an easy process. Simply pour onto the bench-top surface and using a clean, soft white cloth (an old T-shirt is perfect), spread evenly over the surface. Allow 10 minutes for sealer to penetrate the stone and using a dry cloth, buff off any excess while sealer is still wet.
To check if surface is completely water-resistant, place a damp glass on the bench, lift and wipe the surface. When no water is absorbed into the surface it is fully sealed and should need no re-sealing for 18-24 months.
Rule No. 1 - do not use green scourer pads.
Green scourer pads contain silicon carbide (one of the few material harder than granite) and can, if used regularly, dull the surface of natural granite.
For best results, simply wash bench-top surfaces down with warm soapy water and dry off with a clean tea towel. Enyo or similar micro-fibre cloths also work brilliantly with granite. No chemicals such as bleach should be necessary.
If a build up of any grime occurs and is hard to remove, simply use Steel Wool. Steel is not as hard as granite, so the steel wool will not damage the surface.
Alternatively, a number of commercial cleaners and polishes are available from from our showroom.
What if I get a stain?
The sealer used by Absolute Stone is designed to give you time to clean surfaces (within 1 to 2 hours is normally fine) however leaving the surfaces uncleaned overnight may result in some marking. Should a stain occur, it can generally be removed by the use of a poultice or commercial absorption agent. Absolute Stone stocks an exceptional product called “Oil-Ex” which will remove most stains overnight.
Should an edge be chipped due to a severe knock the granite can be repaired quite easily. Epoxy resin is tinted and applied to fill the chip, then once fully dried it is shaped and polished.
Absolute Stone can arrange for a tradesman to carry out this work.
Unlike man-made plastics, granite when used under normal conditions, should never require re-polishing.
The high-gloss polished finish on stone that is used on kitchen and bathroom bench-tops, is achieved by mechanically polishing the stone with diamond encrusted grinding pads. This polishing process is carried out in the quarry factories prior to shipping.
During this procedure, some larger quartz pieces in the stone are sometimes pulled from the surface. When viewed in reflected light, this polishing creates the slightly pitted look that is characteristic of natural granite. All granites, other than very tight grained stones such as Midnight Black, should have this characteristic. It is only man-made products, usually compositions of stone and resin/polymer(plastic), that are able to be manufactured with a dead smooth, plastic-look surface.
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...15 Sundercombe Street
...Osborne Park
...Tel 08 9244 7888
