How Are Marble Countertops Made?

You’ve decided to install marble countertops and chosen your marble, as well as its cut and finish. But you may still be wondering: How are marble countertops made?

Sit back and let the experts at New Century Kitchen and Bath explain quality marble’s journey from the ground to your home.

Some Things Never Change

The first step in adding luxurious marble to your home is removing it from the quarry. Today, sophisticated machinery replaces the manpower used by ancient Greeks and Romans, meaning countertops can go from slab to finished product in as little as an afternoon, saving you time and money. But the steps in the process remain remarkably unchanged.

First, Make a Template

Making sure your countertop fits is, and always will be, the most crucial part of the entire process. Creating templates from existing countertops ensures the right dimensions. Templates are taken to the fabrication shop, where data is fed into a CAD (computer-aided design) program. At this stage, locations of sinks and other fixtures are noted, design modifications made, and extra features added if required.

Next Come the Saws

Saws have a few jobs during the manufacture of marble countertops. First, a block saw, or gang saw, cuts the huge blocks of quarried marble into more manageable slabs. Today’s diamond wire saws, which use metal wires studded with real or synthetic diamonds, can slice through marble with ease. Using data from the CAD, a bridge saw refines these smaller slabs into shapes suitable for kitchen and bathroom countertops. Once again, diamonds make these saws incredibly strong, and a jet of water keeps the circular blades from overheating. A more recent development is high-powered water jets, mixed with abrasive substances, that saw edges and provide finer details, such as holes, with minimal difficulty.

Polishers

After the saws cut your quality marble to the required shape, the countertop is moved to a polishing table, where abrasive, rotating pads buff the marble to the finish you have chosen. This could be shiny enough to see your reflection or a slightly duller finish that will require less maintenance. Polishers can also decorate the surface of your counter with CAD-controlled finishes, such as flaming or tumbling.

Routers

More flourish is provided by routers. Once again, these are CAD-controlled and diamonds are used to make these blades extremely sharp and strong. As the router blades spin, they cut everything from simple edging designs to elaborate decorations and even wording. These finishing touches used to be done by hand, making them extremely time consuming and costly. Today, automation makes even complicated flourishes affordable to many homeowners.

Custom Installation

However big or small your project, specialists at New Century Kitchen and Bath work with you from design to fabrication and installation. Since 1991, our experienced team has been providing workmanship you can rely on and the best quality marble countertops in the area.

Call New Century Kitchen and Bath today at 510.347.1818 or email us at info@nckb.com and make your design dreams come true!