Monday, November 23, 2009

Current Trends in Granite Industry

1. Reduced prices due to increased production

Extraordinary advances in extraction and elaboration techniques have dramatically increased the production of granite stones in the last decade and the decline in prices has also been witnesses. Decline can not only be attributed to lower prices but also to gross margins that have sharply come down in the recent years. As a result of technological improvement, unless a production unit is extremely efficient or the material being worked with is highly exclusive, the chances of making any profit at all are low.

2. Granite being used widely all over in major projects.

Among the positive developments in the granite industry, one of the upbeat activities is the greater awareness of it among the architects, and its growing popularity in major construction projects. Whether it is a commercial building, an airport, office centers, hotels or affordable granite kitchen, granite stones are becoming more and more popular for the big and small projects all over the world.

3. Granite companies in search of new materials all the time.

More and more new granite varieties are quarried all around the world all the time. New excavations are being opened every day to extract these beautiful natural stones in countries like Brazil, India, Africa etc. A large section of big granite factories have decided to work with granite materials that no one else has and thus are either setting up their own quarries in various countries, or signing agreements to purchase the whole production of certain quarries which is off course the convenient way to prosper in this highly competitive industry.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Preventing your granite worktops from scratches

It is a well known fact that granite requires very less maintenance. But this does not mean that you do not need to take care of your granite worktops. Your kitchen granite countertops or worktop can look shining as new always with a minimum care and maintenance. This is the main reason for which most of the homeowners prefer granite over all other natural and engineered stones for decorating their houses particularly kitchens.


Granite can withstand heat and is resistant to stains and any other kind of damages. Granite stones can also resist any harsh element but still you need to be careful and cautious to prevent your granite stones from unnoticeable scratches that build over time and can make the surface of your granite rough. Grit and sand stuck to the bottom of any object placed on the granite countertop can scratch the granite surface. The best option is to use some table mats or metal stands to place objects on the surface.


There are manufacturers who claim to repair the scratches developed on the granite surface. But preventing scratches is better than repairing it, as you may not get the same piece from the lot that you had purchased earlier and it may look bad.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Tips to maintain your granite worktops

Having granite worktops in your kitchen makes your life easy as these natural stones do not require much effort to clean and maintain. However to keep your granite worktops looking clean and shiny all the time, you will have to follow frequent cleanliness regimes. Even if your worktop stone is hard, durable and resistance to heat and stains, it still requires regular cleaning; otherwise it can deteriorate easily and lose its shine. Therefore you should clean the tiles yourself on a regular basis Here are some useful tips that can help you in maintaining the beauty of the natural stone.

1. Clean your worktops using some mild cleanser or simply your dish washing soap and rub the worktop surface gently with a smooth scrubber. To remove the stickiness and extra dirt that gets deposited on the surface it is best to rinse the surface with warm water. Dry the surface with a clean absorbing material cloth or sponge.

2. Stains can be of any nature and can penetrate inside the granite surface thus leading to severe damages. Hence, as soon as you see a stain on your granite surface, clean it immediately. You can also clean the stains by preparing a paste of one cup flour and two to three tablespoon of dish washing liquid. Apply this paste on the stained area and leave it for the night.

3. If the stains are tough and do not go with your normal dish washing solution, then you can replace the dish washing liquid with a hydrogen peroxide solution. To make it a more effective, you can also add some ammonia liquid into it. This method works with stains created due to spills of oil, milk and grease.

4. Tea, coffee and fruit juice stains can be removed by preparing a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia and then rinsing the surface with water as soon as the cleaning process gets completed.

5. If the stains are difficult to remove, then do not try scrubbing your tiles too hard. It can lead to scratches in your tiles. The best approach in such a case is to either change your cleansing solution or appoint a restoration specialist to revamp the tiles.

Regular cleaning will maintain the beauty of your kitchens worktops for lifelong. So why not start your regular cleaning regime from today!