The 3 Steps to Create Kitchen Marble Countertops 

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Kitchen marble countertops are a stunning addition to any kitchen and will match just about any type of décor.  They are a striking part of any kitchen home improvement project and will allow you to show the room to your guests with pride.  But before they reach your home, there are a number of processes that kitchen marble countertops undergo.  The following are the main steps involved in these processes that bring kitchen marble countertops from the rock quarry to your home.

Kitchen marble countertops step 1: the raw materials

Kitchen marble countertops begin at one of any number of mines or quarries around the world where the natural stone slab is cut from the earth and is carefully loaded for transportation.  As lengths of the material must be protected from breaking en route, transporting the stone involves a great deal more than simply tossing them into the back of a truck.  Instead, each piece of raw rock is carefully lifted into the trailer until the vehicle is full. 

Any gaps between the rocks or between the rock and the container are then filled with molded rubber foam to keep the stones from knocking around and chipping or cracking.  The marble is therefore carefully held in place for the journey.  Special cranes and winches are used upon arrival at the factory or shop.  This process is typically quite slow, as the rocks need to be handled with care to avoid causing them harm.  Since this natural stone is expensive, it is worth the extra time and effort so that the materials are not wasted.

Kitchen marble countertops step 2: the cutting and water-blasting process

As the rocks for the kitchen marble countertops are transported in large raw chunks of stone and not in usable sizes, the first thing that needs to be done to them is to cut them down.  This is accomplished with large saws operated by computer, as the hardness of the natural stone makes it too difficult to cut by hand.  Moreover, computers allow for an increased level of precision that could not be accomplished if done by hand.  Once the rocks have been cut down into large slabs, they are further reduced until they reach the dimensions and shape the final countertop slab with the desired edge.  Each sheet is over one inch thick.  After they have been cut to the right size, they are then water blasted using a powerful jet device, spraying water at a pressure of more than 70 pounds per square inch and at a speed of over 200 miles per hour.  This smoothes the surface and edges of the slab.

Kitchen marble countertops step 3:  the finishing and detailing process

After the cutting and water-blasting, the slabs are ready to receive the finishing and detailing that will make them into kitchen marble countertops which will be ready for installation.  The finishing is a buffing process that is performed using different grit sizes of sandpaper, decreasing in size with each phase of the buffing process.  Once the kitchen marble countertops have been buffed, they are polished and detailed.  This gives the natural stone the highly reflective shine that makes it appear so luxurious.  At this point, they are ready for installation.

Whether custom made or pre fabricated, kitchen marble countertops all undergo the same basic processes that bring them from deep within the earth to the surface of your cabinets.

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