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Caring for your Stone
We at Sudbury Granite & Marble, Inc. take a different approach to selling and installing countertops. We pride ourselves in educating you – our consumer so that you understand exactly what you are buying to insure your satisfaction. DIFFERENCES IN SELECTION: Here are some important differences which are essential for you to understand before making your selection:

Stones

Due to Granite’s inherent strength and scratch resistance, this material is considered the most durable of all natural stones and ideal for kitchen and bathroom countertops. Granite is the hardest if all stones in our collection and the most widely used due to its ability to remain beautiful and endure a long lasting luster. Granite is not impervious to scratching and staining. Sealers should always be used on any stone to slow down the absorption of water and oil based stains.

Marble, Limestone and Travertine have distinct veining characteristic. Unlike granite, they are each more porous stones, they scratches and the polished luster will turn dull over time with use. Please read marble care instructions for proper care. If you are interested in a patina appearance, these stone may be the stone you desire. Commercially, any stone capable of taking a polish (with the exception of granite) is known as marble. This includes travertine, onyx, serpentine and limestone. Because of its softer nature, our company does not recommend the use of Marble for kitchen countertops.

Engineered Stone is a man made stone consisting of 93% natural quartz, one of the strongest elements in nature. Quartz has one advantage over natural stone in that it does not need to be sealed. Like granite it is scratch and heat resistant and requires very little maintenance. Engineered stones are uniform in pattern and do not contain the uniqueness in variation found in most natural stones. Since engineered stones primarily consist of natural quartz, it is subject to the same markings and variations commonly found in natural stones. As a result, you are encouraged to select view your slab prior to any cutting taking place.

Finishes
Please read and understand the different finishes available in stones. Sudbury Granite & Marble, Inc. is an importer of finished slabs, providing you with the cutting and installation services of the finished product. Sudbury Granite & Marble, Inc. is not responsible for inconsistency regarding finishes and thickness of slabs. We encourage all customers to view and select their slabs prior to contracting Sudbury Granite & Marble, Inc. for any of the services they provide.

Polished - The surface is a glossy and smooth. The high gloss finish is made possible because of the crystals found in natural stones. No waxes or chemicals are used to achieve this natural polished look. The polish is achieved by first grinding the stone with abrasives and ultimately finer grit polishing powders until the crystal facets on the surface are flat across. This process takes place in the oversea manufacturing plants conducted by the suppliers and imported by Sudbury Granite & Marble, Inc. as a finished slab. Ultimately, Sudbury Granite & Marble, Inc. is solely responsible for the cutting and installation processes and not the polishing process of the slabs.

Honed - The surface has little or no sheen and is smooth. Unlike polished stone, fine powder abrasives are not used to create this finish. Instead coarser abrasives smooth the surface yet leaving the surface with a matte, non polished finish. When choosing a honed finish, it is very important that you remember honed finish will require more daily maintenance than polished finishes. Metal marks, fingerprints and other signs of daily living will show on honed material. Most of these marks can be removed with some effort or by using a stone color enhancer. When selecting your slab please note that abrasive marks are generally noticeable on the surface of honed surfaces.

Tumbled - This finish is honed with an added look of age and distress. This finish is available only in tile. The edges of the tile are worn; either chipped or rounded. It is purposely made to look old and weathered. This look is achieved by placing pieces of stone together with sand in a tumbler-a machine that spins bring about this effect.

Cleft - This uneven is typical of slates and some limestones. Stones consisting of many layers tend to have surfaces that reveal this fact. Though a fingernail may sometimes lift the cleft surface, the bonds holding the layers are quite strong. Chipping of the stone surface is temporary and eventually over time the weaker part is removed leaving the beauty of the stone in tact. Please note seams performed on a cleft surface will not be as concealed as seams on other surfaces.

What you should know when selecting natural stone:

Natural stone is a product of nature and is subject to variations in color and markings. The same intense temperatures and pressures from the earth which create the beautiful veining in your selection may have also created fissures (slight fractures) in the stone. There may be variations in the thickness of your stone. There may be blotches and texture on the top polish of the slabs.

Samples in the showroom may differ in color or pattern of the actual material available for your selection. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that you inspect and select your slab prior to templating.

Granite and marble come in the form of a slab that is cut from a block. A slab is like a slice of bread. Slices of the same loaf are the same. Slabs from the same block are the same. Our company stocks slabs within one block so all slabs from that block match. Be aware that if you chose to order numerous slabs from other distributors, there may be some variation between slabs if the slabs were taken from different blocks or lots.

The thickness of your selection will come in either two (2) centimeters (apprx 3/4 inch) or three (3) centimeters (apprx 1 ¼ inch). These sizes have become a term of art in our business much like a 2”x4” is a term of art in the lumber business. Although the name suggests an exact measurement, the material varies in thickness and therefore, varies in size.

Getting Started
Here are the steps of the process of selecting, fabricating, and installing the perfect natural stone for your home or office:
- If you have a cabinet door, a tile or even wallpaper we suggest you bring them in with you to coordinate with our stone selection and to help with your selection process.
- We will walk you through our inventory, which consists of many different colors, types and thicknesses of stone.
- It is important that you bring with you your drawings or plans so that we can quote your project and discuss any details of the project.
- Our policy is 50% upon signing of the contract, and 50% upon delivery/installation.
- To set up a template appointment we will require approximately one week's notice and will also require your base cabinets to be 100% installed. We will need your sink, faucet/spread, cooktop/downdraft/range on site prior to scheduling a template date.
- Next we do require a slab layout for every project. Slab layouts are normally required due to the variations such as color or veining that exists in ALL nature stones.