What Does a Granite Fabricator Do?
Ever wonder how your beautiful stone countertops came to be?
There are many steps involving many people behind the scenes to produce these functional works of art – including a granite fabricator. In this blog, we explore a granite fabricator’s process of transforming raw pieces of stone into custom countertops – perfect for your home or office.
What is a Granite Fabricator?
A granite fabricator is a contractor that cuts countertop slabs to exact measurements with specialized machines and then installs the countertops. As you look for help with your new kitchen or bath remodel, you will likely stumble across terms like stone fabricator, manufacturer and supplier.
This begs the question: Are granite fabricators the same as the supplier? Not necessarily. So, who should you be working with on your new project?
A granite fabricator is essential to the process of bringing your new kitchen, bath or outdoor space to life, but you also need a supplier to provide the material.
If natural stone, most fabricators will have onsite inventory for you to view and “tag.” Once selected, your choice will be used to make your custom countertops. Most stone fabricators work with a variety of materials, not just exclusively granite, including:
These materials are typically purchased from a variety of stone suppliers or manufacturers.
Although both can have slabs on-premise, the difference between a stone supplier and a fabricator is that the stone supplier imports or houses the stone for purchase and the fabricator not only has inventory but also is the company that will make your countertops.
So, how does that process work?
Working with a Granite Fabricator: From Slab to Finished Product
You’ve made your slab selections and placed your order – and so the journey begins.
From here, your granite fabricator will set up a template date with you to obtain exact field measurements from which your custom countertops will be manufactured. Today, most templates are digital to ensure ultimate precision.
Information from your countertop template then gets relayed to the tech department for layout on the chosen material. Then, the digital template gets programmed to the saw for cutting before the hand finishing work.
It’s a very interesting process. At Eastern Surfaces, you can see the process firsthand by visiting our showroom and getting a bird’s eye view of countertops in production.
When your countertops are ready, it’s time for installation. Before your fabricator arrives, you should have your sink, faucet and appliances onsite so they can be mounted appropriately. Your installer team will take it from there to complete your job. If you need a plumbing recommendation for final hook-ups, check with your fabricator during the sales process. Also, if you need help removing your existing countertops, be sure to discuss with your Sales Associate prior, so that option can be added to your quote if needed.
Conclusion
Who knew so much went into making countertops? Actually, when the finished projects are installed, it makes sense that so much attention to detail is necessary to achieve such exquisite end results!
Experience the process yourself with new countertops for any space in your home, inside or out. The knowledgeable sales team at Eastern Surfaces is ready to assist you with your project needs. Contact us to get started!
