What are slabs?

Natural stone has always been a sign of luxury and prosperity. This material gives the buildings monumentality and some sophistication. In addition, stone is a durable and sustainable material. The main application of natural stone is the manufacture of fountains, stairs, countertops, window sills and other products. All elements are cut from slabs. Slabs are blanks made of natural stone, which are flat slabs 2-4 cm thick and 300×200 cm in size.They are made of various types of stone (travertine, granite, marble, slate, etc.), on which the operational and decorative properties of finished architectural products. Any decorative elements can be made from slabs, and a seamless surface is obtained.

Natural stone becomes more and more popular every year. A wide variety of rocks and textures of stone allows it to be widely used in architecture, landscape design, and interior decoration. The most popular are granite, marble and travertine slabs. Granite is the most durable material and has high wear resistance (it is not damaged even under the influence of acids). The advantage of marble lies in the uniqueness of the color and pattern of its surface, however, marble is quite fragile. In addition, the color of its surface tends to change under the influence of aggressive substances. Travertine is gaining more and more popularity, which is not afraid of sudden changes in temperature and high humidity.

How are slabs made?

Natural stone is mined in quarries in the form of huge blocks, which are then sawn into slabs. Currently, only gentle technologies are used in the extraction of stone. Many years of experience have shown that the extraction of stone, for example, by means of an explosion, damages the structure of the stone, in which microcracks appear. When stone is mined in this way, a large amount of waste is generated, so this method is not used by large companies.

There are now many modern technologies for stone mining, including manual mining, mining using drilling rigs, controlled explosions, stone cutters, etc. The most expensive is the stonecutting method. On the other hand, this method allows you to minimize material waste and produce high-quality slabs.

The stone blocks obtained by one of the above methods are cut into slabs with the help of special equipment, which are then polished and polished. Slabs made of travertine, marble and granite are processed with diamond tools.