The “low-maintenance” hard stone seems like a quintessential element in Indian households. But it’s vastly misunderstood? Granite is so much more than a stone to bear the brunt that marble would certainly crack under. Its vibrant characters are as surreal as they are awe-inspiring.
But all that is changing now.
Let’s dive in and find out how granite is breaking out of the stereotype and how architects & interior designers are using this stone to highlight its beauty.
What is Granite?
Granite is a type of igneous rock that is mainly composed of silica and the minerals quartz and feldspar. Due to the presence of varied minerals, granite often has a speckled appearance and comes in vibrant colours.
Known for its durability, granite is mostly used in high-traffic areas such as hallways, kitchen countertops and even exterior façades. The stone, being a natural substance, can last 100+ years in your home if maintained well. Pre-sealed and polished granite can last over 10 years without needing much maintenance.
How is granite formed?
The magma from volcanoes cools down under the continental crust and crystallizes, trapping minerals like quartz, feldspar, mica, ferromagnesian minerals and more.
Over the years, the landform changes by physical and chemical weathering, creating boulders of granite.
The incredible mix of materials gives granite its trademark speckled appearance, and also allows the stone to have a range of different finishes—from pearly white to jet black to speckled grey – even vivid blue and salmon pink.
Properties of granite
Unique beauty
Just like any other natural stone, each granite slab is unique with a matchless set of patterns, grains and hues. The one-of-a-kind slab adorning your walls or kitchen countertop wouldn’t exist anywhere else.
Hardness
It is harder than marble, rating 7 on the MOH scale. This is also why it is difficult to achieve perfectly smooth sides – or extraordinary surface finishes – without high-tech machines.
Highly resistant to decay
Granite is known for its durability. The high composition of crystallized silica contributes to its resistance to decay. Furthermore, the stone is not as reactive to occasional spills as marble, making it ideal for a number of applications.
Fire and heat resistant
Another reason why granite is widely used in the kitchen – granite is fire and heat resistant. Plop a pot straight out of the oven onto your granite countertop or kitchen island, and it won’t break or chip.
Advantages of using granite
Eternally beautiful
Granite slabs are known to last for centuries without fading in lustre. Even if they seem dull with use, it’s easy to polish them without compromising their colour or natural shine.
Stunning surface finishes
It can be cut in different ways, creating spellbinding patterns and surface finishes for focus walls and exterior cladding that last forever.
Healthy
Granite flooring and cladding protects you and your family from germs, allergens and dirt. A well-processed slab of granite helps keep the microbes at bay. The chief reason behind this is the lack of open pores on the surface and no grout lines between perfectly cut, seamless edges.
Drawbacks of using granite
There barely are any.
Granite is known for being low maintenance. However, it may need to be sealed at least in an interval of 5 years.
Things to consider when buying granite
Colour and grain pattern
Since granite comes in a rainbow spectrum of hues, it is imperative to choose the colour and type of the stone.
Thickness
While the standard thickness of granite slabs available in the market is 20mm, it may make your walls unnecessarily heavy.
The pioneers in the natural stone industry – Ninety Degree Stone now brings to you 10mm thick granite slabs for wall cladding with unprecedented technological innovation.
Finishes and polish
Since granite slabs come pre-polished, you can pick and choose which surface finish would suit your home before even purchasing the stone. For flooring, you can go from glossy diamond polish to a smooth matte finish. For cladding, you can indulge in a dramatically jagged surface or floral canvas – as per your liking.
Ninety Degree Stone offers over 80 exquisite surface finishes.
Premium quality
Most importantly, you should check the quality of the stone. The vibrancy of colour and seamless perfect edges are some pointers to look for while shopping for premium quality granite.
Granite in modern architecture and homes
While the stone itself is ageless, the ways in which granite has been used in modern architecture and home designs have evolved over the years.
Besides the classic kitchen countertop, granite with extraordinary finishes is greatly admired in exterior façades and high-traffic areas such as the parking garage.
Granite also finds widespread application in flooring for spaces with heavy footfall, such as in commercial buildings.
How to take care of your granite flooring, cladding and countertops?
How to increase the lifetime of granite flooring/ at home?
Granite is famous for being extremely low-maintenance. As long as you mop with clean water and mild cleaning liquid, and dry it quickly, your granite floors and countertops will remain good as new.
Even though common kitchen fluids don’t etch granite countertops, you should clean up spills as fast as possible.
As for granite cladding, dust them once a day to keep them clean. You may also wipe them with a clean mop once a month.
Immortalize your home with granite
What’s keeping you from adorning your home with extraordinary granite? It is undoubtedly a fabulous material that keeps your home looking brand new for years to come – an investment that pays with undying beauty.
Do you have any more questions? We can help. Please connect with us at +91-96029-71777.
