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Congratulations! You’ve invested in quality, natural stone products that are unique and durable. To keep your natural stone looking beautiful longer, follow these simple maintenance guidelines from Marble and Granite.

Typical household cleaners are not suitable for stone. Products high in acid or alkaline cause etching and other damages, including the removal of necessary properties in the stone's sealers. Without the sealer, some stone is more likely to stain. The use of certain powers and abrasive scrubbers may scratch the surface of softer stones.

For safe cleaning, seek a PH-balanced, mild cleaner that will remove dust and soil without damaging the sealer or the stone. Using a cleaner that is specially formulated for your stone type minimizes the risk of damaging. Some designated cleaners will help to protect and reinforce your stone.

If you’re unsure about specific care issues, contact your fabricator or the knowledgeable staff at Marble and Granite, 877-39-STONE.

Source: MarbleandGranite

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For homeowners who do not want shabby chic or french country baths with milky white marble there is a durable, fashionable alternative: slate.

Slate is a metamorphic rock with fine grains and consistent color. It comes in shades that are generally rich yet understated. In exchange for the smooth polished look of other finished natural stone, no gloss, no shine slate has a unique property all of its own. Its fine mineral composition allows it to appear sleek and wet when it isn’t, creating just enough sheen for visual interest without being shiny.  The stone is easily divided into thin plates that are perfect for bathroom tiles.

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Marble and Granite offers six types of slate in beautiful colors. Our honed black slate tiles form a solid foundation for bath designs. For a bit more variation, try our black slate with natural cleft. Our green slate with a natural cleft is ideal for baths that desire a serene, natural touch.

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Green is an earth tone that can evoke an array of moods by a simple change in hue. Pale greens promote relaxation and tranquility while saturated greens can appear regal and exhilarating. Let your room speak volumes with green natural stone from Marble and Granite.

Choose from 45 types of green granite for your kitchen, bath, or office. Earth Glitter has a base of different greens with waves of cream and brown. Our Jurassic and Turtle Green slabs display the unique beauty of natural stone at its best, with large granules and chunks of eye-catching, multicolor minerals. It is a product that is sure to turn heads. For more subtle tastes, Verde Ubatuba offers a consistent, rich green.

Irish Green Sledge stands out among the 11 green marble products offered by our company. With dramatic movement, the green base is pocked with gray and streaked with yellow and beige. In contrast, Verde Panama provides owners with a soothing greenish-gray base.

Find unique marble and granite slabs in a variety of colors at our Marble and Granite showroom, 877-39-STONE.

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Neutral stone colors provide an excellent foundation for designs. They can also bring out the beauty in multiple species of wood cabinetry and furniture. The showrooms at Marble and Granite hold over 60 types of sand and beige natural stone products for your kitchen, bath and beyond.

Granite The beautiful Giallo Venezia of Brazil offers consistent color with fine granules resembling sand. It works beautifully in conjunction with light hardwoods. Also from Brazil, Narcarado (Quartzite) gives owners a smooth beige base with streams of rose, burgundy and touches of gold. Bring out the red tones in this stone with mahogany or cedar wood cabinetry.  To leave a bigger impression, try the bold veining and hues of Ghibli Gold from India. It is ingrained with ribbons of rust red and amber.

Marble Creama Luna of Italy provides owners with a base of consistent, milky marble with hints of gray. Its fresh color brightens any kitchen. Breccia Oniciata hails from the same country, with smooth waves of brown, tan and beige; it’s like a swirling cappuccino for your surfaces. Beige, green, and gray intertwine to bring us La Dolce Vita (Quartzite) from Australia. Its cool, earth tones are a lovely addition to tranquil baths.

Order your natural stone products from Marble and Granite. To schedule a consultation call 877-39-STONE.

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Marble and Granite offers an array of tiles from around the world, providing beautiful, durable products for your home. Before installing your tile, here are a few points to consider.  Keep in mind that the guidelines for particular projects may vary. Verify proper installation techniques for each project.

Tiles are often transported in boxes of 10 tiles each, weighing approximately 60 lbs. Handle with care.

After ensuring that you have received the proper order, remove the tiles from the box and arrange them in the designated space in a random order; it is not necessary or recommended to arrange the tiles in the order in which they were shipped. Consider the direction of the stone's veining to create a unified arrangement.




Once you have laid out the stone, ensure that there are extras for odd spaces, errors, etc. If you do not have adequate tiles for the space do not proceed. Ordering additional tiles may result in inconsistent tone.

When installing tile, you have the option of using adhesive or mechanical anchoring. The recommended technique depends on the size of the tiles and where you will put them. Indoor and outdoor installations have different methods so be sure to verify with a fabricator or installer.

Also, if you are not installing the tile yourself, speak with the installer and  approve the grout that he or she plans to use on your project. Color and material will effect the overall look of your project.

Source: Marble and Granite

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While black countertops are dramatic, white countertops provide a foundation for numerous design styles and create the illusion of space. Marble and Granite carries nearly 100 types of white countertops. Chose from natural stone such as marble and granite or engineered stone like CaesarStone.

For the whitest white, Crystal Glass offers Crystallized White and Milky White slabs in polished 2cm and 3cm grades. CaesarStone's Blizzard, and Pure White quartz surfaces provide a bit of variation within the material for subtle hints of gray and tan. Nougat and Eggshell are beautiful neutral colors that works well with cool and warm earth tones.

The unique patterns of marble create white countertops with a twist, including veins of gray, silver, and even greens and yellows. Supai and Guatemalan Danby provide fairly consistent color with little veining. In contrast, the dramatic patterns found in the Egeo Ondulato and Calacatta Original add visual interest to your surfaces.

Granite provides similar variations among white varieties. Bethel White and London White hold consistent color and are like blank slates for your kitchen or bath design. The exotic Golden Romano from Brazil streams tan, gold, and black through its white base.

With hundreds of selections to chose from, you are sure to find a natural or man-made product to complete your kitchen or bath. Visit our showrooms conveniently located in Westwood, MA and Milford, CT.

[caption id="attachment_470" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Absolute Black Premium Granite from India"][/caption]

You’ve learned What Gives Granite Its Color and Pattern,  now explore the vast variety of granites that Marble and Granite has to offer. In the upcoming Color Series, take a look at product options within each color family. This week, we will explore black granite.

We carry 27 different types of black granite, including Cambrian Black, Atlantic Black, Smokey Black, Anthracite Black, Impala Black and three types of Absolute Black, among others. The truth is, black isn’t just black. Buyers can choose from a variety of options with different degrees of sheen, shimmer, different size granules, and hints of other minerals for varying influences of color.

Our international buyers seek granite from the far reaches of the globe including Brazil, India, South Africa, Ukraine, Canada, and China. The diversity of stone—even in such a seemingly simple color like black—provides consumers with the variety needed to find the perfect fit for their design.

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Marble and Granite carries quality slabs of natural stone that can be customized to meet your personal style and taste. The Marble Institute of America provides consumers with a few guidelines for customizing the edges of their natural stone products.

Edge profiles (or edge details) describe the decorative edges carved into natural stone. In addition to adding visual interest to the stone, edge profiles also create tactile differences that may effect the functionality of your space. Smoother edges are usually desired on countertops, especially near areas like the sink where someone washing dishes might rest his or her weight. In contrast, crisp edges are often more desirable for tiles.

For contemporary designs, consider more simplistic edge profiles for your countertops such as Pencil Round or Double Pencil Round, Radius or Double Radius. These edge types provide cleans lines with a bit more visual interest and comfort than Straight with Chamfer Eased edges, for example. For traditional designs, consider Ogee Roundover or Cove Dupont edged countertops. Such detailing complements the ornate accents of traditional and old world designs.

Source: Marble Institute of America

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May is National Remodeling Month! This is an exciting time to remodel your kitchen or bathroom into the space you’ve always dreamed about. Concerned about where to start with the natural stone component of your project? Try the Stonepedia app for your mobile device!

Yes, there is an app for that. Stonepedia provides users with a storehouse of more than 1,400 pictures of over 500 different types of marble and granite! Download the images directly to your mobile device including iPhones and iPads. Need a second opinion on your natural stone selections? Email or Picture Mail samples to your partner or friends. It is a great way to find the direction for your next project.

Stonepedia also offers customer support. If you have questions about the qualities of a particular stone, its installation or maintenance, Stonepedia can provide you with answers! Get expert advice from the minds of the Marble and Granite Inc crew, the creators of Stonepedia and the one of the largest natural stone distributors in the region.

Marble and Granite has the resources and materials that you need to make your project a success.

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Appreciate your granite countertops for all of their natural and intricate beauty. Marble and Granite has buyers throughout the world locating and selecting high quality granites with blends of minerals to provide unique colors and patterns for your home.

Granite is one of the most common igneous rocks used in residential design. Mined from all continents around the world, it is composed of numerous minerals that have fused together or formed under high pressure. Common minerals found in granite are quarts K-feldspars, plagioclase feldspars, potassium, and micas.

Quartz is one of the last minerals to form in granite. It acts as a bond between other minerals. Although it is colorless, it often appears gray because it reflects the colors of dark and light minerals around it. Mica is found in two major varieties in granite: muscovite, biotite and lepidolite. Muscovite and Biotite are forms of mica that quartz may reflect for its silver and black properties, respectively. In lepidolite form, mica may give granite a or violet of pink color.



Additional color sources in granite include K feldspars. K feldspars provide a variety of colors for granite including blues, blacks, pinks and yellows. Plagioclase feldspars are often white with a pearly finish.

For quality granite products in colors to match any design, call Marble and Granite at 877-39-STONE.

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Image Source: Caesar Stone