Which Types of Stone Need Sealing?

There are many details to consider when deciding on a countertop material for your kitchen or bathroom, from cost to durability to appearance. One factor you don’t want to overlook is what happens after installation? Will your countertop require consistent maintenance or do you want something that needs no attention? There are thousands of countertop materials to choose from, and some require more a little love to ensure a long life.

Why Do Stone Countertops Need Sealing?

There are thousands of different of Natural Stones in the market and some of them have very low porosity while others are more porous. Nowadays most stones slabs are sealed in the factory before polishing in a process called "resin treatment". This process upgrades Natural Stones' mechanical features making them more resistant than they would have been in their natural state. On top of that, after your stone is cut into a countertop and installed, you can seal it with an 'impregnator sealer" containing resins molecules that are transported by water or solvents to penetrate the stone's surface at a greater depth, creating a protective seal and barrier from liquid stains.

Which Types of Stone Need Sealing?

For some stones sealing is strongly recommended while other it may not. We like to recommend sealing every stone to our customers because the cost is very low compared to the benefits. But before you dive into a big countertop project, let’s look at some of the most popular countertop surfaces that need regular sealing, to help gauge what material fits best with your home and lifestyle.

Marble

The most luxurious countertop material available, marble will instantly elevate your kitchen or bathroom, and all it requires is cleaning daily and sealing once a year to ensure its legacy. Definitely seal it!

Granite

This super tough and very popular choice in kitchens and bathrooms is probably the one that comes in the largest selection and most of them aren't true granites. The term granite is more of a commercial term for igneous stone, and what that means is that some granites will be very porous and others not. Some granites don't need sealing but to be safe it is better to seal them.

Quartzite

The king of countertops, quartzites combine the natural beauty of marble with the toughness of granite. This stone is super resistant to scratching and when properly polished, its glassy luster is a hit in any room. It is recommended to seal it.

Dolomite

Just like quartzite, dolomite is also requires sealing at least once before the installation to protect it and preserve it for the future. The value of a home is certainly increased with the maintenance and upkeep of stone countertops.

Never Sealed Stone Countertops Before? No Problem-o!

1) Before you apply, make sure your countertop is dry.

2) Then, thoroughly clean it with a stone-safe cleaner.

3) After the stone is dry and clean, apply 1st coat of sealer using either a lambswool or sprayer.

For the lambswool, use gentle strokes and try to apply it in only one direction.

4) Tiny bubbles should appear. That means the sealer is penetrating the stone.

5) Allow area to dry for at least 10 minutes and apply 2nd coat.

6) After the 2nd coat is dry for at least 10 minutes wipe it with a clean microfiber towel to remove any excess product.

*Important: it is a good idea to also seal the stone's back, to avoid liquids in the bottom of your countertop being absorbed.

After the 2nd coat dries, the chemical reaction will seal the stone within a few hours and should be completely cured in 24 - 48 hours. The end result is a mirror-smooth shine protected from the elements.

The Water Test: Know If Your Stone Countertop is Sealed

Place a small drop of water on your stone countertop and observe its surface tension (the tendency of liquid surfaces to shrink into the minimum surface area possible).

If the the stone countertop is sealed, the water's surface tension will be high enough to allow the drop to roll on the stone.

If the water drop breaks tension, that might be an indication that your stone countertop is not sealed or that it is time to apply the sealer again!

Source: HDTV & DryTreat

H&M Launched Their Sports Wear Collection in a Marble Quarry

Post by: Camila | Source: Everything marble

H&M “Level Up” sports wear collection advertising campaign is one of the latest set in Carrara marble quarries. The magnificent view of the Apuan Alps (Northern Tuscany) with their marble quarries have always inspired photographers and movie makers from all over the world. The list of advertising campaigns set in Carrara is impressive, we are covering just the most recent ones. As Carrara marble has become trendier than ever in the recent years, more and more brands have chosen to associate their image with this luxurious material and with the suggestive, almost lunar landscapes of its quarries.

Everything looks good on marble

Different products have been launched using Carrara quarries imagery: from cars, to fashion, parfums, shoes, furniture etc. Everything looks really refined when photographed here.We find particularly interesting some campaigns that connect on a deeper level with the territory: one of these is the recent H&M “Level Up” campaign, launching their sports wear collection.

H&M in Carrara: sport on the Apuan Alps

The Swedish brand showcases its latest styled in motion with three excellent ambassadors: Yoga guru Patrick Beach, endurance athlete Thomas River and Australian Fitness Athlete Amanda Bisk. The three athletes have been photographed and filmed while training on a Carrara Marble quarry. The shots are really amazing and picture the athletes controlling their bodies and state of mind with the stunning view of the Apuan Alps and the Tyrrenian sea as background.

What we like about this campaign: the location seems a smart choice as this territory has a special sport vocation. In facts, in this part of Tuscany you can practise many different sports: from trekking on the Apuan Alps, to mountain bike, to paragliding (imagine jumping from these mountains and landing on the sandy beach nearby) to windsurf, sailboat and surf. It is a unique territory in which you can trek the alps and swim in the sea on the same day. Some international sport events take place here such as the Marble Marathon, or the WTKA World championship (Martial arts).

Architecture Firm Designs Marble Bathhouse for Jewish Community

Post by: Camila da Paz | Source: Dezeen

This bathhouse for conservative Jewish women in Mexico City features a stark composition of grainy white marble by local architecture firm Arqhe Studio.

Called Mikveh Oh, the building is a religious bath in Mexico City's Bosques de las Lomas neighbourhood. It is used by Orthodox Jews to clean themselves to obtain purity in accordance with their religious beliefs.

Local firm Arqhe Studio created the project with a stark design based on a minimal rectangular volume that conceals its very private happenings.

"In the Jewish faith the mikveh is a purifying bath," said architects Aby and Ramón Helfon, founders of Arqhe. "This is achieved through the immersion in 'pure' water, in this case, rainwater."

The building's internal bath is filled with rainwater, as common in mikvehs, which is collected on a concrete slab on its flat roof and stored in two cisterns. No one can touch the water before it is used, and it can only come in contact with certain materials.

"The tub’s water is rainwater, which must be collected naturally and can't be in contact with man or any material that isn't stone," the studio said.

The bathwater is not filtered but chlorine tablets can be used. All the pathways for the water are made of concrete as well, in observance with its restrictions. For the bath to fill, water fills one cistern that then goes to the tub using a "communicating vessels system".

This water fills a pool in the interior of the building, which is clad entirely in white marble with black grainy lines. The studio said it chose the stone as it "reflects the idea of cleanliness".

Bright blue water from the bath is visible under a floating marble wall, which reveals women's' calves, ankles and feet.

"The woman must follow the perimeter of this wall on the spiral path to the centre of the project, the mikveh, which is lit with natural lighting from a translucid veil covered dome that makes the light soft and diffuse," the studio said.

In accordance with the Torah, a mikveh is required for Jewish women after menstruation and childbirth, and before they are married.

Once bathed and dressed, the women go to an exit that bypasses a lobby and enters a private courtyard.

"We decided to start from a spiral concept in a way that the distribution and shape of the project leads the user to the centre of the project, in a ritual to achieve spiritual cleanness and return to the purest state of man, and finally finish at the core, the mikveh or tub," the studio said.

In the lobby are a white marble front desk, grey built-in sofas, chairs, wood walls and other furnishings. The area is a waiting room and the only public space inside.

A bronze lattice wall behind the couches is designed to help "radiate warm light" inside the cool, cavern-like setting, as white marble is featured elsewhere on the floors and walls.

A corridor from here accesses three women's bathrooms, which act as preparation areas before entering the bath. Oak cladding is used for warmth. Each has a door that leads to the "wet corridor", or the mikveh, and a second door to accesses a "dry corridor", or hallway that guides the user along a continuous grey terrazzo wall.

Outside, Mikveh Oh is clad in prefabricated concrete panels, sectioned with a series of slots to maintain the privacy of users entering and leaving.

"The projects volume is rigid and sober, closed," Arqhe Studio said. "The interior becomes a space that links concepts like warmth and pureness."

The volume spans 810 square metres, and surrounding the structure are plantings and a fence for privacy that encloses the brick courtyard.

Mikveh Oh is in the western part of Mexico City, in a historic Jewish neighbourhood since the mid-twentieth century. The city's central, more upscale neighbourhood Polanco is also a Jewish neighbourhood and features many high-end shops, condominiums and the famed Pujol restaurant.

Other mikvehs are Mikve Rajel by Pascal Arquitectos, also in Mexico City, while Kister Scheithauer Gross' Ulm synagogue in Germany also features the religious bath.

Photography is by Yoshihiro Koitani