Mike: Granite has become a popular countertop material because it’s a beautiful hard stone that’s non-staining, heat resistant, and low maintenance. The owners of this home wanted the beauty and durability of granite with a han heun look to match their cherry stained cabinets. Dakota Granite’s mahogany granite offered all these qualities plus a warm and unique blue brown color with heavy veins of iron ferrous oxide that add visual movement. Susan Stinton’s grandfather started Dakota Granite in 1925.
Susan: Granite is an igneous formation. It’s as old as the earth. It’s comprised mostly of quartz but feldspar and myka as well. It has concentrations of minerals that make this terracotta color for example. It’s full of ferrous oxides. And the different minerals make the different colors and the patterns in the granite.
Mike: At the quarry the countertops start at massive blocks that are four feet wide, five feet deep, and nine feet tall. At the saw plant huge saws with diamond tip blades cut the rectangular stone to precise measurements.
Susan: Once the countertops are fabricated to the customer’s specs we create them and ship them directly to the job site if required.
Mike: The stones were cut oversize at the fabricators because minor adjustments might be needed once the actual cabinets were in. Each slab must be fitted to the cabinets being cut and trimmed to achieve a perfect fit.
Bill: And we use a 7 ¼ inch downing blade only cutting the cut through. And we re-template it basically to make sure we’re fitting what’s here. And then we lay those templates on the stone, mark it, cut it with a 7 ¼ inch warm ground saw and we have a little in-grinder with a 4 inch dounding blade, we have to use dominal on your granite material and you shave a little inside corners and stuff that are hard to reach. The stone is two inches thick and that creates its own problem which getting the stone in and out, upstairs.
Mike: After the crew lifts both pieces of the wrap around bar into place they keep adjusting them until the seams are flushed and ready to glue together. Fiberglass glues and epoxy with coloring are mixed to match the granite and applied in the seams. The slabs are clamped together to ensure a good bond. When the epoxy is dry, it is easily removed with a razor blade. Some final clean up and this bar is ready for company. This mahogany granite is a warm and unique blue brown color with heavy veins of iron ferrous oxide that add visual movement.
Susan: This homeowner requested a lot of movement in the granite. If you can see here, she likes the concentration of this terracotta color. It has concentrations of minerals that make this color. It’s full of ferrous oxides.
Mike: Granite’s durability has contributed to its popularity.
Susan: The hardest of the stone makes it nice and commercial and residential applications. It’s resistant to scratching. It’s on a hardness scale a seven while diamonds are a 10. It doesn’t stain easily due to its hardness. It doesn’t absorb water so it can’t absorb dirt. I would recommend that anybody considering stone for their home, take a sample home and use it in their kitchen as they would in normal surface. Put hot pans on it, spill wine, use it like your four-year-old might, so they are sure it meets their needs.
Mike: Granite countertops are also a popular choice for remodeling. The homeowners achieved a remarkable transformation in this kitchen by using Dakota mahogany granite countertops in combination with angled Dakota granite tiles for the backsplash. To find out more about how you can use Dakota Granite to add beauty and grace to your new house, visit Dakota Granite on the internet at dakgran.com.
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