All Kitchen and Bath by Design Stone
Fabrication Process

We often get asked "How can you cut and shape stone?  It seems very difficult to work with!"

Well, you're right!  It takes special tools and special skill.  It also takes quite a bit of time whether it is automated or not.  This is why Custom work is not a lot more expensive than factory-made pieces (except of course for very complex sculpture).  Stone takes quite a bit of time to cut in the factory also, and will seldom fit perfectly in your environment.  Take a look at the pictures below to get an idea.

We're going to get some photos showing how the raw material arrives and is placed on the work tables.  (Clue:  These guys are REALLY STRONG!) 

Also, we'll take some snapshots of an installation at one of our customers homes.  That can be interesting when in involves a stairway and narrow hallways.

It all starts out this way.  Slabs of stone arrive at our workshop from quarries around the world that mine the color, pattern and type required.

Next, we make a wooden template or pattern that precisely fits the contour of the cabinet.

Next we place the slab on the work table, clean it, mark it, and get it ready for the template.

Once everything is in place, cleaned up and marked, we clamp on the template and get ready to cut!

Note that the edge of this slab of granite has already had a dogleg cut in it by this HEAVY DUTY, router.  And yes, he is wearing an apron to protect his clothing from the water used to cool and lubricate the cutter.  The water also prevents the cutter from generating a dust cloud which would obscure vision.

Using a disc sander with water for cooling, lubrication, and dust control, the edges of this countertop are rounded and polished.

Both craftsmen are now working on separate parts of the same countertop.  It's heavy and hard work that requires finesse to prevent the ruin of a large and expensive slab of stone.