Abrasive: a substance used for smoothing, polishing, and abrading
Backsplash: The area located between the countertop and lower cabinet, usually 16 to 18 inches in height.
Bleeding: the migration of a substance into a stone
Cladding: Exterior veneer stone covering used as facing material in exterior wall construction.
Density: a value used to calculate the weight of any given stone
Engineered stone: A man-made substance of crushed quartz and polymer binders used to emulate natural stone. Sold under many labels, such as Silestone®, Cambria®, Caeserstone®, etc.
Epoxy: a two-part resin with advanced adhesion properties used in joining and filling stone
Fabricated: Refers to dimension stone, meaning manufactured and ready for installation.
French Miter: The practice of making a seam that splits the angle of the inside corner to the depth of the profile, then shoots straight to the back perpendicular to the stone.
Granite: An igneous rock composed chiefly of feldspars and quartz, usually with one or more other minerals. It is relatively hard and dense, and will polish to a high gloss and is an excellent choice for kitchen countertops, floors, and other heavily used surfacesHone Finish: Surface finish with little or no gloss, satin-smooth, recommended for commercial flooring.
Honed: smooth surface finish on stone, also refers to the process of achieving the finish
Impregnating: The technical term for sealing.
Impregnators: Impregnators are designed to penetrate below the surface of the stone and deposit solid particles in the pores of the stone or to coat the individual minerals below the surface of the stone. Water, oil and dirt are restricted from entering the stone.
Joint: Space between installed units, or between dimension stone and adjoining material. Limestone: Any stone consisting wholly or mostly from calcium carbonate.
Marble: A metamorphic rock composed of limestone in a more or less crystalline state. Natural Stone: Stone that is formed by nature and is not artificial or man-made.
Onyx: A microcrystalline variety of quartz, usually having parallel lines of color.
pH: the measure of acidity and alkalinity. Numbers 1-14 represent value of acid present. Seven indicates no acid, or alkaline, meaning neutral pH. Numbers lower than 7 contain acid, whereas higher than 7 contain alkaline
Polishing Machine: a machine (normally one polishing head) used to shape and polish the edges of stone pieces
Poultice: a powder or cloth placed on a stain in an effort to remove the stain by absorption.
Profiling: Edge detail applied to the stone.
Soapstone: a soft stone material made of the mineral talc.
Quarry: Operation where deposit of stone is extracted from the earth through an open pit or underground mine.
Rodding: The process of embedding steel with epoxy to the bottom side of stone to increase strength in relatively weak areas, such as sink and stove front & back rails.
Sealing: The process of using a clear solvent-based product to protect the stone from oil and water based stains, while allowing it to breathe,also refers to making a veneer joint watertight with an elastic adhesive compound.
Sealers: See Impregnators
Silestone® Natural Quartz: This surfacing contains 93% natural quartz and therefore is susceptible to slight variations in shade and particulate distribution.
Slab: A lengthwise cut-piece sawn or split from a quarry block prior to fabrication
Slate: A fine-grained rock that tends to split along parallel cleavage planes. Slate is relatively soft and porous.
Templating: The process of making a full-size mock up, or duplication of your surface to be made out of granite/ marble.
Travertine: A form of limestone deposited by hot springs.
Under-mount sink: A sink that physically mounts to the bottom side of the natural/engineered stone. Alternative to under-mount is a lip-mount sink, customarily found with laminate tops.
Vein: the colored markings in stone
Waxing: applying a wax finish to fill natural voids in the stone and/or to finish the surface of a stone
Weathing: the wearing of stone as a result of the elements of weather
