Natural stone is so mesmerizing and wonderfully beautiful, that government buildings and castles are built around them and cities have been named after them. Purists will tell you that natural stones are GOD’s paintings. Under intense pressure over millions of years, subjected to varying temperatures and mixed with silicates and carbonates, you’ll find rich blues, succulent greens, pure whites, whisps of golds and silver or bold reds that canvas across these stones. Not one stone is the same; all are unique to themselves.
However, natural stone presents a challenge to home design, especially kitchens and bathrooms. Depending on the species of stone, the colors, the veining and the patterns can easily overwhelm a design. Since the essence of design is to illicit an emotional state, the color of a stone plays a key role. The choice of stone could either be a strong visual with subtle accent colors to compliment or the stone itself is subtle enough to make the accent colors standout.
For Dulcet Tile, using Calacatta or Carrara marble is undoubtedly one of the most luxurious materials in the world, but as a floor or wall tile presents them with a unique challenge. The degree of veining or amount of grey tones to white tones has to be factored into the finished design as color inconsistency can occur. Color inconsistency means that more of the grey color is prominent resulting in darker or lighter sections in the stone. When Dulcet Tile creates a natural stone floor or wall covering, having consistent color tone is essential, otherwise the look will appear imbalanced and lack conformity.
Dulcet Tile manufacturers Carrara, Calacatta or Bianco Dolomite marble and realize how these natural stones can vary in color and have to have strict quality control measures in place. First, having an agent at the quarry to personally witness the stone blocks, and then, select blocks that meet a company’s specificity for color consistency. The agent may purchase one or several blocks of stone which are large enough for one block to fit on a flatbed semi-trailer.
A block can weigh as much as 38,000 to 42,000 lbs. and measure up to 7 feet high by 7 feet wide by 10 feet long. A boom is used to lift these massive stones onto trucks for delivery to the next phase in the stone’s journey. Gang saws are used along with an abrasive mixture to cut each block into slabs. Once cut, an agent, again, inspects each slab for any deviation of color and grades the material from A to B to C. If the overall color does not adhere to Dulcet tile’s specifications or grade or if the color is inconsistent or unbalanced, the agent pulls the slab from the lot.
As important as color consistency, mosaic tiles have to possess the same thickness otherwise the end product is difficult to install. Unlike porcelain or ceramic tile, Dulcet Tile ensures each tile has the same thickness. As a rule, floor tile is typically ½ inch to ¾ inch thick. The thicker the tile, the longer it will last and the heavier the load it can bear. Furthermore, to create mosaic tiles, cohesive thickness is essential to ensure the final mosaic design appears as one complete piece. Uneven thicknesses cheapen mosaic tile.
Once the tile is cut to the same thickness, it can then be polished and cut into multiple formats. Tile can have a polished, honed or brushed finish.
Marble mosaic tiles use smaller sections of tile or pieces from several species of stone to make a distinct, replicable pattern, and have become quite popular in modern designs. Even though mosaics are more precise than the traditional formats used in the past, today’s mosaics are hand-cut into different geometric or arched shapes using smaller, more precise, hand-cutting systems or with computer guided waterjets. However, the more precise the cut, the more likely the risk for chipped or broken edges. Therefore, high-quality mosaic products require meticulous and labor-intensive inspections. Dulcet Tile inspectors look for blemishes, color imbalance, broken joints and corners, scratches or imperfect finishes.
The result. Dulcet Tile mosaic tiles are designed with elegant and innovative patterns manufactured with machine ingenuity, crafted by artisans. This requires a quality control process from the moment of identifying the stone to the moment of installation.
Dulcet Tile is a Los Angeles based manufacturer of marble mosaic tiles and offers the highest in quality control and produces industry leading designs. Dulcet Tile has created a new niche for elegant flooring and soothing wall coverings and brings decades of experience in both contemporary and classic designs. Dulcet Tile collections are designed with timeless elegance, precision and are destined to impress for years to come. Always innovating and ushering new and artistic styles to the market, Dulcet Tile is the leader in elegant marble mosaics. For more information, go to www.dulcettile.com.