Natural Stone Tile Basics - Part 2 - Learn the Lingo

In an earlier post, we went over some basics about stone sizes and how to calculate square footage. In this one, we are going to talk about some of the characteristics of natural stone tile.  There is a seemingly endless variety of stone types out there and we couldn't possibly cover it all.  So we are going to focus on the stone types we use and know well.  The best way to approach this is to give you a little tutorial on the terms that you might hear when shopping for stone.

Terms that describe the edges of the stone:

Straight Cut Edge

All stone tiles start out as a gigantic blocks of stone that have been mined from a quarry.  Those huge slabs have to be cut down into individual tiles.  The process of cutting the tiles leaves relatively straight edges on all sides.  We say "relatively straight" because stone is a natural product and you have to accept some departures from perfection.  More about that later.

Micro-bevel Edge

To get this kind of edge, the Straight Cut tiles are run through one more process to give the top edge of the tile a teeny-tiny little angle.   This is definitely a case where a picture is worth a thousand words.

The Micro-bevel edge gives the tile a very clean, contemporary look.

Tumbled Edges

To get the Tumbled effect, tiles with a straight edge are put into a tumbling machine.  Think of it as a big shaker filled with gravel or ceramic pieces.  The tumbler either vibrates or rotates and after a certain amount of time (and a number of broken tiles) the edges of the tiles are rounded out.

Tumbled edges are a very common way to finish natural stone tiles.  Rounded, imperfect edges are a great complement to the other natural characteristics of stone.

Chiseled Edge

We don't use stone with this type of edge, so we'll have to borrow from a great resource: The Build Direct Learning Center.  Specifically, their Travertine Tile Glossary defines a chiseled edge as: "The process by which a stone is given an aged appearance by mechanically chipping the edge of the tile."  We couldn't have said it better ourselves.  And here is a picture that they provide:

Stone tile with a chiseled edge.

Terms that describe the surface of the stone:

Honed Tile

Honing is a process of sanding or abrading the flat surface of the stone to smooth it.  Honed tiles have a matte finish.  They are smooth, but they are not highly polished or shiny.

Polished Tile

Polished stone is also sanded or abraded but it is done using smaller and smaller grit sanders until the surface of the tile is very smooth and shiny.

Filled Tile

Filling is a process to literally "fill in" all of the natural holes, pits and cracks in the natural stone tiles, which results in a smoother surface.  The fill is usually a similar color to the rest of the stone, so it blends in and adds to the natural texture of the tiles. 

Fill is not the same as grout.  Stone tile will be filled at the factory.  Grout is used only during installation of tile. Grout has a sandy texture. Fill is typically a polymer or synthetic material which is a smoother substance and is very hard once it dries. 

Example of travertine tile honed and filled.  Click on the picture for a larger view and you'll see the arrows pointing out the little spots of fill.  Some of the brighter, white spots are not fill.  They are  naturally occurring calcification running through the stone.

Unfilled Tile

At the risk of stating the obvious, unfilled tile does NOT have any holes, pits or cracks filled in.  It's the raw, wild, unpretentious stone - as if you just chopped a chunk off the quarry walls yourself.  Unfilled tile looks the most rustic and antique.

Examples of unfilled stone tiles

Brushed Tile

We also don't usually work with Brushed tiles so back to the experts at Build Direct Learning Center's Travertine Tile Glossary:

Brushed Finish = A finishing technique that requires the stone be brushed by a coarse wire brush. This replicates the appearance of natural wear over time.

Terms that describe the color of the stone:

Oy vey.  Too many to list.  Fortunately, the names used to describe colors of stone are not as extensive as those used for paint colors (Fuzzy Slippers, anyone?).  But what you need to know is that what one store calls Ivory, another might call Beige or Cream or Crema or Light or Classic.  The words used to describe the colors of different natural stone tiles are not universal.  You will find some consistency in the naming and often hear similar terms used.  But you really should go into the store to look at actual samples in order to see what colors you like.

And if you are going to shop around, write down the names of the tiles that you like along with the name of the store where you found them. You might fall in love with the Chocolate Tumbled Classico Antiqued tiles at Shop A.  But if you walk into Shop B and ask for Chocolate Tumbled Classico Antiqued tiles, you could be met with blank stares.  (Or if they are smart, Store B will whip out their Rustic Ancient Noce Classic tiles and tell you why Rustic Ancient Noce Classic tiles are so much better than Chocolate Tumbled Classico Antiqued tiles.)

Putting it all together:

The terms that we've just listed all describe different characteristics of natural stone tiles.  So you'll see individual types of stone described using many of these words strung together.  For example:

Honed and Filled - it is very common to see these two put together.  They both describe the surface of the tile - the holes have been filled in and then the surface was polished to a matte finish.

Tumbled and Unfilled - this is also one you'll see often.  The edges are tumbled and the surface is unfilled, showing the natural holes and crevices of the tile.

How about a little quiz?

Tell us if the tile descriptions below are correct or incorrect.  In other words, does it actually make sense when you put those particular terms together?  Remember that one piece of tile wold have to have all of those characteristics to be correct.  And don't forget- this will go on your permanent record.

A. Honed + Filled + Micro-bevel = Correct or Incorrect

B. Tumbled + Unfilled + Straight Cut = Correct or Incorrect

C. Unfilled + Brushed + Chiseled = Correct or Incorrect

D. Brushed + Polished + Tumbled = Correct or Incorrect

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A. Honed + Filled + Micro-bevel = Correct!

B. Tumbled + Unfilled + Straight Cut = Incorrect!

Tumbled and Straight Cut both describe the edges.

You can't have edges that are both tumbled and straight cut.

C. Unfilled + Brushed + Chiseled = Correct!

D. Brushed + Polished + Tumbled = Incorrect!

But this one was a little tricky.  Brushed and Polished both describe the surface finish of the tile.  Technically, you could polish the tile to make it shiny and then rub it with a wire brush to rough it up again.   But that would just be silly.  No point in polishing something that you plan to scratch up again.

SCORING YOUR QUIZ

If you answered all 4 questions correctly - You are a Stone Master.  You would dominate in the building materials version of Trivial Pursuit.  You are more than ready to go shopping for stone tile.  In fact, you could probably sell natural stone tile!

If you answered 2-3 questions correctly -  You are a Stone Knight.  The force is strong in you but there are still a few things yet to learn.  You can enter the tile stores with confidence, but keep your mind open for more learning opportunities.

If you answered 1 question correctly - You are a Stone Novice.  You've got the enthusiasm, kid, but you need to hit the books a little harder.  Start hanging around tiles stores and slab yards, and if they don't call the cops on you for loitering, you might pick up a little knowledge.

If you got 0 answers right - You are Stone Vessel.  A blank slate upon which much can be written.  Your journey towards mastery will involve asking questions.  Many questions.  Find a helpful tile salesperson and let them impart their wisdom.  Taking notes is encouraged.

Wrapping it up:

We hope that you found this tutorial to be helpful.  Keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list of all of the terms that are used when talking about natural stone.  Just some of the basics that relate to the stone tiles that we personally work with most often.  It's a big world of stone out there.  There is always more to learn.  Please let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.  In the next post we'll talk about learning to love the variations in natural stone tile.  Stay tuned!

Click below for other posts in this series:

Stone Tile Basics Part 1 - Sizes and measuring
Stone Tile Basics Part 2 - Learn the lingo - YOU ARE HERE
Stone Tile Basics Part 3 - Embracing Imperfection - coming soon
Stone Tile Basics Part 4 - It's all about us, baby! - coming soon

Happy Independence Day to our Southern Neighbors

Tomorrow Mexico celebrates its Independence Day, which commemorates the start of its independence from Spanish rule.  It took over ten years of battles before the official Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire was made, but the "Grito de Dolores" on September 16, 1810 sparked the movement towards freedom.

What? 
Isn't Cinco de Mayo the big Mexican holiday?

You are not alone in your confusion.  Many people think Cinco de Mayo is the Mexican version of the United States Fourth of July.  But May 5th is actually a celebration of the Mexican Army's victory over the French invaders in 1862, many years after they had gained their independence from Spain.

Perhaps the very successful marketing efforts of the tequila and beer companies have led us astray.  How could anyone resist such subtle imagery?

 

Our distributor in Mexico recently sent us some pictures of their work.  Ruiz T is located in Huatabampo, Sonora.  Their city happens to be known as "Tierra de Generales" (Land of Generals) because several high ranking generals in the revolutionary war were hometown boys.  I'm sure the celebrations in their neck of the woods are going to be quite festive.

Ruiz T offers full service kitchen design and installation and and has been in business for over 20 years.  Their quality and craftsmanship are evident in their custom doors and wood furniture and shelving.  They do everything from fixtures, lighting, sinks, appliances and windows down to the last little detail like hinges, pulls for cabinets and doorknobs. 

They have a great looking website and last week they sent us these beautiful kitchen pictures:

Elegante Mural in a beautiful kitchen backsplash

Closer view of Elegante Mural. 
Check out those cool metal roosters.  I want them.

Lemons Mural framed with the Regatta Listello and Travertine Rope Liners.

A closer view of the Lemons Mural.

Gracias, Hector for the wonderful pictures.  Your photographer does an amazing job!

And Happy Independence Day to all of our Mexican friends!  

(I would try to write that in Spanish, but I (stupidly) took French classes in high school and college.  Pardonnez-moi, Monsier Lawrence, mais je le regrette!)

Mexican Flag image from Christian Frausto Bernal from Tepic, Nayarit, MEXICO

Stone Basics - Part 1

We work with stone all the time, so we have learned a number of things about natural stone.  However, because it is something we do every day, we sometimes take for granted the knowledge we have acquired. A person who is just starting to build or renovate room, might not be as familiar with the lingo as we are.  What is tumbled? What does filled mean?  How do I know how much I need to order?    We thought we would throw some basics at you.  We will spread it out into a number of different posts to break it into manageable chunks.

Calculating Square Feet

When you are calculating the area that you need to cover with tile, whether it is the floor or the walls, you generally use the unit of measurement called square feet.  Use a tape measure to measure the length and width of your floor or wall in inches. Then use the following formula to calculate square footage:

Length in inches x Width in inches / 144 = Square Feet

For example if your room measures 132 inches long and 96 inches wide: 
132 x 96 = 12,672 

12,672 / 144 = 88 square feet.

If you have a space that is not a square, like the backsplash of a kitchen wall, just try to break it into square or rectangular sections.  Measure each section individually and then add them all together to come up with the total square feet.

For example in the picture above:

1. Measure the length and width of Area 1
36" x 18" = 648" / 144 = 4.5 square feet.

2. Measure the length and width of Area 2
48" x 36" = 1728" / 144 = 12 square feet.

3. Measure the length and width of Area 3
36" x 18" = 648" / 144 = 4.5 square feet.

4. Add them together and get 4.5 + 12 + 4.5 = 21 square feet.

It is not a bad idea to do a quick measurement of your space when you begin to shop for tile.  Even if your measurement is not exact, when you walk into a store with a ballpark estimate, it gives you a better idea of what kind of budget you should be working with.  Tile going for $5 per square foot will set you back $105 (using the 21 square foot backsplash shown above.)  If you are looking at tile that costs $50 per square foot, you'll be paying $1,050.  Knowing how much you will need to buy will save you time by narrowing down your choices right away.

How many tiles in a square foot?

The answer to this depends on what size tile you are using.  Here is a quick chart:

Tile size in inches	Number of tiles in 1 square foot
2x2	36
3x3	16
4x4	9
6x6	4
8x8	2.25
12x12	1
18x18	0.45

To all of those visual learners out there, here is what 1 square foot of tile looks like in both 6x6 and 4x4 sizes.

Stay tuned for the next exciting installment, where we'll talk about the characteristics of the different types of natural stone that we carry and give you the scoop about terms like honed, tumbled and filled. 

Seven years and still going strong

Happy Birthday to us! This week we are celebrating seven years since the StoneImpressions brand was born.

StoneImpressions originated from the incredible talent and determination of our founder, Melinda Earl.  Back in 1994, she was a single mother working out of her garage.   Using her background in fine art painting, she began uniting plaster, oils, china and cloth to produce textured still lifes. Always trying to improve, she began experimenting with transferring images onto stone. However, the known methods were extremely time consuming, so she set out to find a better way. After four years of research and experiments, she developed a patented, hand-printing process and founded PhotoStone in 1998. 

A few of the original PhotoStones

PhotoStone produces high quality prints of photographs, wedding invitations and old family photos onto stone.  The majority of the PhotoStone clients are high-end photographers like Linda Johnson Photography and Michael's Photography.  PhotoStones are a unique way to preserve a treasured memory and make a truly distinctive gift.

Like any good dramatic corporate tale, the evolution of PhotoStone into StoneImpressions is shrouded in a little bit of mystery.  Another one of the founders seems to recall that it was his idea to use the PhotoStone process to create high-end decorative tiles.  Melinda remembers it a little differently.  I have been around almost since the beginning, but I plead the Fifth.  Like any good diplomat, I will only stipulate that without the tremendous efforts of the two of them, this company would never be where it is today.  They have both put their hearts and souls into it and their unending enthusiasm and steady leadership has brought us miles and miles from where we began.

StoneImpressions started in a rented 4,000 square foot "vintage" industrial space in the Pacific Beach area of San Diego.  It was actually an old S&H Green Stamps factory (and if you know what that is, you are showing your age!)   One of the "charms" of the older structure was that if we plugged in too many things at once, we would blow a fuse.  We then had to go knock on the door of the adjacent neighbor and enter their bathroom in order to reach our electrical panel.  We literally ran a sweatshop for two long, hot summers before we realized that the ancient air conditioning system could be repaired.  No loading dock meant that we would have crates of stone tile dropped off in the front driveway and then have to unload them, carton by carton, and wheel them all the way to the back where the production took place.

The crew back at the old building

We moved to a much larger, newly-constructed building in late 2007.  We were so excited when we could plug in the microwave and the printer at the same time!    But more importantly, the new space also allowed us to expand the production capacity tenfold.  We went from no loading dock to a forklift and a pallet rack that can hold 36 crates with literally tons of stone.  We streamlined the production process and made a significant improvement in our sealing technique.

Our current home.

The new building also gave our design team room to spread out.  There is no denying that expanding your physical space somehow opens up breathing room, both mentally and creatively.  We've gone from simple Still Life murals to elaborate pattern tiles with a more ambitious color palette than we ever thought possible.  This year we released our first catalog that focuses exclusively on Pattern Tile Collections and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

Some fun examples of how the company has
grown and changed through the years:

The Logo Changes

Our "logo" circa 2004

Our current logo

The Evolution of a Website

Our very first website

 Screen shot of our website at some point in 2004.

The current website - click here for the real thing.

Designs - Past, Present and Future(?)

One of our early Still Life Murals, named "Water Buffalo."
This is the equivalent of an embarrassing high school yearbook photo.  Go easy on us, please.

The gorgeous Clermont Noire mural - click on the image to really see the color and detail.

Another example of the new - Altalena Pattern in the Ochre color.  Find all of our newest designs here.

Our future?  Some funky modern patterns that we are working on.

The whole experience of bringing a company from the tiny kernel of an idea into a full-blown, thriving business is unforgettable.  Small business owners who have done it,  know that it is exciting, challenging, mind-expanding, frustrating, fun and ultimately rewarding.   We have both grown and contracted with the economy, but we have always maintained a core of smart, hard-working, resourceful people who are a joy to work with.  And we could never have come this far without the unique contributions of each one of them.  We really feel fortunate to have such a great team.

So this week we celebrate our seven years and look forward to many more!  Happy Birthday to us!

Accent Tiles from Corner Pieces

While we are coming up with new designs, we create a good amount of prototype tiles.  You'll see tiles of all shapes and colors spread out over every available horizontal surface in our art department.  It is quite fun, actually.  Just like when Mom takes a batch of cookies out of the oven, we are all drawn to the trays of new tiles as they come in from the production area.  We "ooooh" and "ahhhh" over the ones that catch our eyes first and everyone has a favorite.  For our Designers, there's a special satisfaction in seeing a design that was born on the computer screen transformed into a real, solid stone tile that has character and depth.  

Okay, it's a pie, not cookies, but isn't it a great image?

We purposely let the prototype tiles hang around for a while.  We might eliminate one or two designs or colors right away, but we let the rest sit and "marinate."  After living with them for a while, we can start to see the designs with more clarity and sometimes have different opinions than our first impressions.  We get ideas about how some tiles work together - or don't work together ("What were we thinking?!")  We can see which colors have staying power.  Maybe we liked the pastel-ish green color when we first saw it, but after looking at it day after day, we realize how anemic it seems compared to the deeper, stronger colors. 

Our "marinating" process can result in some serendipitous discoveries.  One example is that we've seen how the corner pieces that we create can be put together to form their own unique patterns. 

Metal Amore Scroll Corner

Eden Spring Corner

Zellii Fusion Corner

Colony Palm Corner

Saldano Corner

Cathedral Corner

We did go ahead and make accent tiles from the various Colony Collection Corners that we were playing with.  But we only have so much room in the catalog and these did not make the cut.  So here they are making their worldwide debut.  Just for you, blog readers:

Introducing the "Lost Colony Accents."

Colony Royal Accent Tile

Colony Queen Accent Tile

Colony King Accent Tile

A word about customer service

We have just released our new Pattern Catalog and our design team is finally breathing a heavy sigh of relief.   We worked for many, many months on this catalog and we couldn't be happier with how it turned out.   It was a fantastic day when the boxes of new catalogs arrived! 

Or I should say -  the day the second batch of catalogs arrived.  The first batch was not bound correctly.  But PrintPlace.com took care of the mistake and reprinted our whole order with the correct binding. They did it rather quickly and with very little hassle.  This is truly the mark of a great company - how they react when problems arise.

As most companies do, we have always had the philosphy that we need to take care of our customers and give them superior service.  Every company out there will probably agree that their business could not survive if they didn't treat their customers well.  And in this economy, that is more true than ever.

We have not written this down or put it into any kind of official policy.  It has simply been the type of work environment that has developed throughout the years.  We have always held the belief that if we make an error, we take responsibility and we do whatever it takes to fix it as quickly as possible.  In most cases, our efforts result in a satisfied customer.  

Of course we have had (and will have) very few instances where unless we invent a teleportation machine and can beam the replacement tiles across the country the same day we get the call, the client will not be happy.  We are sorry when we are unable to meet expectations.  But we do the best we can within the constraints of our production process (and the laws of physics.)

"I'm a tile maker, Jim!  Not a miracle worker!

Our technique includes a number of steps that are solely human-driven.  So naturally some mistakes, like printing on the wrong type of stone, can happen.  And maybe we have to overnight eighty pounds of replacement stone tiles, so the client can keep their original installation date.  Ouch!  We cringe a little when we have to do something like that.  But we suck it up and do it, because if it is our error, it is the right thing to do.  In the short-term we might lose money on that order.  But in the long-term, we have gained irreplaceable goodwill from that client.

Gravity is not our friend

We value our relationships with our customers and we do our best to work with them to give them what they need.  Ninety-eight percent of our orders ship out with no problems.  But how we handle that other two percent is what will set us apart in the minds of our customers.  I personally feel fortunate to work for a company that understands that the "bottom line" (a.k.a. $$$$$$$$)  isn't the only measure of success.