Frequently Asked Questions

CUSTOMER CARE

Sharing answers to commonly asked questions. If you can't find an answer to your question, please get in touch with our team.

All types of natural stones suitable for a kitchen benchtop application however it is important to note that some natural stones perform better than others in terms of their durability, scratch resistance and reaction with acidic substances. One should access the use their kitchen will get and use that as a determining factor in selecting natural stone for their benchtops.

No, so you only pay for the material that you use in your project. It is important to issue drawings/plans or a description of the works you require for an accurate quotation as each component is valued at something whether that be a hole cutout or a sink cutout. We import over 150 different variations of natural stone materials in our factory and showroom conveniently located at 11 Rich Street, Marrickville.

Generally Marble and Granite stones are the most popular and are the most commonly used for kitchen benchtop applications. It should be noted that Granite is one of the most durable and non-porous natural stones available and its properties help it resist staining, etching and retain a fine luster over long periods of time. Although Marbles are commonly used in bar applications and residential kitchens, its high percentage of calcium carbonate makes it vulnerable to acidic substances if not maintained in an appropriate manner.

Unfortunately, we are predominately a natural stone supplier/fabricator and have worked with natural stone for over 30 years now. If your project has a majority of natural stone and a small component of engineered stone, we will take it on however prefer not to especially in light of the silicosis disease that has eventuated from its use.

Yes, natural stone does need to be sealed in order to protect it from staining of foods/liquid spillages. Euro Marble provides this service with every project prior to installation. Sealer would need to be applied every 1-3 years however this largely depends on the type of sealer used as well as how much use the kitchen gets. Kitchens with less traffic and use can afford to withstand longer periods without requiring another seal.

Euro Marble imports natural stone in a variety of thicknesses depending on the product in question. Generally the standard thickness of natural stone hovers between 18-20mm however some variations come in 30-50mm thick. Euro Marble also imports solid blocks 100-200mm thick for the use of solid fireplace mantels and vanities.

Most definitely! There can be significant colour and pattern changes from one slab to another so its very important and recommended to visit our premises to see the slabs and appreciate the variation prior to committing with the material. It is important to note that just like human’s DNA, no two slabs will be exactly the same.

Unfortunately, we cannot put an indefinite hold on materials without a deposit payment. It would be best to speak with our sales consultants and have your project quoted in your selected material and should it meet your budget requirements and design intent, we can then issue a deposit of total contract in order to secure and put a hold on the materials until such time they are required

In short, all parts of the world! Stone is essentially quarried from the Earth’s crust from different parts of the world. Some countries and continents specialize in quarrying certain materials. We import many granites and quartzites from South America, most marbles from Greece, Italy, Portugal, France and Spain, most Onyx materials from the Middle East and Travertines from Italy to name a few. Its important to note that the country that these materials get quarried from is often different to the country they are processed (cut from a block into slabs) and purchased from. You can always ask us on the origins of certain materials and we will do our best to inform you.

Marble is generally more porous than a granite. If sealed appropriately and maintained with care, wiping spillages promptly and using PH neutral detergents to clean, then the marble benchtop will last a lifetime. 90% of our projects have been completed using various marbles over our 30 years in business and almost all European countries (Italy and Greece) have been using the material for hundreds of years now which builds a certain luster and patina over time that adds character to the stone often prompting them to never resurface it.

Yes, Euro Marble does have an in-house detailing unit that does just that. Often clients will engage our services every 2-3 years to re hone / buff their natural stone item to bring it back to a factory finish. The effectiveness of some of these rectification works will be on a case by case basis for example staining left on the benchtop for a long period of time will be more difficult to remove than staining left on the benchtop for 1-2 days. It would be best to send photos and a description of what is required to our sales team to ascertain how affective we will be in repairing the works.

 

Every type of Natural stone has a different $ per m2 rate. For a more accurate price it would be best to have our sales consultants’ price the project on the stone of your choice from measure through to installation.

Unfortunately, there is no warranty on the stone itself as it is a natural product however there is on our workmanship. Cracks in the natural stone can occur as a result of misuse, movement in floorboards and substrates or even from dropping a heavy item on it (to name a few). Slabs are generally quite resilient and survive overseas shipping, truck transportation and fabrication.

We can issue a sample of the material you prefer however please note that it is just that..a sample. Often with samples as they are nothing but a small indication, they do not show the big picture and there are always varying colours and patterns in natural stone slabs. we highly encourage a visit to see these in the flesh and make your selection based on what you see in person.

There are some natural stones that are better suited for internal applications than external as they may not be able to handle the harsh and varying weather conditions and as such the colour of that stone may fade, it may crack or even crumble in some instances.

Generally, what we have in slab format we don’t necessarily have in tiles however if there is enough lead time, these can be ordered at a modular size you specify. Alternatively, they can also be cut out of the slab however this exercise proves to be a little more costly.

Generally, we like to give clients an 8-10 week lead time with importing slabs or tiles for your project. It would largely depend on what the factories have available at that given point in time, if they need to source the material from other cities or if they need to do anything to the material like change the finish or cut them to a certain size. Also there are factors like their holiday break that play a large role in material procurement/transport (as they different from Australia)

We do encourage walk ins however generally we would like 1-2 days’ notice incase our sales consultants are booked with other clients and unable to attend to you at the time you arrive. We are open from Mon-Fri 8am – 6pm and Saturdays by appointment only

Yes, each component you add or change will affect the end price of the project. There are many custom edge profiles you can select from or event customize one yourself (provided that our CNC machinery is capable of undertaking the works with our current tooling).

A honed finish is where we (with machinery) remove the gloss or polish from the slabs to give the stone a more matt, smooth, satin finish. This finish is highly recommended for usable surfaces like kitchen benchtops as markings and etching from acidic properties show up less to the eye than what they would on polished surfaces.

The stone price comes down to availability /supply & demand of the material from the quarries all around the world. To give you an example of how pricing works we have put together the following scenarios:

 #1: Azul Macubas is quarried in central Brazil which is thousands of kilometers away from the closest processing plantation or port for loading. There are also political and environmental issues associated with the quarry which makes supply of it extremely scarce and thus puts the stone in a high price range. 

#2: Italian Marble Carrara C is one of the most commonly used marbles for kitchen benchtops and bathrooms. It also happens to be a stone that is entry level for a marble and has a lower price range. This is largely due to the fact that the material is quarried in abundance, it is quarried above ground and the quarry is located close to ports and factories that handle it 

#3: Verde Guatemala is only quarried in India. Euro Marble has the option of buying it direct from India or paying slightly more in freight and handling to buy it from our regular suppliers in Italy knowing that the quality will be more superior.

From Italian suppliers the process is:

1.       Blocks are selected from deep in the quarry

2.       Blocks are heavily accessed and checked for any impurities, cracks, inconsistencies

3.       Blocks are then sent over to Italy to be cut, resin filled (if required) and calibrated.

4.       Slabs are then photographed and dispatched to buyers all around the world (such as us)

 

Direct from India the process is:

1.       The blocks rejected for exportation are taken to many stone fabricators in the area

2.       Blocks are then cut into slabs not taking into consideration any impurities

3.       The blocks are not calibrated and cut accordingly resulting in irregular thickness

4.       The slabs are coloured with a special dye to achieve a rich colour

5.       Slabs from different blocks are then amalgamated to form a bundle. This is then sent off to buyers resulting in a great variance in colour, veining and texture from one slab to another.

Shape

Follow us @Euromarble