A Brief Retrospection On Marble Mosaics

To evaluate the quality of a product or a person certain parameters need to be taken in to consideration. Just as a person needs to have ethics and moral values instilled in his nature or good book needs to contain proper information, similarly the marble to be used in home décor needs to have certain qualities which will make it the right choice for mosaics. In fact the correct choice of marble is imperative to create the perfect mosaic, which will accentuate your landscape. Are you a home owner who is keen to add a marble mosaic to your house? Then read on as we give you some valuable tips…

There are many homeowners who resort using different color combinations and vibrant paints to enhance the look of the house. However, the Mosaic Art can also be used to increase the esthetic value of a house. In Mosaic art it becomes necessary to mix stones and glasses having variant hues. They help in designing several picture patterns.

As a matter of fact, the root of Mosaic art can be traced back to several thousand years. In the 3rd and 4th century BC the Mesopotamians created mosaic. They used cones of baked clay and the ends were painted differently. The ancient Greeks also decorated their floors using pebble made mosaics. The residents of Macedonia made use of polychrome pebble mosaics to beautify their structures.

However, the designs used by various civilizations in mosaic art varied greatly. The early Christian mosaics created in 6th century BC deal with topics like birds and animals, hunting scenes. On the contrary, the 7th century Islamic mosaics depict subjects like floral themes. With the passage of time Mosaic art has undergone several alterations even though the fundamental technique remains the same.

The Phoenician Arts played a pivotal role in the development and diversification of the mosaic arts. In fact it has added a new dimension to this form of art. It gave the world outstanding hand-made marble mosaic patterns created from semi-precious stones and natural marble. The Phoenician Arts also helped in reviving the ancient and traditional elite mosaics of the Byzantinians, Romans and Greeks.

The mosaics creations by Phoenician Arts are hailed as wonderful prototypes of the contemporary and primitive aspects of life. This has played a role behind the rising popularity of the mosaic art form. In recent times, the mosaics are the coveted and most valued means to enhance the aesthetic appeal of a structure.

In Phoenician Arts mosaics are made for a variety of themes like religion, figures & scenes, medallions, animals and they are used to decorate both the outdoors and interiors. In a workplace or house the mosaics can be installed in parts like dining areas, hallways, archway, near the fireplace etc. In case of the exterior of an establishment, they can be used in garden areas, tabletops, pools etc.

The Phoenician mosaics are more appealing than pictures and paintings. They add an elegant appeal to the rooms and exterior of a house. They do not get affected much by heat and water. They can be cleaned easily and with proper care remain immaculate for several years. The mosaics can be customized as per the requirement of the clients.

Tools Used To Fabricate Granite

Granite is a hard and grainy, igneous stone found in the earth. Granite has been used in building and the beautification of structures throughout history. In modern times it is widely used in kitchens and bathrooms as countertops, wall tiles and for flooring. Granite found in quarries around the world has to be cut into blocks and transported to factories, where it will be processed, to give the shiny final product. Various machineries and tools are used to fabricate granite. The tools have become better and more efficient with the advancement in technology and science.

The fabrication process starts with the cutting of the granite blocks that are brought from the quarries. Granite is a very hard stone, difficult to cut, and causes a lot of wear and tear on the tools used to fabricate granite. To cut the blocks into the required slabs and tiles; it has to be sawed. Today the most popular are the Diamond Wire saw blades. They are used to saw granite, and is one of the most important tools used to fabricate granite. A gem called Corundum has been synthesized and can now be produced in laboratories. This gem is one of the hardest known substances, measuring to a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale. This gem is used as the teeth in the Diamond Wire saw. Granite stone is so hard, that the teeth have to be overhauled, after the saw has been used for around 800 to 900 hours of sawing. After 6000 hours the whole saw has to be replaced.

Granite stone consists of quartz, feldspar, mica and other trace minerals. If the quartzite content is more, than the stone will be harder. Usually the cutting rate of the Diamond Wire saw is 6 to 10 inch square, per minute. If the quartzite content is more it will be much less. Also when the sawing is in process the saw has to cool with a constant jet of water, to improve the efficiency and life of the saw blade.

After the granite is cut into the required size, the next tools used to fabricate granite are the polishing machineries. The polishing machine has fast rotating heads with abrasive pads on them. The best abrasive material is diamond. The machines will generally have 10 or more polishing heads and a few calibrating heads. The polishing and grinding heads can be custom made for special requirements. Different types of polishing are possible like, rough polish, finish mirror polish and burnish to name a few. There is a control panel in the machine to control the pressure exerted on the polishing spindle, which will give the required finish, apart from the abrasive material used. Nowadays these machines are computerized and you can control them via touch screen panel. The advanced control systems of such machines can inspect and optimize the rotation of the polishing head.

Routing machineries is the next of the tools used to fabricate granite. The router creates the standard or fancy designed edges for the granite slab. This is the end process and after that there is only the finishing touches, before actually installing the slab.