Monday, January 9, 2012

How did it get here?

To get a slab of granite from Brazil to your home is not an easy task. To get the typical 10' X 6' slabs you see in our yard can take many months and thousands of miles. 
As with most rocks, granite starts as molten lava that has been under high pressure for a very long time. The molten lava will cool and eventually form granite. 
Simple right?
Well to get it from the ground to slab form can be not only pricy, but very time consuming. I recommend watching this brief youtube video to get a good visual of how it is broken into small pieces. This is a how its made video that explains a lot of the mining process.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INWXbNpqvOo&feature=related

Below is another good video that shows a little more of the mining process:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUl1k3Xj-5M
These videos should give you a good idea of what is involved with the mining process. 
It is amazing to think about the equipment it takes to moves such heavy pieces of stone. They are usually specially made for granite work, and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Also, think about all the diamonds that it takes to make up a saw blade or a polishing mat for one of these. It is simply amazing that granite can be a cheap as it is in the states despite all the hands that have to touch it.

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