Colors, Edge work and Fabrication

Fabrication

Fabrication of stone is the process of taking raw cubes of stone from a quarry and saw cutting these chunks into useable (and usually requested) shapes that are meant for specific project designs. There are several color selections of bluestone that are available for fabrication with the most popular being blue-blue. The other colors that may be requested are variegated, full color (which can run from blue and grays to browns and earthtones), lilac and green-gray.

In the last twenty years fabrication has become a major part of the Bluestone industry primarily because bluestone, classified as a type II quartzite sandstone, has minimal grain and, therefore, can be cut and shaped in any direction. Another advantage of using bluestone in fabrication is that it is dense and relatively hard so it holds up well in nature’s elements.

In the last decade Meshoppen Stone has installed state-of-the-art fabrication equipment, including a computerized water jet that performs radial and design cutting on stone ranging from less than 6 inches across up to pieces that exceed 8 ft. in length. The water jet also has the capability to carve through stone up to 12 inches thick.

Recently, Meshoppen Stone provided the New York Yankee logo in bluestone, which became the centerpiece of the floor in the Memorial Park area of their new stadium. The “Y” of their Yankee logo is over 8 feet tall and 6 inches thick and completely cut out using our water jet.

This is not to say that fabrication is always done with high-tech equipment, it is not uncommon for fabricated pieces to be free-form sawed or hammer and chiseled to accomplish the fabrication requirement of the customer.

At Meshoppen Stone our fabrication work is used for both interior and exterior applications. The main difference between interior and exterior fabrication is, typically, in the finish. The finish for Interior fabrication is usually honed or sanded and depending on the requirement for the job the surface will be finished as low as a 200 grit finish for treads or as high as an 800 grit finish for counter tops and formal tiles. Exterior fabrication typically receives the thermal or torched finish, which resembles coarse sandpaper. One of the benefits of using bluestone for an interior or exterior project is that bluestone has a natural non-skid quality in most types of weather.

Bluestone’s versatility allows it to be used in many different applications, such as pool coping, radial steps, wall caps, pillars, columns, mantles and hearths to name a few. Because these areas are high-profile, it is important to dress up the edges. At Meshoppen Stone, we offer a full bull nose or half bull nose along with rock facing or thermal edgework.

The full bull nose is a “rounded edge” both top and bottom of the piece of stone where as the half bull nose is only rounded on the top edge of the stone. Rock facing an edge is accomplished by either a hammer and chisel or a machine that chips the edge to make it look rugged and natural. Once this edgework is completed it is given a thermal finish for exterior use or honed for interiors, with the exception of the rock face edge, which, in itself, is finished.

For more information about fabricating our bluestone, please contact Meshoppen Stone at 800-836-1269 or sales@meshoppenstone.com