Selecting materials on time for a new home is important to ensure cost-effectiveness, timely completion, and design consistency. It’s an important aspect of the construction process that should be given careful consideration.
We often get asked when is the right time to select our stone. No two projects are the same, but lets break down the general timeline. For engineered stone there are no timeline restrictions since it is a replicated product. Natural stone, however, is a different story. Each piece is unique and a can be a difficult decision.
Just breaking ground and starting to game plan? This is the perfect time to start getting your ideas and inspiration together. Stone plays an important role in the home building process, and, depending on the application, it’s good to know ahead of time what type of stone will go where. You may need extra supports in the wall or adjusted cabinetry.
Houzz, Pinterest and Instagram are great for installed application pictures, but many times are enhanced or edited. Visiting a stone yard early on to touch and feel the stone in person can be beneficial. Although it’s too early to select your exact slabs, this is where you can narrow down a material type (Quartzite, Marble, Soapstone ect.) and color pallete. From here, we provide samples for reference points and to help keep the overall design on track.
By now, ideas should be getting narrowed down, and the real work is starting to begin. Stone is a hot commodity, and there’s nothing worse than getting to the final stages and not being able to find exactly what you need. We know not only what our current stock is, but also what materials we will have arriving in the next few months. Often, we can provide images and sizing information. Moreover, we can take down your project info to secure the material before it even arrives. Upon arrival, we will give you a call to come down and view the material in person.
Now for the fun part – selecting your exact stone! By now, you should have an idea or even reference sample that you will be working from. Once you’ve narrowed in on what block of material you like, our team moves out the available slabs from that block, in order to hand select each piece needed for your project.
Timing can be very important for a slab yard like ourselves. Selecting too early could result in wasted time as well as angry clients. We have a hold policy of up to 45 business days. Anything longer than that would require special arrangements ahead of time with the fabricator. If the fabricator is unable to store the material, it will unfortunately have to be released. The main reason for this is because of how often we move material. We move countless slabs a day. Holds for longer than that time frame have a higher risk of being damaged from constantly moving throughout the warehouse.
On the other hand, selecting too late can lead to less selection and availability. It takes some time and a lot of patience to find the perfect stone.