Is it possible to make the Surface of an Installed Hone Finish Granite Tile to be Flamed?

QUESTION

I recently installed 570 square feet of honed absolute black granite on a floor. The product that we installed was to have a flamed finish. The architect approved the honed finish and now needs to provide the end user with a flamed finish. Could you please give me your thoughts on how to make a installed honed smooth finish granite into the rough flamed finish?

ANSWER

ANSWER - It is possible heat the surface of the granite tile after it is installed with a torch to obtain a flamed finish, but it can result in damaging the stone by causing it to crack; depending on how it was installed.

I did work on a case a number of years ago where this was done and it resulted in damaging the granite causing it to debond, which ended up in a lawsuit.


It might be better to sandblast or bead blast the stone to give it a more textured surface.


You will have to experiment to see what will work best and get the architect or owner to approve it before proceeding.  You need to make a disclaimer before doing the work, since it is experimental and not a normal process that you can guarantee the results.

2 thoughts on “Is it possible to make the Surface of an Installed Hone Finish Granite Tile to be Flamed?

    • Donato Pompo says:

      I have seen where a granite tile was flamed with a torch after it was installed. They did have some problems where some stones cracked.

      You can also sandblast or bead blast the stone to give it texture. There are some companies who will chemically treat the stone either as a coating or to chemically etch the surface to make it more slip resistant.

      Of course the more texture you have the more slip resistant, to a degree, as too much texture can be a problem too. But the more texture it will get dirtier sooner and will be more difficult to clean and to keep clean.

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