I have a slab of marble and need it cut by a shop for a fireplace hearth. The local shop wants 30$ a sq ft, which seems a heckuva lot. Does this price(labor only) sound reasonable to you? And in your area is it reasonable?
Thanks for your response.
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Do you need it cuy only or supplied.
That sound like a quote for supplied.
Did he understand that you own the stone and only need it cut??
Maybe he doesn't want to be bothered, or perhaps he is figuring replacement cost cause he runs the risk of it breaking during the cut and will have to replace it for you.
Eric
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It's Never Too Late To Become What You Might Have Been
There square foot pricing is throwing me off, around here at least, cut's would be priced out by linear feet.
How big is the piece you need cut, how long is the cut, and how pretty/polished does the edge need to look?
It's cut only, I need. The piece is 28"x45", roughly 2x4. The sq ft price doesn't make sense, like you say, linear ft or inch would make sense. No special detailing/finishing, just a 1/8" roundover on the perimeter. 7/8" thickness slab.
I'd try to look up a local stone fabricator, maybe a granite or quartz countertop shop they may be able to help you.
Actually, cost per square foot is a common way for a stone cutter to price a cut. The cost is the square footage in the cut. So if you had a 12"x12"x12" stone you needed cut in half, that would be 1 sq ft. If you had a 2" slab that you had to cut, you would get a 72" cut for the same price. The reason they do it this way is that the wear and tear on the diamond blade they use is dependent on the amount of material that the blade goes through.
Erich
So, you're saying that to cut across his slab would be .17 sqft? (28" x 7/8 / 144") or about $5.10?
SamT
That's about right if the numbers quoted earlier are accurate. I am more used to lapidary cutters that want between 25-50 cents per sq inch for cutting lapidary materials. Usually thats for cutting harder material like agate.
My BIL works for a stone shop. I will ask him what price they charge this P.M. I have seen him cut stone at home with a circular saw and round the edge with a grinder and then polish, did not look to hard and with basic tools.
Thank you.
This involves the entire hearth, pocket cuts or cuts with a wire saw, and the back is angled at 45* (Rumford style). My skilsaw with a diamond blade went v e r y slow.
This involves the entire hearth, pocket cuts or cuts with a wire saw, and the back is angled at 45*
I think you have found your problem...
This sounds like a rediculously complicated cut..
Very likely the piece will break...
AND...
Do you think it is a good idea to have marble extending into the firebox???
I don't....
Mr. T.
Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store...
Maybe Christmas means a little bit more...
Thank you all.
Mr. T, the marble has a fibreglass mesh epoxied to the bottom, so it should hold together. Marble on the floor of a fireplace is in many locales traditional- the heat is minimal anyway on the floor area.
I'll rent try to rent the biggest tile saw I can, and go from there...
"the heat is minimal anyway on the floor area."
Say what!!?? I guess that explains why some bars in my fire grate have melted away - lol.
"the heat is minimal anyway on the floor area."Yeah sure!
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pif,
the heat on the floor is less than on the walls of the fireplace. the other poster must've used cheap untempered iron for his to melt. i've never seen any problems with marble on the floor.
I've seen lots of marble hearths in Brooklyn brownstones, some 150 years old. Heat rises.
Hearth - in front - or hearthstone - under the fire?
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don't know about Tony but the marble I've seen under the fire grate is always in one piece. It's possible that broken marble means it was poorly installed or on an uneven surface.
In any case, this piece will also need a diamond router bit to r/o the edge.All in all, it's getting more expensive as a DIY job.
I have
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So, $30 per square foot for a piece that's 8 square, of about $240.
I gotta tell ya, for those guys to stop what they're doing (fabricating entire kitchens, baths, shower enclosures, etc., for repeat contractor customers, for which they not only get shop and install labor but a markup on material) to cut a small PITA piece for a homeowner.... $240 is cheap. Don't worry about whether they price it by the foot or whatever. Decide if you want to have them do it or do it yourself.
I bought a 4' x 6' piece of mable from a stone yard and thought I would do it myself. At the stone yard I used my circular saw with a wet blade and a garden hose to cut it into 2-2'x6' pieces. It was easy to cut. Unfortunately, though, the stuff was extremely fragile even though it had the fiberglass on it. I broke one of the pieces taking it out of my car because I could not support it evenly. At the stone yard they moved it around by hanging it by a corner, and now I know why. They deliver it on a rack -- they don't lay it down. Twisting pressure will break the slab.So my experience is that marble is easy to cut and work with -- a bit too easy. What's hard is not breaking it.Tim
The last time I personally handled marble was in the form of door saddles, 3/4" thick, about 6" wide, 32" long, big beveled edges. There were a half dozen of them and I got about four of them in before breaking one. Very clean break... I took it back to the fabricator and they glued it. They were very small pieces and I 'hung' them as you describe, but the mere act of trying to lay that one piece flat on the floor caused it to break. It made no sound, no snap, no pop... it had a fault all the way thru it.
Jack,
dave and mister t sum it up pretty well. You mention that the marble has fibreglass mesh on it. This is usually a tip off that the material is pretty unstable and looking for an excuse to break. If you want to cut it yourself, marble frequently needs an electroplated diamond blade to cut fast and clean. A generic diamond blade will chip badly and cut slow.
I buy electroplated blades from pearl abrasives for about 110 dollars but I think harbor freight sells very cheap ones that might work.
As a fabricator I hate doing fireplace surrounds. They are fragile, require very precise cutting, nobody wants to pay much for the work. As dave pointed out the time involved in cutting is only a small component of the hassle.
If you really want to make it more attractive to the shop, take a liquid paper pen and precisely mark out all the cuts on the stone so all they have to do is lay it on the table and line up the saw. Also if you assume responsibility for any breakage or scratching that occurs in the cutting and moving of the slab.
Jobs like this usually take way too much time in talking to the client (listening to job description, clarifying costs, educating the client on stone characteristics, helping them load and unload the material, dealing with their sob story when the piece doesn't quite fit or breaks, etc)
I would say buy a cheap electroplated blade, make a shooting board for your skilsaw, get some 60, 120, 220 and 320 grit sandpaper (preferably silicon carbide and go for it. Ideally you will also get a 4.5 inch electroplated blade for your grinder.
The pockets and corners rarely need a special wire saw, just grind them out with the saw or grinder using a little creativity. If this is your first experience cutting and handling marble assume it will break at least once. Superglue is phenomenal in its ability to repair stone, especially if you have some accelerator to cure it instantly.
thanks for your input. i heard that marble dust and mineral will "clog up" the spaces between the diamonds, then the blade is almost useless. So i'll try an electroplated blade.
what i have on hand are abrasive coated blades,like a thin grinding wheel. any chance this would cut?
In my experience an electroplated blade is the only way to make clean cuts in Marble or limestone. A conventional diamond blade will chip it badly. Never tried an abrasive blade but doubt it would work.You can also cut dry as long as it doesnt build up to much heat ie. short /limited duration cutting sessions. Wet is always preferable for dust control.Karl
Stone fabricators are going to (wisely) charge a premium for this type of request. I'll let others explain why.
Do it yourself and get an education to boot. Buy the Felker FHS-4 Hand Saw. It is just what you need. The whole set-up will run you about $100.
http://www.felkersaws.com/index.shtml
Download the catalog. It is on page 9.
• Comfort grip handle. • 120V - 60 Hz motor. • Cuts tile, stone, concrete, brick, fiber cement siding, tile backer board, stucco and pavers. • Cuts wet or dry. • 1-3/8" depth of cut. • Angle cut up to 45°. • 5/8" arbor size. • Safety switch. FHS-4 includes: 4" premium diamond blade 8' water hose, water connection and carrying case 1" @ 45° 1-3/8" @ 90° Cutting Capacity
Frankie
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—Hunter S. Thompson
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It sounds darn cheap to me. I had one cut ( We provided the slab) 25" x 82" for several hundred bucks.
They also polised the exposed edges.
Reason for cost is this - The macinery and the real estate to house it is very expensive.
The cost of potentially having to replace ot if it breaks in their care is probably close to half the charge, marble is inherently brittle. Much of it has a reinforcing mesh epoxied to it because of this, but fracturing is still common. Release him from any liability to see if he will reduce the cost.
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Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!