How is Giallo Siena marble bookmatched?
Consecutive slabs from one block are opened and laid face to face, so the movement of the stone mirrors across the joint and reads as one surface rather than as a series of panels.
Answer
How is Giallo Siena marble cut from the block?
What happens before it is a surface
With a gang saw, which takes the block into slabs along one cut plane, so every slab off that block comes from the same plane. The block is stood on edge and cut along and against the grain, which is the hard way and the way that yields the published slab sizes.
The figures
| Stage | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Before sawing | Vacuum resin treatment recommended | Published block and slab characteristics |
| Cutting | Along the grain and against the grain — the hard way | Published block and slab characteristics |
| The saw | A gang saw, so every slab comes off the same cut plane | Our own workshop photographs |
| After sawing | Filling, polishing and profiling to the specification | Fabrication practice |
Why this stone behaves this way
Cutting the block in two directions is slower than cutting it in one, and it is what makes a bookmatched wall possible: the slabs have to be paired, and pairing needs the grain running the same way through them.
What these figures are, and what they are not The photographs on the process page are our own workshop, taken on the day. The block and slab characteristics quoted here are published figures for the material.
Where these figures come from
- S1 granitalsiena.com — Giallo Siena marble technical sheet (EN standard test values; Politecnico di Torino marble laboratory)
- S10 stoneembassy.com — Giallo Siena article (block characteristics, natural cracks, packing, MOQ, lead time)
Where to go next
On the same subject
More questions about Giallo Siena marble
What does resin backing do for Giallo Siena marble?
It closes the small holes and cracks so the slab can be cut thin and polished.
This answer sits on the What happens before it is a surface page, with the rest of the questions about it.
FabricationAsk for a price
A thickness, a format, a finish, a quantity and a destination will get you a quotation for Giallo Siena marble.
How is Giallo Siena marble cut from the block?