Sourcing natural stone for contract work

If you’re aiming to source natural stone for contract work or service use, it can be difficult knowing where to start. How do you pick a natural stone supplier who can supply exactly what you require, where and when you need it?

Here, we’ve put together a list of the essential things you need to think about.

There’s no shortage of natural stone providers out there, so discovering a wide choice to pick from will never ever be an issue! However not all stone providers are the same. If you’re looking for the right partner to deliver natural stone for agreement work to match your consumer’s exacting requirements, kept reading — and select sensibly …

Quality AND amount — don’t forget to check both!

It goes without stating that you’ll be trying to find the very best quality natural stone you can potentially find to finish the job to your customer’s satisfaction, within spending plan.

You also need to make sure your picked supplier can provide enough stone for your task. So, while it’s undoubtedly essential to inspect the quality of the base stone and stone workmanship, you also need to be sure that there will be sufficient stocks readily available to complete the job.

Where do you want it … and when?

Another crucial factor to consider with natural stone for organizations is logistics. If your picked stone supplier provides a delivery service, that’s generally the easiest alternative to choose. However you do need to examine a few things initially.

Can they provide to fit in with your building and construction timings? Are they versatile — for example, will they offer a staggered, ‘just-in-time’ delivery schedule? It might help your other trades if you don’t need to save the full stone consignment on site for weeks prior to it is in fact needed.

And lastly, here’s something fairly obvious which is frequently ignored. Can your provider’s standard shipment lorries (and forklifts) gain access to the website to drop the natural stone for agreement work precisely where you desire it? If they can only deliver it to the roadside — or can’t survive a narrow website method — you’ll have the difficulty of moving it later!

The two Es — ‘Eco’ and ‘Ethos’.

A growing number of end clients are (quite appropriately) ending up being concerned about the eco-friendly and ethical concerns around item supply. Stone for contract work is plainly a naturally taking place substance. However the work taken to extract and procedure it requires to be thoroughly handled to minimise the ecological impact anywhere possible.

If you’re considering imported stone, there are two added problems. Initially, there are ‘stone miles’ — the substantial ecological expense of transporting heavy chunks of stone worldwide. Stone market policy in some nations is poor (or non-existent). This can lead to severe ethical concerns around corruption, kid labour and contemporary slavery.

The most convenient method to avoid these concerns is to check your chosen supplier’s eco-friendly and ethical policies carefully. And clearly, if you can opt for locally sourced natural stone for contract work, a lot the better.

Get a guarantee!

The majority of trustworthy service providers of natural stone for services ought to use some kind of assurance. Learn what your chosen supplier deals — and, as always, do not forget to read the fine print!

What do others state?

Do not just take your stone provider’s word for it! Search for any reviews and testimonials you can discover from previous customers who’ve actually utilised your selected supplier. And it’s also worth examining if your proposed stone supplier is a member of an identified trade body like the GB Stone Federation. If not, you may wish to ask why!

About Stamford Stone.

If you’re looking for in your area sourced natural stone for agreement work, the group at Stamford Stone are ready and waiting to help!

We operate our own quarries — sticking to strict ethical and environmental standards — on the well-known Lincolnshire limestone belt.

When it concerns natural stone for companies, we provide a complete — including cutting, design and specialist internal stonemasonry. Contact us today to learn more.