Frequently Asked Questions, New Hampshire Marble, Cultured Marble, Bathtubs, Showerbases, Vanity tops, Sinks, Flatstock, technical informationHere is a page with the information on drilling cultured marble and other useful facts. New Hampshire Marble Frequently asked questions and technical help
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- a.. What is Cultured Marble? In a nutshell, Cultured Marble is man made marble. It is composed of crushed rock fillers, pigments and various plastic resins. This product is made in a factory using mixers, molds and other equipment. A gel-coat is used to protect the background color and to provide the sink with it's high luster and stain resistance. After the gel-coat is cured, the matrix is mixed and poured onto the molds. All New Hampshire Marble products are hand poured, and produced in a small batch fashion. Once cured the rough edges of the sinks are ground and then sanded, buffed and polished, or matted what ever the case may be. Please note that cultured marble does not support combustion, mildew growth or have a porous surface for bacteria to hide in. Also the gel-coat layer of cultured marble is stain resistant. a.. Who makes New Hampshire Marble brand products? New Hampshire Marble and Fiberglass, INC. manufactures it's own products. Our products are made in small batches by our employees in New hampshire. Our products are produced from raw material components, the majority of which come from refineries and manufacturers in the United States. You can be sure that when you have bought a New Hampshire Marble product, that it was made in the United States. a.. Do we have a warranty? We offer a two year limited manufactures warranty. It covers defects that can be linked to the manufacturing process. Please be aware that dislike of the veining is not considered a defect. Due to our production process we cannot control what the veining in the end product will look like. We cannot accept product back due to a dislike of the veining. All potential customers should be aware that veining can and will vary from what they see on display units or samples. Click the link to view the Warranty information in full. a.. What is the normal lead time? With few exceptions, due to the many color and size variations all products are made to order at NHM. Modular sinks typically take about 7/10 working days. Custom sizes can take 3-4 weeks depending on the work backlog. The best idea is to order the vanity tops and all other products when your cabinets are ordered. Do not tear apart your bathroom unless you are certain that you have all the parts you require to finish it. a.. Do we bid on large Contracts? We bid on contracts that range from a few homes, to hotels with hundreds of rooms. Our products have gone into homes, hotels, hospitals, motorhomes and a wide variety of other structures. We do offer special pricing considerations for bulk volume orders. What is bulk volume? Anything over 10 sinks on 1 order. Please be aware that large orders may require a longer lead time to manufacture. You need to be aware of this when placing orders, so that you are sure that there will be enough time to have the product delivered on time. a.. Can we make custom Colors? At New Hampshire Marble we will attempt to match color samples that customers bring in. We will make a sample color to match the selection as closely as possible. Then the sample will be submitted to the customer for approval. After the customer has given approval, we will go ahead and make the product. Make sure to leave plenty of lead-time for these situations in case colors have to be ordered. a.. How do I install the Cultured Marble Products I just bought? Attach your hardware before placing the vanity top onto the base. Use only Silicone based products around the drain. A light bead of liquid nail will help secure the vanity top to the base. For more information on installing these products. click here. a.. How do I keep my Cultured Marble product clean? Always use non-abrasive cleaning products to care for your Cultured Marble. Any of the non-abrasive spray cleaners, or handy wipe cleaners available today are okay for your normal weekly cleaning. We recommend Gel-Gloss (which can be found at most home improvement and marine supply stores) for polishing the product. This will help ensure that the finish of your product lasts a long time. More Information a.. How do I cut cultured marble? A circular saw with a masonry blade will cut cultured marble easily. At all times you want to protect the finished surface of the product. Deep scratches caused by careless installers can be difficult to remove. Be aware that cutting is not always the best way to remove material from a top. Many times it will prove to be much easier to simply sand the product with a power sander and some 60 grit paper. This method is recommended to remove anything less than 1/8". For the rest of the information needed click here (cutting information). a.. How do I drill Cultured marble? A simple holesaw at the size you need will easily make the hole you need. Be sure to double-check the marked places to be drilled. It is easy to drill this product, but fixing careless mistakes can be difficult! For the rest of the information on drilling click the link. a.. Can this material be repaired? Cultured marble products can be repaired depending on the type and amount of damage. In some cases minor scratches may be removed by simply rubbing a buffing compound (available at any automotive store) over the scratched areas. Deeper scratches and chips will require a professional to do the work. Typically in the event of cracking the product will have to be replaced (of course there are always acceptions). a.. How can you remove rust or hard water deposits? If rust or hard water deposits develop in the bowl, use a buffing compound (available at any automotive store) and a soft rag to buff away the deposits. The rust or mineral deposits may reapear, if this happens simply repeat the before mentioned steps. As long as there is gel-coat present over the background colors, none of the rust or mineral deposit staining should be permanent. a.. What about Cracking? In the early days of Cultured Marble, the resins could not handle quick changes in temperature. Typically this would translate into cracking in the bowl. However, due to advances in chemistry and slight modifications in the installation process, cracking has become very rare. In most cases cracking in the bowl can be traced to the installation process. We recommend only silicone based products, and not over tightening the drain fitting when installing these products. Please note that extremely high water temperatures can result in cracking. This product will expand slightly with significant changes in temperature. If the drain collar is tightened too much during installation it can restrict the expansion of the product when hot water is placed in the bowl, which can lead to stress cracks or crazing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to FAQ'S Back to Product Pages Back to Home [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To listen to the show archives go to link http://acbradio.org/handyman.html or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml Visit The New Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following Address: http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ Visit the new archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com/ For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
