In today's post we are going to discuss how to build a block foundation and the tools you will need to complete this task. You should have a good construction knowledge and be in good physical shape before attempting to do this. One thing you should do though is have the hole dug and the footers in place by a licensed excavator to ensure you at least have a good starting point.
Lets go over what you will need for this job first, you will need a cement mixer, partner granite bridge saw, wheelbarrow, mortar boards,a laser for elevations, scaffolding and plank if you are building a basement. The hand tools you will need are a trowel, hammer, striker, chalk box, line, line bars and a 2ft and 4ft. level.
So lets get started, with your footers in place the first you need to do is layout your job and mark all of your corners with a concrete nail or a pencil. This can be a time consuming process so be sure you have someone to help you measure everything out to be square. After you have you corners marked take your chalk box and pull it from corner to corner and snap a line mark down onto your footer, this is the line that your block will follow.
Next you will need to establish your elevations with your laser, i recommend you get a self leveling laser because the slightest error in this step can be very bad in getting your foundation level. Establish which corner is the highest and use it to set all of your other heights. Be sure to mark each corner with how much you need to raise it so you don't get confused.
Now it is time to build your leads, with all your corners marked lay in your first course, if you need to raise a corner try to do as much as you can if the first course. Use jamb block for your corners, ones without ears on them it will make the job look nicer and they are much easier to level up as well. You can get up to about 1 inch of height with a heavy bead of mortar under your first course, hopefully all your corners are close from your excavators work. Run 4 block out in one direction then 3 block in the other direction for your first course and then lay the subsequent courses on top dropping back 1/2 of a block in each course in each direction till you are left with one block at the top. Check your elevations frequently with your laser to be sure that all your corners are working out to be the same height. It is very important that leads are level, square and plum, this will make the whole job a lot easier if it is.
After all your leads are up attach your line to your line bar and pull it tight from one lead to another on the same course. Spread your mortar down the chalk lines and start laying block, try to line the bottom of the block up with the chalk line and the top of the block with the top line. after that course is in it gets a bit easier be sure that your block aren't lipping over at bottom and keep running them to the top line but be sure that none of the block touch the line, stay off of it about 1/8 inch and you should be good. Continue this process over and over till your walls are up and job is complete, also be sure to strike and brush your wall frequently to be sure that it is sealed good. Also every two courses it is a good idea to put a layer of derwal between the courses, it is required by code in some areas.
If you are still unsure on how to do this project hire a qualified contractor to complete the job for you. Block foundation costs are still typically cheaper than poured walls, about 30% or so and they are just as good or better in most cases because the masons have much more control over heights of corners thus leaving you a more level finished project. And if you want you can then fill all your block with concrete thus giving you a solid block, concrete wall. It is also a good idea to drop a piece of rebar in every 4 foot as well and pack it in with concrete, this is also sometimes required by code.
Cast iron bridge and spindle carriage ensure rigidity and dampen vibrations.
- The bridge travels on rolling elements permitting greater speed.
- The spindle carriage travels on prismatic guides in an oil bath ensuring rigidity and precision.
- The spindle travels vertically on prismatic guides fitted out with bronze gibs allowing for clearance adjustment
- A pinion meshed with a precision rack control bridge and spindle carriage travel
- Digital brushless motors fitted out with an absolute encoder give greater speed and precision in travel along axes X, Y, Z
- Guide protection and lubrication
- The spindle can be inclined in any position in a range of 0° up to 90° enabling step-cutting even with inclined disc
- The spindle is powered by a 33 HP motor and its mechanical structure has been dimensioned to accommodate the possibility of plunge cutting thick slabs.
The granite bridge saw is operated and programmed from a touch-screen color monitor installed on a practical hanging control console which is easy to move and rotate facilitating operations. The machine is controlled and managed from the CNC remote PC. Platform system utilized is windows. The operational and management control software installed not only utilize windows to its full potential, but are user friendly and easily interfaced with the user’s system.
The color “Touch-Screen” monitor enables easy and quick machine programming to ensure spare parts are easily sourced in the event of system failure and technical assistance is available at a world level, all electronic and electric components are manufactured by the world’s leading producers. The machine is provided with a convenient portable push-button control panel to facilitate manual machine operations from inside the work area. This portable control panel is provided with the main machine operating controls.
Simple, precise and sturdy stone granite bridge saw, ideal for the most frequent processing.Equipped with ø 800mm circular blade, manually inclinable in any position from 0° to 90°, with possibility of step-cutting, even inclined.User interface with keyboard on a mobile arm and lined display for control, command and programming.
Distinguishing constructive characteristics
The performances of the Easycut FE 800 are further enhanced by:
- Cast-iron bridge and spindle carriage to insure rigidity and dampen vibrations, thus guaranteeing the maximum accuracy and life of the tools.
- Movement of the bridge along the runways by means of rolling elements to allow for the maximum displacement speed and therefore a higher productivity.
- Displacement of the spindle carriage along the bridge by means of prismatic guides in an oil bath that assure extreme precision and rigidity.
- Vertical movement of the spindle on prismatic guides with bronze-lined gibs to adjust the play.
- Movements of the bridge and the spindle carriage by means of a pinion meshed to a precision rack so as to guarantee the highest operation reliability.
- Protection and lubrication of all guides.
- Spindle inclination from 0° to 90° with possibility of step-cutting. The 25 kW spindle motor and the rugged mechanical structure allow the Easycut FE 800 to easily cut even thick materials in a single passage.
The control unit of the Easycut FE 800, equipped with display, performs the function of command/ control console that enables the operator to program the operations within and out of the work area. The machine is supplied with a convenient portable push-button control panel to facilitate the worktable rotation and the Y axes movement.
There is a process that must take place for marble and granite countertops to go from the quarry to the kitchen. The process of kitchen countertop polishing hasn't changed a whole lot since the times of the ancient Greeks, but the process has become more automated. Huge stones are taken from the quarries, out of which marble and granite slabs are cut to use for various purposes. After that, the marble and granite slabs are cut and polished to suit the needs of different customers.
The idea of kitchen countertop polishing and installation hasn't changed much, but the equipment that people use has improved with the latest technology. Basically, marble and granite countertops are cut and polished using saws, polishers, and routers. The saws serve many purposes in the kitchen countertop fabrication process, starting with the cutting of stones into slabs. Granite bridge saw are usually used for the initial cutting of marble and granite slabs. Bridge saws are used to cut the slabs into more specific shapes, such as for marble and granite countertops, flooring, and mantels.
Make Sure That Your Polisher Is an Expert:
The polishers also play an integral role in the process of kitchen countertop fabrication, because they sand down the surface to the texture that different customer's desire. Marble and granite slabs can be polished to a mirror finish from the course rock they once were. Rotating pads are used to polish down the marble and granite countertops. Most modern polishers can produce a variety of finishes during the kitchen countertop fabrication process. Finishes include smooth, soft looks, or slick, shiny mirror finishes. Specialized finishes such as flamed or hammered are also popular.
The routers complete the last step in the kitchen countertop fabrication process. These tools produce edge profiles on the marble and granite slabs, or cut designs into larger slabs so they can be used for things like fireplace mantels. The edge profiles on marble and granite countertops can be simple or highly decorative, depending on what the customers want. These machines used to be operated by hand, or had some limited automatic function. In the past, marble and granite countertops with complex edge profiles might have taken three weeks or longer to produce.
Polishing Is Not a New Concept:
What has taken the kitchen countertop polishing process into the 21st century is computer technology. A process called computer numeric control, or CNC, uses digital technology to control all the machines in the process. Now the process of taking marble and granite slabs and turning them into beautiful counters, mantels, hearths or other decorative home pieces takes hours instead of weeks. In fact, CNC has doubled the productivity of most kitchen countertop polishing shops. This technology has dramatically increased the quality of the finished product, and the process of creating marble and granite countertops will likely continue to improve in the future.
When producing a granite, quartz or Silestone Wrap, ie the sides of the units are cloaked in granite or quartz down to the floor there are several ways of achieving the desired finish. Most kitchens that have wrapped granite end panels are modern style minimal sleek designs and so we have developed what we think is the best way of achieving the joint to make it look as invisible as possible and to try to make it look like you have just folded the granite/quartz. We used to mitre the two pieces at 45 degrees resin together on site and bevel to suit, however with the use of either our Bavelloni CNC or our Marmo Mechannica calibrating wheel we now create a ‘step groove’ in the material this means that the glued area is twice as much therefore twice as strong but, the beauty of the end result is that the joint ends up at the bottom of the bevel and so is pretty much invisible. If the granite or quartz Is mitred the joint ends up in the middle of the bevel, we think our new way of doing things is by far the best way as you will see from the pictures. This granite worktop island wrap is being installed in Stratford upon Avon, note we are surface polishing the reverse of the granite on our Bavelloni.
Planet Granite has now had this fully automatic CNC granite bridge saw installed, Ideal for Granite Worktops, Quartz Worktops Marble cutting etc. Granite Worktops are cut on this machine then edge polished through our marmo mechannica polisher and calibrator, undermounted sinks are then machined on our CNC processing centre, Here at Planet Granite we have Invested in the very best of equipment to make Granite Worktops for our Midlands customers.
This is a small selection of the tooling library we have here at Planet Granite, we have spent a long time and a great deal of money investing in our Cnc tools, we have cataloged all of out tools into the various categories enabling us to machine pretty much whatever our customers request from full bullnose, Demi bullnose, chamfered, shark nose, ogee, plus a host of surface polishing tooling and engraving bits. We also have additional gearboxes that fit to our stone work centres that work with the fourth axis, these are for fluting wheels and convex saw blades ( pretty clever stuff really). A visit to the workshops here at Planet Granite is available by appointment to discuss your project with the in house technicians this is advisable if you have any specific special requirements.
Stone cutting machine, also known as stone by stone cutter machine is a group of stone transport units, multi-multi-level stone knife positioning guides and racks cutting machine
1. Cutter set in stone bench Department transported and placed on the rack, between the cutting knife set fixed positioning guide plate; cutter set by the motor, belts, knife shaft, cutting tool composed cutter knife fixed on the axle. This stone cutting machine for cutting stone separately at different depths can be less than 1m3 of stone less processed, turning waste into treasure, significant savings in stone resources, but also help protect the environment. Various types of stone can be mechanical cutting, high processing efficiency, coupled with the effective use of a small stone, so that production costs are lower.
2. In the machining process, sheet metal cutting methods are commonly used in hand-cut, semi-automatic cutting machine and CNC cutting machine. Hand-cut flexible and convenient, but poor quality hand-cut, size error, waste material large, subsequent processing workload, and poor working conditions, low productivity. Semi-automatic cutting machine in the profile cutting machine, better quality cutting of the workpiece, due to the use of cutting die, is not suitable for the single, small and large quantities of workpieces cut. Although other types of semi-automatic cutting machine reduces the labor intensity, but its function is simple, only for some of the more regularly shaped parts cutting. CNC cutting relatively manual and semi-automatic cutting mode, it can effectively improve the efficiency of sheet metal cutting, cutting quality, reduce the labor intensity of the operator. With the development of modern machinery industry, the requirements for sheet metal cutting efficiency and product quality also improved. Thus the market potential is still very large CNC cutting machine, the market outlook is more optimistic.
3. from a variety of CNC granite bridge saw the application point of view, the overall level of technical level, the overall performance of domestic production of CNC cutting machines have made encouraging progress, and gradually catch up with the international advanced level, to meet the needs of users, further improve the market competitiveness. CNC plasma cutting some domestic product in many ways has formed its own unique characteristics, to achieve the "automation, versatility and reliability." In some respects, the technical performance of the product even more than foreign products. Improve productivity and cut quality CNC cutting machines, reduce production cost and improve the overall level of automation and system stability, improve the system functions become direction of technology development.
Granite bridge saw can be used for various tasks. It is a compact construction, and it doesn’t need any concrete foundations, while it stands on the floor by its own frame.
It is ideal in cutting tombstones, building and interior stones like stairs, table tops and window sills, thin tiles, etc.
Granite bridge saw is versatile and flexible in use:
• designed to meet the demands of various stone fabricators.
• suitable for all kind of stones.
• smaller sawing areas for small workshops.
• different rotation speeds for different blade sizes and materials.
Sawing automation:
• compact control panel with LCD display.
• cutting parameters set in the bridge saw machine before cutting start.
• start to sawing according to the preset parameters, under the control of PLC system.
• worktable rotates or turns up automatically.
Accurate sawing:
• robust, sturdy and vibration free design.
• precision linear guides for both sawing movements.
• vertical movement of the blade with accurate sliding guides.
• worktable turning by high quality bearings.
Easy operation:
• control panel easy and logical to operate.
• clear displays, information shown on the display by English.
Efficiency and productivity:
• simple and easy sawing operations.
• sawing of full table with one programming as an option.
• easy and fast to install, ready for productive operation in a couple of hours.
Reliability:
• reliable operation, uncomplicated components, low need for maintenance.
• greasing points minimized and easy to access.
• automatic central lubrication.
• long life guides and rails selected for the bridge saw machine.
Getting granite countertops installed in your home is a relatively simple process when looked at from the perspective of what you as the consumer can see from beginning to end. Simply put, you call us, select your slabs, & agree on the particulars, then a couple of weeks later they are installed.
There is however a lengthy process involved in getting the stone from its natural state in the earth all the way to your kitchen countertop. The process of turning stone into decorative and functional building materials has been more or less the same for centuries. On the other hand, the equipment has changed dramatically in that time, and the production time greatly reduced.
The process starts at the stone quarry where large blocks are cut from the earth often in a stair-step like pattern. Various types of granite bridge saw & cutting methods are used. There are wire saws which are long steel cables with diamond sections embedded in them. These cables are passed through "core holes" which have been drilled horizontally and vertically to a meeting point in the invisible corner of the "bench" to be removed. Then the cable is run through a drive, continuously going deeper into the stone. Core drilling, as mentioned above, coupled with "blasting" is another method of freeing large blocks of stone in this first step of the process. Some quarries use expanding liquid rather than explosives in the core holes-this is for the more fragile stone to keep from fracturing the blocks.
This first step of the process requires very large and heavy equipment to get the granite blocks from the earth and ready for shipping to the "gang" saws. When the blocks arrive at the gang saw operation, the entire block is cut into some 40-60 slabs simultaneously. These blocks are not a standard size, however a rough average would be 6 feet by 6 feet by 10 feet. This would yield 72 one inch thick slabs less the cutting blades, so around 60 slabs. The blades on a typical gang saw are not really blades, they are flat steel material 3" x 3/16 inch thick. They have no teeth or diamond in them. They are mounted on a large rack 2cm or 3 cm apart depending on the desired slab thickness. The rack is wider than the 6 foot wide slab. This rack in turn is mounted to an arm that is attached to the outer side of a massive flywheel creating a back and forth motion of the rack as the wheel is turned by powerful motors.
Once the block has been turned into slabs, the cart holding the 60 slabs is driven on its rail cart to the polishing line. The polishing line is another massive machine with multiple heads driving various grits of grinding and polishing wheels progressing from rough to polish. These heads drive horizontal grinders as the rough slab goes on a horizontal plane slowly through the machine on a conveyor belt. When the slabs come out the other end of the polishing line, they have become polished from their rough state. They are then loaded onto A frames for shipping to the wholesale warehouses throughout the world.
At this point the slabs enter our world here at Alpha StoneWorks, and our turn in the process begins. We come to your home and make an accurate template of your countertop areas. This can easily be done on new cabinets or on top of your existing countertops without disturbing them. After we have made the template, we like to meet with you at our shop for a layout review so we can agree on which portion of the various slabs will go on the different sections of your counters.
Once we have agreed on the layout, we go to word cutting and polishing your countertops. The surface has already been polished or honed, or brushed as the case may be. We cut the counters to match the templates on what is known as a bridge saw. This is a large "upside down" table saw. The sawing motor with the diamond blade are suspended above the saw table on the "bridge". This bridge in turn is sitting on two rails some 18 feet apart with rack and pinion drive to move the entire bridge east and west. The motor with blade runs north and south on the bridge via another set of rack and pinion gears. This entire apparatus allows the blade to be positioned anywhere over the 6 foot by 12 foot slab of granite. The saw motor only moves in one straight line, so the table beneath that the slab is laying on rotates in order to allow cuts at any angle needed. The rotating table has positive lock stops at 90, 45 and 135 degrees, and can be locked in any other degree for other cuts as needed. The table on our saw tilts up to nearly vertical via hydraulic cylinders. This makes loading easy and safe for both our workers and for your material. Once the countertop pieces have been cut to size, the edge polishing process begins.
Depending on the configuration of the piece and the desired edge detail, we have several different methods of shaping and polishing them. If they are straight line edges with a flat, beveled, or bull nose shape, they go one our "Pro Edge" machine. This is a machine some 18 feet long, 6 feet wide and around 6 feet tall. It is massively heavy and does the work of two to three men in terms of its output capabilities. You will see both the bridge saw and the Pro Edge in action in the video. If the edges are curved or have jogs in them, these are shaped with routers and grinders. Ogee edge details and other complex shapes of edges are done with large routers.
All through the process we have water spraying on the diamond tooling doing the cutting and grinding. Once the cutting and grinding is done, we proceed with the polishing process. This is done with a series of polishing pads on hand polishing grinders. There are 4 to 8 steps involved in the polishing process depending on the stone type and finish desired. The polishing grits start around 50 grit and go up to 8000 or 10,000 grit. In the case of antique finishes, stiff brushes are used on the grinding machines in place of the polishing pads.
Now that we have your countertops fabricated, it is time to bring them into your home and install them in place. This requires a little brute force and a little experience doesn't hurt a thing! We have learned to work smarter, not necessarily harder, to get the pieces into place. Granite countertops are very heavy to bring in. We use a combination of wheels, ramps, tables and other devices depending on the particular job. The slabs are test fitted then we adhere them to the cabinet tops with the appropriate stone adhesives. Joints are put together with epoxies formulated for stone work. Once the epoxy cures, we dress up the joints and other final details, leaving you with new gleaming granite countertops!
QHW-400 granite bridge saw is highly automatic machine well built to perform various tasks in marble and granite processing. It is ideal in cutting tombstone, building stone and big size slabs etc.
Getting granite countertops installed in your home is a relatively simple process when looked at from the perspective of what you as the consumer can see from beginning to end. Simply put, you call us, select your slabs, & agree on the particulars, then a couple of weeks later they are installed.
There is however a lengthy process involved in getting the stone from its natural state in the earth all the way to your kitchen countertop. The process of turning stone into decorative and functional building materials has been more or less the same for centuries. On the other hand, the equipment has changed dramatically in that time, and the production time greatly reduced.
The process starts at the stone quarry where large blocks are cut from the earth often in a stair-step like pattern. Various types of sawing & cutting methods are used. There are wire saws which are long steel cables with diamond sections embedded in them. These cables are passed through "core holes" which have been drilled horizontally and vertically to a meeting point in the invisible corner of the "bench" to be removed. Then the cable is run through a drive, continuously going deeper into the stone. Core drilling, as mentioned above, coupled with "blasting" is another method of freeing large blocks of stone in this first step of the process. Some quarries use expanding liquid rather than explosives in the core holes-this is for the more fragile stone to keep from fracturing the blocks.
This first step of the process requires very large and heavy equipment to get the granite blocks from the earth and ready for shipping to the "gang" saws. When the blocks arrive at the gang saw operation, the entire block is cut into some 40-60 slabs simultaneously. These blocks are not a standard size, however a rough average would be 6 feet by 6 feet by 10 feet. This would yield 72 one inch thick slabs less the cutting blades, so around 60 slabs. The blades on a typical gang saw are not really blades, they are flat steel material 3" x 3/16 inch thick. They have no teeth or diamond in them. They are mounted on a large rack 2cm or 3 cm apart depending on the desired slab thickness. The rack is wider than the 6 foot wide slab. This rack in turn is mounted to an arm that is attached to the outer side of a massive flywheel creating a back and forth motion of the rack as the wheel is turned by powerful motors.
Once the block has been turned into slabs, the cart holding the 60 slabs is driven on its rail cart to the polishing line. The polishing line is another massive machine with multiple heads driving various grits of grinding and polishing wheels progressing from rough to polish. These heads drive horizontal grinders as the rough slab goes on a horizontal plane slowly through the machine on a conveyor belt. When the slabs come out the other end of the polishing line, they have become polished from their rough state. They are then loaded onto A frames for shipping to the wholesale warehouses throughout the world.
At this point the slabs enter our world here at Alpha StoneWorks, and our turn in the process begins. We come to your home and make an accurate template of your countertop areas. This can easily be done on new cabinets or on top of your existing countertops without disturbing them. After we have made the template, we like to meet with you at our shop for a layout review so we can agree on which portion of the various slabs will go on the different sections of your counters.
The bridge saws body is inner lined with putty and then well painted to protect from rusting. All cables are supported by drag chain to ensure safety and long service life.
The first use of manufactured stone house is Greek. Since then, natural stone mining program has not changed much. Mined from the mines is now under chunks of stone, and then press sheet or plate to buy, and finally, of course polishing for processing purposes in accordance with stones. Granite general is in accordance with this procedure.
Over the years most of these methods remain the same, but the type of machine has undergone a dramatic change. With the development of science, efficient and time-saving machines replaced the old machine. Granite production process is important to use the three basic machine that granite bridge saw, polishers and Router machine.
Saw
Previously saw the stone cut with a straight plate, now using a diamond wire saw cutting. The machine has a wire, is fixed above the diamond. Diamond is the hardest stone itself, so it can quickly be cut. Then the granite bridge saw cut the desired size.
Polishing Machine
Polishing machine can make the granite surface becomes smooth, like a mirror. The mouth is provided with a rotating abrasive polishing machine, according to the different effects of the surface of the material is different, excellent abrasive polishing material can be improved smoothness.
Router Machine
Router machine is used to design the stone surface pattern. Different designs to create a different edge. Router machine has a rotating blade, fixed rotary diamond knife above, you can create the desired design.
A bridge saw is a machine used to cut out large sections of marble or granite to specific shapes. These machines are similar to a tile cutter but sit on a railway system. It is very difficult to build an automated bridge saw. However, you can build a manual bridge saw if you have a lot of fabrication experience. You also will have to know how to weld and design, so you can fabricate the trolley and bridge system to which the saw will mount.
Granite bridge saw is a highly automatic machine well built to perform various tasks in marble and granite processing. It is ideal in cutting tombstone, building stone and big size slabs etc.
Two bridge tracks are installed on concrete foundation to ensure the bridge saw vibration free. On top of each bridge track is gear/linear guide way system to having the bridge smooth movement and precise positioning.
Oil-bath bridge tracks are covered to be protected from dust and water spray.The bridge has been built in large thickness normalized cast iron. Cast iron gives the bridge high level rigidity, prevents the bridge from shape deformation.
One V-shaped track is machined on the bridge top with small clearance to guide disc holder move in straight line, result in the disc do straight cutting. This disc holder track is also covered and oil-bath.Disc lifting/lowering movement is powered by two pneumatic cylinders and guided by four surface chrome-plated steel columns.
Limits are presented on bridge and disc holder to easily limit the disc moving range during stone cutting.In the right end of the bridge are electric cabinet and control panel with LCD display. Cutting parameters can be put into the machine by control panel and then the bridge saw make automatic cutting owing to its PLC control system.
Equipped frequency converter enables the bridge saw to fit for cutting stones with different hardness and using discs with different diameter.The hydraulic powered worktable has a dimension big enough for cutting gang saw size slab. It can up turning 85 degree for easy slab loading/unloading and rotating 90 degree for easy cutting all the four sides of a slab.
The machine body is inner lined with putty and then well painted to protect from rusting. All cables are supported by drag chain to ensure safety and long service life.
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