Why does the grain direction matter so much?
Reference photographs. They show the material and the finish; they are not photographs of goods we made, and the colour on screen is not a colour-match.
The figures, and where each one comes from
| Where the slab is cut | What the face shows |
|---|---|
| Along the bed | Lines running across the face |
| Across the bed | Figure nearly disappears |
| Book-matched from one slab | Lines mirror and continue |
Why it behaves the way it does
A figure that is straight in one direction and absent in the other is a directional material, and directional materials cannot be reordered later. The alternative to fixing the direction at purchase is to accept a wall that reads as two different materials either side of a joint.
What these figures are, and what they are not
We cannot tell a buyer which of two slabs is the better wall until we have seen them cut. We will send the slabs in sequence, and we will say which way we would cut them.
If you are specifying this
We have not published products against this question yet. Send us the process, thickness and quantity and we will quote it against what we can actually form, rather than against a catalogue.
Because the figure only runs one way. Slabs cut along the bed show lines across the face; the same slab cut across shows almost none. On a large wall or floor the direction has to be the same across every piece, and that decision is made when the slab is bought.
The figures
| Where the slab is cut | What the face shows |
|---|---|
| Along the bed | Lines running across the face |
| Across the bed | Figure nearly disappears |
| Book-matched from one slab | Lines mirror and continue |
Why
A figure that is straight in one direction and absent in the other is a directional material, and directional materials cannot be reordered later. The alternative to fixing the direction at purchase is to accept a wall that reads as two different materials either side of a joint.
What these figures are, and what they are not
We cannot tell a buyer which of two slabs is the better wall until we have seen them cut. We will send the slabs in sequence, and we will say which way we would cut them.