The seven granite finishes, and where each one belongs

All seven of these are produced on the same line, and that matters more than it sounds: a project can mix polished treads with flamed paving and still be cut from a single block, so the colour matches.

The seven

• Polished. Mirror-bright, sealed, reflective. Interiors, countertops and wall panels. The one finish to avoid outdoors and on wet steps — and the one most often specified there by mistake.
• Flamed. Blowtorched until the surface crystals pop. Non-slip, matte, exterior-grade. Paving, steps, plazas.
• Flamed + brushed. Wire-brushed after flaming, which softens the peaks. Still non-slip, easier underfoot, easier to clean.
• Flamed + water-jet. High-pressure texture over a flamed surface. The highest grip we produce, for ramps and pool surrounds.
• Bush-hammered. Hand-hammered dimples. The heaviest texture on the list — kerbs, edging, and anything that takes vehicle contact.
• Leather. Satin, fine grain, no sheen. Countertops and feature walls where polished would read too cold.
• Honed. Flat matte, no reflection. Contemporary interiors, and paving where a flamed face would look too rough.

Where it goes wrong

The most common specification error we see is polished stone outdoors. It looks right in a showroom and turns dangerous the first time it rains. If a piece sits outside and people walk on it, it wants flame, brushed, water-jet or bush-hammered — not polish.

The second is mixing finishes on one elevation without checking the colour. A flamed face reads several shades darker than a polished face cut from the same block. On a tread and riser that is usually fine, and often deliberate. On a wall panel next to a polished panel, it is not.

Ordering

Finish is quoted per piece, not per order. Give us the format, the thickness and where the piece sits — inside or outside, walked on or not — and we will confirm the finish before the block is cut.