It Takes Experience to Work with Natural Stone
“You can’t buy experience.” That saying holds true when it comes to working with natural stone. While buying from a quality natural stone retailer will provide the very best raw materials to work with, the actual effort involved in landscaping with stone retaining walls or crafting beautiful natural stone interiors requires the experience to get the best out of the material, avoid mistakes and select the best natural stone for the job.
You can’t buy your own experience, but you can employ someone with that experience to work for you. With that in mind, experience is a key ingredient in the mix of criteria you need to look at when you decide to employ a natural stone layer. In today’s service-oriented professional environment it’s easy to get dazzled by personality and superficial results. While someone may have a reputation for quick work and a polite demeanour, the quality of the end result is what matters. You want someone with a reputation for solid work above everything else.
That’s why it’s always a good idea to ask for references when it’s time to hire a professional stone layer. When you follow up on these references you can ask past clients how their work has held up under everyday wear and tear and how they feel about the job’s quality after the fact. This will give you an idea of whether the natural stone layer’s results stand the test of time, and whether there’s substantial skill behind that first impression.
A skilled natural stone layer also knows how to create beautiful work that fits in with the style you desire. Ask for a portfolio of past work. Ask yourself if it demonstrates versatility across a range of jobs and natural stone types, and whether any particular example especially appeals to you. This will not only let you know if the contractor is right for you, but help you firm up your own ideas about the job you want done.
Once you’ve found the right candidate for the job, act fast, as skilled professionals in natural stone laying are rare. The best professionals will often be booked months in advance, so it’s a good idea to schedule your job as soon as possible, but set a realistic date weeks or months down the road. For outdoor natural stone work such as paths, stone retaining walls and other landscaping jobs, remember that demand spikes through Spring and Summer. Natural stone interiors don’t depend on the weather but will be affected by the demand for outdoor jobs, since expertise often crosses over.
Our natural stone showroom includes examples of professional grade natural stone work as judged by Mike Stone, informed by his decades of experience. Visit us and we can tell you more about how to find a natural stone layer with valuable experience, and the quality you should expect from these professionals.
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