Volga Blue labradorite interior staircase with backlight

Everyone wants their home to be cozy, unique and original. After all, it is very nice to hear praise from friends and guests for the beautiful interior and original solutions that are made in your home. Definitely, a staircase made of natural stone is the element that will make this desire come true.

In 2020, our company designed and built elegant Volga Blue black granite stairs in the village of Zubra, not far from Lviv. This (Dobrynsky) labradorite has a rich black color with quite a variety of crystals. If we compare it with another labradorite, Irina Blue, it is noticeable that Volga Blue has much less green inclusions and many large crystals, from shiny gray to mother-of-pearl, of different sizes and shapes. Of course, such diversity emphasizes the natural origin of the material.

The production of this flight of stairs was divided into several stages.

Granite steps design

To implement this project, our specialists went to the site three times. It was necessary to agree on all the nuances, which were not few. First we discussed the concept. It consisted in the fact that the staircase should be a solid array 100 mm thick. Since the concrete was poured without taking into account such a moment and an interfloor panoramic window had already been installed, this could only be realized by simulating such a thickness. The implementation of such a simulation will be described below.

We used the version of the steps shown in the second drawing – from a solid array with a thickness of 100 mm. The next question was about the site. The goal was to minimize the number of seams. The difficulty was that there were eight corners on the interfloor plane. In addition, the granite had to, again, imitate a thickness of 100 mm. To do this, it was necessary to clearly measure and cut the granite slab, in the place of imitation of the array, at an angle of 45 degrees. After that, in the aforementioned place, it was necessary to glue the riser. The granite riser also had to have this 45 degree undercut. The overall overall size of such a product made of natural stone should be 2 meters by 1.4 meters. The weight would be over 200 kg.

This is not to say that such an element cannot be performed at all. But the implementation of such a platform from granite would be the most difficult and dangerous. Dangerous in terms of that there is a risk of injury to workers (in the first place), since the lifting of such a part should take place without the use of equipment, but by people. In addition, there was a risk that such an element would simply burst at the junction with the window. It should also be noted that there were no 90-degree corners on the walls. That is, all these risks, of course, had to be included in the price of labradorite products, which would have been sky-high. Of course, for any person, the desire to get the best result for the least money is inherent. Therefore, taking into account the announced budget and common sense, it was decided to make a seam at the junction of the stone to the window (let’s call it a window sill) and the main array of the site.

Volga Blue plinth was requested by the customers to be 10 mm thick. It should be noted that this thickness for granite and other natural stone is not standard. It was also suggested, again, to minimize the number of seams. We, of course, went to meet our customers. It was decided to make plinth and boots made of granite 10 mm thick, with elements not exceeding 500 mm in length. In addition, the boot was made in the shape of the letter “L”.

Production of granite steps

After discussing all the nuances and wishes, the employees of our company prepared and agreed with the Customers the project documentation by signing it. After that, they started selling products from labradorite.

1. At the first production stage, massive Volga Blue slabs with a thickness of 100 mm were prepared. The approximate weight of one such slab was 300–350 kg. These procurement works were carried out in two shifts (day and night), due to short deadlines and constant reminders from customers about the desire to quickly get the material in their home. After the plane polishing work was carried out, the slabs were cut into the corresponding blanks. The latter had dimensions that coincided with the dimensions of the required steps and a thickness of ten centimeters. After that, each blank was polished from the end. Keeping in mind that steps made of granite of this thickness, roughly speaking, will not sit on existing concrete, we moved on to the second stage.
2. At the second stage of production, the employees of our company made many cuts with a depth of 7 cm, on the reverse side of the Volga Blue labradorite blanks. Such an operation made it possible to remove the inner part of the stone and reduce the thickness to 3 centimeters. That is, the letter “L” was formed, if you look at the stone from the side.
3. At the third stage, all visible ends were polished, chamfers were made. Half of the steps were recessed for illumination. The platform was also completed. For its implementation, our workers prepared a pattern in advance, on which all angles were determined and an undercut of 45 degrees, a chamfer, etc. were indicated.
4. At the fourth, final stage, a plinth and boots were made of labradorite 10 mm thick. It should be noted that for the implementation of such elements, twice as much material was used as previously planned. The reason is that with such a thickness, the stone is very unstable. Often cracked on the machine.

Installation of steps Volga Blue

After performing all production manipulations, all parts were delivered to the facility. First, the steps were faced with natural stone. L-shaped steps were mounted in compliance with all building codes: they did not leave voids between granite and concrete, they kept the same level by pulling the thread. The levels were additionally checked with a laser level. Next, an interfloor platform made of Volga Blue stone was mounted. Here we should separately thank the masters of another organization who carried out general repair work and kindly helped our workers to lift and put down a solid part. And finally, the plinth and boot were mounted. After that, the acts of completed work were signed.

It should be noted that after three months a remark was received from the Customers regarding the polished plane of some elements. In response to this, despite the EN 1469 norm, the employees of the enterprise carried out additional work to eliminate this remark. Abrasive powders and cleaning fluids have been used to give the Volga Blue labradorite steps a final and dramatic finish.

The GRANEX® company manufactures and supplies granite stairs to the cities of the CIS countries and Europe.