FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ( F.A.Q. )

Scratch proof, heat proof (100F - 400F ) and pressure tested, each and every Ovum Jasper Crystals & Stone slabs comes with a lifelong guarantee. These section will be updated frequently so please check back for newly added materials!

Types of Stone

• Ovum Jasper Crystals

I. Material Handling

Tiles

Handling of tiles is fairly easy because tiles are usually sold packed in 10 per box and the weight of the box is approximately 60 lbs. One person should be able to carry one box of tiles, and if the floor permits, a two-wheeler will be helpful to move the stone. It is important that the tiles be standing vertically.

Slabs
Handling slabs is more complicated. When the pieces are large and heavy, slabs should be loaded and unloaded with the proper equipment, a forklift with boom or an overhead crane. If the marble or granite has a polished face, the slabs should be loaded vertically with the polished faces touching each other.

At the job site, the slabs must be carried in a vertical position.

II. Storage

When slabs are going to be stocked at the job site, the following precautions should be taken:

• Slabs should be placed away from the job traffic area.
• The polished sides should be facing each other.
• Slabs should be resting vertically.
• If it is necessary to stack them, the slabs should be separated by a 1"x4" piece of wood.

III. Sorting stone tiles before installation

Two very important steps have to be taken before installing the material:

1. Check Your Delivery: Verify that the correct material was delivered. Once the material is installed, it is too late to make any changes.
2. Sorting the Material for the Job: The success of a great marble job is the mixing and matching of the stone before installation. This step will always yield to a uniform homogeneous installation.

For proper stone placement or mixture, we recommend the following guidelines:

• Divide the area of installation into separate flat areas and allocate enough material for each area including some waste.
• If the material to be installed is tiles, all the boxes should be open and the tiles should be taken from all the boxes randomly. In this way, the installation will be uniform and the material will look homogeneous. Remember that stone cannot be inspected or appreciated by looking at just one tile. The only way to check stone is by looking at several tiles, mixing them and laying them flat together in order to appreciate the stone's quality and color.
  
• The direction of the vein should be considered before starting installation.
• If there is not enough material to finish a complete section, the installation should not be started because it will be very likely that the additional material will have a different tone.

IV. Types of Installation

(Please note that these are general guidelines; you should check specifications from both the adhesive manufacturer and the building code.)

Stone tiles can be installed by adhesive or they can be mechanically anchored depending on the size of the pieces and the application. A different method and adhesive is used if tiles are going to be installed indoors versus outdoors.

The installation of slabs on fireplaces is recommended using mechanical anchors with adhesive for the vertical pieces.

When installing horizontal pieces for countertops, it is recommended to use a non-staining adhesive.

Joints between pieces should be grouted using the proper material and color. It is important to approve a sample of the grout before the job is done to avoid problems. The seams should be perfectly clean before applying the grout material.

V. Steps involved in a countertop installation

1. Sketch the countertops allowing for overhang on top of the cabinets. Include backsplashes and any cutout dimension. In addition, choose a finished edge for any visible edge of the countertop and backsplash. (See Edge table below). When sketching the countertops, take into account that the size availability of the slabs is approximately 102" x 62". Therefore, location of the seams is an important consideration.
2. With a sketch and material alternative, contact a few stone fabricators and ask them for a quote and delivery time. The quote should include prices for templates, fabrication, and installation.
3. Fabrication shops will require approximately 50% deposit to start the job. Before giving any payment, the customer should approve the material. When inspecting the material, one should consider variation, small imperfections in the stone, and particular markings on slabs. If there are concerns regarding the stone, the customer should try to see the actual stone to be used for their project. The customer should also know that stone is a natural material, so it has unique characteristics that cannot be changed.
4. Fabricators or installers will fabricate templates. In order to be able to make accurate templates, cabinets should already be installed and fixed. Accessories such as sinks, cook tops, faucets, dishwasher screws, and any other related hardware should be purchased and at the job site location prior to beginning templates.
5. Fabricators will cut the stone and finish the edges as per order. Any changes may result in extra charges. Good seams and edges are an important consideration when looking at the craftsmanship and quality of a project. If the stone is going to be installed already polished, all the edges of the tiles should be beveled to allow the installer a small margin of error during the installation.
6. The fabricator and installer will deliver the stone and install it at the job site. Usually, fabricators and installers require payment, (in full), upon satisfactory installation.

VI. Care of stone

In order to keep your in perfect condition, it should be kept clean. The most common way to maintain stone is to brush away dust. Stone should be washed with a clean, soft cloth and fresh water. A mild detergent can be used periodically to remove any residue that remains ingrained. These steps will save many problems with stone. Some stone suppliers recommend applying a sealer on the stone a few weeks after installation is completed. This helps prevent staining on the stone. The sealer should be reapplied periodically since it wears off after an extended period of time.

In case of stains, the customer should contact a stone restorer for removal.

VII. Jasperia Edge Profiles & Colors

The edges of your jasperia counter top can be any shape that you want.  Below you will find many popular edge styles.  Each edge profile is a different price depending on the amount of labor required.

There are many colors available in jasperia stones.  Colors can vary as the quarry can change from time to time.  We will view your slabs before the cutting begins.  Different colors come from quarries all over the world.  Pricing depends on how many quarries are quarrying the color at the present time. Price is determined by supply and demand usually.

Many perspec colors are available in tile or slabs.

VIII. Official Report for Ovum Jasper Crystals & Stones

The factory produces natural ovum jasper colophony board and as to date still have not possessed any of the countries’ standard or industry standard. According to the requirements of standardizing the standard, the Company specifically sets out the standards of the enterprise products as the basis for the products supervision. Basically this standard of the enterprise products were basically edited in accordance to GB/T-1. 2000  <<Principles on Standardizing Jobs 1st Chapter: the writings of standard and structure specification>> and GB/T-2. 2000  <<Principles on Standardizing Jobs 2nd Chapter: Methodology on Specific Techniques in Determining the Contents within the Standard >>. This Standard is official in used from 2-12-2003.

1. Scope

This standard has fixed the requirement, methodology on experiment, rules on examination and label, packaging, transporting and storage on natural ovum jasper colophony board.    

This standard is suitable for natural ovum jasper colophony board which uses non-saturated and grease accumulated colophony and natural stone as main materials, after mixing and blending, solidify, polish, incision and processed (to be called “colophony board” herein after).
 

2. Standardising in perusing documents

The proobserves in the documents below will be used under this standard and further formulate as the proobserves in this standard. For all dated perusal documents, its subsequent amended order (excluding inaccurate contents) or binding version; are both not suitable to be used in this standard. However, researches done accordingly with the present standard in reaching agreement; on whether such documents are suitable which were are most welcome.

GB/T 191-2000           packaging storage indicative sign
GB/T 2828-1987         batch-by-batch examination sample procedure and sample table

GB/T 2829-2002         weekly examination sample procedure and sample table
GB 6566-2001             limitation on radioactive nuclide building materials
SN/T 0308-1993         methodology of examination for human made stone for export

3. Requirements

• 3.1 Exterior Look
  • 3.1.1 The surface must be smooth and without burr. Please see table 1 for bubble and impurity requirements.
  • 3.1.2 Tone
    • The tone of the colophony board must be balanced
  • 3.1.3 Scratches
    • The colophony board should not contain obvious scratches.
  • 3.1.4 Cracks
    • The surface of the colophony board cannot contain cracks; this does not include natural cracks on the stones.

Table 1: Bubble and Impurity Requirements

• 3.2 Measurement Deviations
  • 3.2.1 Specification Tolerance
    • 3.2.1.1 The colophony board’s measurements must be in accordance to the plan.
    • 3.2.1.2 Allowance for specification measurement tolerance could be referred to table 2.

Table 2: Specification Tolerances

• 3.2.2 Flatness Deviations - Flatness Deviations would be as according to Table 3

Table 3: Flatness Deviations

• 3.2.3 Angle Deviations - Angle Deviations would be as according to Table 4

Table 4: Angle Deviations

• 3.3 Lustrousness
  • Surface Lustrousness > 80
• 3.4 Physics Performance
  • Physics Performance should be in accordance with table 5

Table 5: Physics Performance

• 3.5 Mechanics Performance
  • Mechanics Performance should be in accordance with table 6

Table 6: Mechanics Performance

• 3.6 Hardiness
  • After 4.6 experiments, it should not contain signs of cracks and spots
• 3.7 Heatproof
  • After 4.7 experiments, it should not contain signs of cracks, bubbles or obvious change of tone, fade of tone.
• 3.8 Anti Burning
  • After 4.8 experiments, the colophony board should automatically extinguish after getting out from the fire.
  • Note: For products, which did not add any anti-burning element, are not suitable for this procedure.
• 3.9 Chemical Erosion
  • After 4.9 experiments, there should not be any permanent spots or signs of demolition.
• 3.10 Radiation Index
  • The radiation index should satisfy the GB 6566-2001 category A’s requirements.

4. Experiment Methodology

• 4.1 Outlook Examination
  • The finished product could be examined under the natural light condition, if it is examined under a lighting system, you may use your natural hand touch and observe examine by using two 40w cover-added green light sun lamp, white light sun lamp and the distance between the lighting source and the surface of the experiment desk should be 1.2m – 1.5m.
• 4.2 Specifications Measurement
  • To be measured by cursor ruler.
• 4.3 Lustrousness
  • The procedure for Lustrousness should follow 4.7 in SN/T 0308-1993.
• 4.4 Physics Performance
  • 4.4.1 Water absorptivity
    • The procedure for water absorptivity should follow 4.8.5 in SN/T 0308-1993.
  • 4.4.2 Degree of Abrasion
    • The procedure for degree of abrasion should follow 4.8.8 in SN/T 0308-1993.
• 4.5 Mechanics Performance
  • 4.5.1 Anti Pressure Intensity
    • The procedure for anti pressure intensity should follow 4.8.4 in SN/T 0308-1993.
  • 4.5.2 Anti Break Intensity
    • The procedure for anti break intensity should follow 4.8.3 in SN/T 0308-1993.
  • 4.5.3 Mohs Hardness
    • The procedure for mohs hardness should follow 4.8.10 in SN/T 0308-1993.
  • 4.5.4 Anti Concussion
    • The procedure for anti concussion should follow 4.8.9 in SN/T 0308-1993.
• 4.6 Hardiness
  • Insert the natural ovum jasper colophony board into the freezer; the temperature for the freezer should gradually reduce from normal temperature to – 10. After placing it for 60 minutes, gradually increase the temperature in the freezer from –10 to room temperature and there should not be any signs of cracks after extracting the sample.
• 4.7 Heatproof
  • Place a 100 iron kettle on top of a 100mm x 100mm experimental board. Examine it by using natural hand touch and observe after removing the iron kettle from the experimental board.
• 4.8 Anti Burning
• Place a 100mm x 100mm experimental board on top of the alcohol lamp. Remove the experimental board after burning it and ascertain whether the fire would extinguish.
• 4.9 Durability of Chemical Decomposed Experiment
  • Place a few 100mm x 100mm experiment board, apply some chemical as the below shown on the experiment board surface. Rinse with clear water after 3 min. Apply some ‘ dirt removing powder’ to wipe to clear surface.
    

    Item	Quantity	Name	Systematic Name
    a	0.5 g / 1	Bleaching Powder	Calcium Hypochlorite
    b	6 ml / 100 ml	Acetic Acid	Glacial Acetic Acid
    c	3 ml / 100 ml	Ethyl Alcohol	Ethanol

    
    

5. Rules of Examinations

• 5.1 Group all products in each batch according to its types, categories and grades.
• 5.2 Products could only be labelled as merchantable when it passed the quality and quantity examination by the manufacture factory.
• 5.3 Products examinations would be divided into factory examination and model examination.
• 5.4 Factory examination
  • 5.4.1 The particulars for factory examination would be: 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3.
  • 5.4.2 All products examination.
• 5.5 Model examination
  • 5.5.1 The particulars for model examination are cover under all the sections in the 3rd chapter of this standard.
  • 5.5.2 The model examination should be executed under the following circumstances:
    1. when the old or new products are transferred to be manufactured in another factory for testing identification.
    2. when the structure, materials, technologies occurred major changes after officially manufactured, which would affect the products’ performance;
    3. when the manufacturing process of the products have stopped for more than 3 months for whatsoever reasons; and resuming manufacturing;
    4. when factory examination consists major inconsistencies with the previous model examination;
    5. when the country’s quality control organisation requests to undergo model examination.
  • 5.5.3 Sample
    • 2 times of the sample should be taken out to undergo non-satisfactorily sample repeating-examination, when it the product fails to satisfy any of the requirements during the model examination. Conclude as model examined if the repeating-examination is passed and conclude as model examination failed if the repeating-examination still did not satisfy any of the requirements.
• 5.5.4 Conclusion
  • if any of the above stated is not satisfied, it would be marked as failed.  

6. Packaging, label, transportation and storage

• 6.1 Packaging
  • The quality of the packaging must satisfy the product’s requirement while uploading and storing under the normal conditions. Each volume and weight will be determined in accordance with the product specification lifting transportation.
    • 6.1.1 Wooden Box Packaging
      • Allocate face to face of the shining surface of the natural ovum jasper colophony boards and insert it in order. The empty gap in the box must be filled with soft elastic material.
    • 6.1.2 Other Packaging
      • Other methods of packaging, which satisfy the requirements of the quality of packaging, could also be used.  This could be executed in accordance with special requirements.

• 6.2 Label
  • 6.2.1 After the colophony board is packed, there should be a label of the serial number or specification and quantity. The serial number should be labelled in accordance to the plan during the packaging process.
• 6.2.2 The packaging box should contain the label of the name of the factory, address of the factory; face-up and handled with care or other signs or handling methods which satisfy the criteria of GB/T 2001.

• 6.3 Transportation
• The following must be complied with during transportation and uploading:
  • 6.3.1 The handler of the goods must carry it gently and softly, strictly prevent from falling off; endlong. Make sure that the corner side of the reverse side is first landed.
  • 6.3.2 It must carry in endlong when the single area of a natural ovum jasper board exceeds 0.25m. Whereas, while using heavy weight lifting tools to move a larger size product, the receiving force on the corner side has to be supported by pads.
  • 6.3.3 Uplift one box on each occasion when using weight lifting tools to lift products, which were packed, in wooden boxes.

• 6.4 Storage
  • 6.4.1 The natural ovum jasper colophony board should be stored at indoor. Sufficient materials must be used as cover while storing at outdoor.
  • 6.4.2 When the natural ovum jasper colophony jasper board is placed in endlong direction, the shining surface of each of the board should be faced to face. The declivity should not be more than 15%. The buttress height should not exceed 1 level. The bottom and in between level must use non-polluted elastic material to support.
  • 6.4.3 Place all the natural ovum jasper colophony board flat with the shining surface of each of the board face to face； when those colophony boards could not be placed in endlong. The ground must be level. The supporting spot in between the levels should be in a straighten line, The buttress height should not exceed 1 level.