CROSS CUT VS VEIN CUT
For most homeowners, it is the interior décor that really creates the character of the house and the identity of its owners. This being the case, as a homeowner, you will seek to find the best materials for your interior decoration purposes. One of the choices that you will definitely look out for is slabs for various surfaces in your dream home.
These slabs could be for your floors, walls, or countertops and work surfaces. To create a unique look and one that will not be replicated anywhere, rock slabs are the best.
While there are many types of slabs that you could use, the most common ones that homeowners prefer are granite, Travertine, marble and limestone. When you choose which slabs will go where, you will be left with one more choice to make; whether you will install cross cut slabs or vein cut slabs.
Rock is mined in blocks. It is from these blocks that slabs are sliced out into thin slabs that you can work with. The difference in the designs is that one with almost straight lines is the vein cut while the other one that comes with designs of all shapes and sizes is the cross cut slab.
Vein cut slabs
This type of slab cutting yields slabs with almost parallel veins of different colors showing lengthwise or vertically. These lines are layers of ancient sediment that was compressed over the course of many years to produce the rock that is being cut today for interior décor purposes. The color variations will be more of darker hues and lighter ones of the same color other than totally different hues. This method of cutting slabs is also referred to as ‘cutting against the vein’.
Cross cut slabs
A cross cut slab assumes the same width and durability of the vein cut slab. The difference comes in their appearance. A cross cut slab is characterized by colors showing the cross section of the veins of the sediment layers in the rock from which the slabs were cut from. It is the same rock as the one that produces the vein cuts but this time the cut is at a 90 degree angle to the vein cut. The appearance hence is composed of non-uniform hues with lighter and darker shades all on the same face.
How to use them for your interior décor
The decision on whether to use the cross cut or the vein cut slabs is purely a preference issue. Some homeowners will prefer the vein cut slabs for their smooth almost parallel lines while others will choose the cross cut slabs for the artistic or mosaic like appearance. More adventurous homeowners will find a good way to combine the two to create a surreal explosion of earth colors in the home.
A good interior designer will help with the advice for which type of cut goes where.
