Just to let you know, we’ve moved the posts of this blog to blog.builddirect.com. And this is also where future posts will be published. Really, it’s like we’ve moved next door - not too far away.

So, if you’re a subscriber to this blog, please subscribe to our new feed to get the latest posts to your Google, Yahoo, MSN, or other homepage or the RSS reader of your choice.

Thanks a lot, and I hope to hear from you in our comments section!

Cheers,

Rob.

Share this article

Check out this article on HGTV.com about how people are using vintage furniture. Notice the extensive use of vessel sinks to sit atop that old chest of drawers.

Share this article

Check out this ARTICLE by Andrew Hunt for more information about backerboard and how it is used.

Share this article

In this picture, you can see my friend Mehmet pulling out a handful of what looks to be white mud. This white mud is in fact calcium carbonate that over extreme amounts of time, as the water evaporates and pools again,  start to build up in layers to form stone.  Now I took, and did ok at, my high school science classes, but until seeing this it was all just words. Pretty cool.

Share this article

Hello Everyone,

My name is Sukru Goren and I am working in the Stone Flooring Department at BuildDirect. Before joining BuildDirect I worked in Denizli, Turkey in our travertine factory.

Today is November 11, and my friend Marc and I just came back from a Remembrance Day ceremony and celebration at the Cenotaph in Victory Square, in Downtown Vancouver, BC. Today I heard, for the first time, the poem, In Flanders Fields, by John McCrae (see the previous post for the whole poem).

On the walk back to the office we discussed world history. So I thought it might be interesting to add a bit of Turkish history as well.

Yesterday, there were commemorative ceremonies in Turkey as well, for the 70th anniversary of the passing of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish Republic. For more information about Ataturk please see Marc’s previous post while he was in Turkey.

Ceremonies were held throughout the country, cars honked, and civil defense sirens blared for two minutes starting at 9:05am, the time Ataturk passed away 70 years ago at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul. More information about the ceremonies can be found HERE.

Below is a photograph from the ceremony at the Memorial Tomb (Anitkabir) in Ankara.

When my friend Marc was in Turkey he learnt some about Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder and first president of Turkey. Today’s Remembrance Day ceremony reminded us that we should never forget people who died for our freedom and the peace of the world.

“Peace at home, peace in the world” - Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938)

- Sukru

Share this article

Photo Courtesy of Veteran Affairs Canada

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

Remembrance Day 2008

Share this article

So, after spending Saturday night walking the very busy pedestrian street Istikal Ave full of shops, restaurants, cafes and down the side streets pubs, bars and night clubs, my friend Murat hired me a driver for the day on Sunday. The driver was great! Very friendly, very insightful and good English made for a great tour guide. We visited the Aya Sofya which had some amazing gold mosaic work inside.

From there we visited the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. This is one of the most famous mosques in the world and is also known as the Blue Mosque for the amazing display of blue tiles used on the interior walls. It is a really amazing display from the outside.

As you would imagine, the interior was no slouch either. The tile work was quite impressive, albeit difficult to photograph!

One of the other really amazing sights of Istanbul is the Bosporus Strait. For those of you that do not know, it is the body of water that joins the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. It is also the division between what is known as European part of Turkey and the Asian part of Turkey. Check out the view of the Bosporus from my hotel room!

And again from the a hill top cafe in Istanbul. Pretty breathtaking really.

I took a few pictures here and there, and a couple hundred of them are now on Flikr so you can see a wide variety of sights. Some are in Denizli, some are in Istanbul. Most of them have titles and descriptions now, but not all. I am still working on that. To check out the full pictorial version of my trip visit MarcMacon Flikr.com.

Overall the trip was a great experience. I want to thank BuildDirect for sending me, my friends Murat and Fatih for their hospitality and company and  my friend Mehmet for being an amazing host and guide.

Share this article

Rob here.

Marc McPherson, our head of natural stone here at BuildDirect had so many adventures in Turkey that I’m here to help to tell the story - and with movin’ pictures! So, we’re going to take a look at some footage of how your tile is made, taken live by Marc at our factory.

Here’s Marc’s explanation of each stage in  travertine tile manufacturing.

The Splitting Machine

The ’splitting machine’ literally splits the stone into specified thicknesses.  The raw materials come from the quarries in rough cut tile sizes in 3cm thickness.

This machine splits them in half to create 2 tiles from the one 3cm piece. This is basically the starting point in production from the factory’s stand point.

The Honing Machine

This is the honing machine. The filled tile is put on the line and goes through here. You can see along the top there are a number of motors. Take a look:

Each one of these has an attachment within the machine that has finer and finer grit abrasives attached to it. as it passes over each, the surface becomes smoother and smoother. for polished material it is run through the machine again with even finer and finer grit abrasives.

The Fill Machine

The tile is put through the machine at one end. Then there are 5 vats full of cement. It is a mixture of cement and cut tile dust for color. it passes under each of the 5 vats to ensure all surface holes are completely filled. Watch the video:

And this is the second half of the fill process.  This is the same machine but placement of machines didn’t allow me to do it all at once.  Take a look.

These are the last two vats. At the end you see that a worker removes the excess cement with his hand from the surface and with a chisel type instrument almost like a putty knife to remove from edges.

Cutting Travertine Tile To Size

After all the other stuff has happened, this machine cuts the travertine tile to size. A guy on one end feeds it through to cut it square. On the other side, it goes into another machine to cut to size.  Take a look:

Notice the 2 blades for accurate dimensions. He then takes and crates it to be taken to finishing line,  where they run the honed, filled and cut tiles through this machine.

At the beginning of the finishing process, a water nozzle and brushes to loosen dirt.  They then go in the tunnel for more washing.  Once they come out, they are vacuumed of excess water. The guy at the end then does the selection process for coloration and quality. They do this job in 2 hour stints to help avoid the eyes getting tired. At the end you will see the pallets being filled with like tiles as the selections are set aside.

Shrink Wrapping

Some travertine products are shrink wrapped before they’re shipped. Here’s how they do it:

Tumbling Machine

For some products which are known as ‘tumbled travertine’, a tumbling machine is used.  Basically they put the raw cut tiles into this vat with a load of other stones in it. They turn it on and it vibrates like crazy, basically softening all the edges as they are bouncing off the other stones.  Take a look:

When the tumbling process is done, the effect on the stone is that slightly aged look that a lot of people really like.

And there you have it - a brief tour of the travertine tile factory with a look-in to how your tile is made.

Cheers!

Rob.

Share this article