Modern analogues of traditional natural materials are widely used today. The advantages of using artificial stone in interior design are innumerable; it is enough just to mention the exceptional strength of the material and the relatively low cost.
The possibility of self-production, ease of installation and processing of the finished product, as well as the use of innovative technologies in manufacturing - all these aspects are described in detail in the information in this article.
Advantages
The use of natural stone in the design of residential and public premises has hundreds of years of positive use. Such cladding has always been the prerogative of the upper strata of society, but with the advent of artificial analogues, such luxury has become more accessible.
Sinks made of artificial marble are distinguished by their excellent design and trouble-free operation. Making artificial marble yourself will significantly reduce the cost and allow you to obtain original configurations and colors of finished products.
The concept of liquid stone combines several types of modern finishing materials that are produced using similar technology. Outwardly, it resembles natural stone.
Brief business analysis:
Costs of setting up a business:250,000 - 350,000 rubles
Relevant for cities with the population: from 300 thousand
Industry situation:the scope of proposals is free
Difficulty of organizing a business: 3/5
Payback: 4-7 months
Liquid stone usually refers not to the resulting material, but to the technology that makes it possible to cover any surface. Often this method is used to cover chipboard, plywood or MDF. Liquid stone is obtained by mixing general purpose resin with other components. The thickness of the facing layer of the product can be from 3-4 mm to several centimeters.
Where is it used?
Liquid stone is a mixture of chemical components that reacts upon contact with water or a solution of gelcoat and filler. As a result, a liquid, plastic substance is formed, which, when hardened, gives a structure that looks like natural stone.
A thin layer of artificial stone creates the effect of a laminating coating. A chemical reaction occurs, as a result of which the liquid components of the mixture polymerize, transforming into a thin layer, similar in structure to natural stone - granite or marble. Most often, liquid stone is used:
- in the production of sanitary products, in particular sinks;
- in the cladding of walls and facades;
- in the manufacture of floor coverings;
- in the manufacture of steps for stairs;
- when finishing swimming pools;
- in the manufacture of various products used in the interior, such as window sills and tabletops.
Liquid stone is used to create interior design, as it perfectly decorates the most complex surfaces, replete with irregularities and corners. With its help you can create the perfect coating on any surface.
How is the layer formed?
The surface decorative layer is formed in two main ways:
- Direct - involves applying the mixture directly to the prepared surface. It is necessary to wait time for the composition to harden. The top layer is then sanded and polished.
- Reverse - apply the artificial stone mixture to the prepared form, into which plywood or chipboard is then glued.
The direct method of surface treatment is quite simple, but has its drawbacks:
- Do-it-yourself liquid stone using this technology takes a very long time to produce.
- Significant labor costs are required.
- You have to work in uncomfortable conditions, because when grinding and polishing the surface, a lot of dust is released into the atmosphere.
- Not every surface is suitable for applying the composition. It must be unprocessed. Therefore, plywood and chipboard are most often used. A smooth surface cannot be treated in this way, as the coating simply will not stick to it. After hardening, the mass will fall off the base.
The universal reverse method is much more convenient to use. It allows you to apply liquid stone to the surface much faster. But it also has its drawbacks. To use it you will need special forms. The downside is that it is not suitable for processing large surfaces.
The step-by-step technology for applying a layer of liquid stone in the reverse way looks like this:
- Pour water into the container and add the mixture.
- Using a special attachment on a drill, the composition is mixed. The consistency of the resulting solution should be liquid, and the mass should be plastic.
- Apply the solution to the surface of the product and give the mass time to harden.
- Carry out careful grinding, eliminating irregularities.
At the end, the product is polished to create a shine.
Often, when producing liquid stone, granite or marble chips are added to the mixture, making the finished product look very presentable and expensive.
Disadvantages of technology
Currently there are more than 200 colors of artificial stone. However, at the request of the client, the manufacturer can produce a new version. The smallest dots, the size of which is no more than 1.5-2 mm, allow you to make the material of the desired color. Using dots of this size, it is impossible to create many textures that acrylic stone technology can reproduce.
It is known that chipboard is not resistant to moisture. Since the thickness of the coating is insignificant, and it does not protect the base well from external influences, deformation of the product may occur over time. Problems also arise due to the fact that the layer does not adhere well to the surface, forming gaps. During the operation of the product, the top layer may lag behind it, cracks, unevenness and “bubbles” appear.
Despite many disadvantages, products made from liquid stone are quite expensive. This is partly due to the low prevalence of its production technology.
Material advantages
Liquid stone has many advantages. These include:
- Aesthetics of finished products, solid appearance.
- Ease of repair. If necessary, any defect is quickly eliminated. Cracks can be masked with a small amount of the mixture from which the layer was created. Additional polishing of the area where the flaw was will make it almost invisible.
- Easy to maintain. Products made from this material are easy to clean, since the surface is devoid of pores and dirt does not clog into it.
- Relatively light weight, which reduces transportation and installation costs.
- Various colors.
- It does not fade in the sun, so it can be used in exterior decoration.
- Hygiene.
- Stone products are pleasant to the touch.
- The material is non-toxic and odorless.
- Excellent moisture resistance makes it possible to make sanitary products, such as sinks, from stone.
- Immunity to rot and mold.
- High wear resistance.
- Resistant to temperature changes.
Liquid stone under the influence of high temperature only becomes harder, which compares favorably with acrylic. Therefore, if you place a hot frying pan on a stone countertop, it will not melt, but may only change color slightly.
Making countertops coated with liquid stone
Countertops can most often be finished with artificial stone using the reverse method. This process looks like this step by step:
- Cut out two blanks of the desired shape. The material used is usually MDF sheet.
- Glue the parts together.
- Cutouts are made on the parts if this is provided for in the sketch.
- The glued part is placed on the table and an edge is made along the contour from strips of plywood, plastic or chipboard. The material is attached to hot melt glue using a gun.
- The part is removed from the mold and milled along the edge, removing a few millimeters along the contour.
- Treat the surface of the mold with wax. Let it dry for 10-15 minutes.
- Apply a mixture of gelcoat and filler using a sprayer.
- Polymerization occurs within 30-45 minutes.
- The mold is reinforced with fiberglass.
- The workpiece is primed with a mixture of lime spar and resin. The color of the primer must match the shade of the filler; for this, pigment pastes are added to it.
- A product made of chipboard or MDF is laid out in the prepared form, and weights are placed on top for 1-1.5 hours. This is necessary to allow excess air to escape.
- The weights are removed, the product is cleaned of soil residues and re-filled with it.
- Wait until the composition polymerizes, and then clean the surface of the workpiece again.
- The finished product is ground, milled and polished.
If you plan to make a very large product, for example, a large tabletop, you will have to cast several parts from liquid stone and then glue them together in a seamless manner.
What is needed to set up production?
You can learn the production of liquid stone in a few days, but in addition to knowledge, you need resources - premises, equipment, tools and materials. To do this, you need a starting capital of at least 650 thousand rubles. You should take into account the costs of renting premises, purchasing equipment and consumables, transport, as well as advertising.
When thinking through a marketing plan for a future business, you need to take care of the markets for your products. The following can be considered as clients:
- owners of country houses;
- restaurants, cafes, bars, night clubs;
- manufacturers of furniture for kitchens and bathrooms;
- luxury plumbing salons.
The requirements for the room in which the production of liquid stone will take place are as follows:
- It should consist of two rooms, one for pouring the material into molds or spraying, and the second for final polishing and grinding.
- Lighting, heating and ventilation are required.
- The room should be well ventilated due to the grinding and spraying of chemicals involved in production.
- The optimal temperature in the work shop is within 20-23°C. The temperature is not allowed to drop below 18°C.
- The area of two workshops must be at least 40 m2.
- An electrical network with a voltage of at least 220-380 V is required.
To produce products using artificial stone technology, you will have to acquire tools and equipment:
- Desktop;
- compressor;
- orbital sander;
- jigsaw;
- drill;
- drill mixer;
- screwdriver;
- gelcoat spray gun;
- hot glue gun;
- hand router.
You should also purchase the materials from which the artificial stone mixture will be made:
- Chipboard or MDF;
- general purpose resin;
- gelcoat - a mixture of epoxy resin and dye;
- pigment pastes of different shades;
- calcite;
- paraffin;
- fillers;
- hardeners;
- acetone;
- plasticine;
- fiberglass
In practice, it turns out that the production of liquid stone fully pays for itself after 6 months. But this concerns the costs of equipment and raw materials. However, if the entrepreneur does not plan to independently produce materials for artificial stone, but will purchase ready-made ones, then the period may be reduced to 2-3 months. Considering that the liquid stone production business in our country is not yet sufficiently developed, you can quickly achieve not only full payback, but also good profits.
Ecology of consumption. Business: Due to the low prevalence of technology in Russia, cladding with liquid stone remains an expensive service.
Facing products with liquid stone
Profit: 270 tr. per month
Initial investment: 390 rub.
Payback: 2 months.
Among aspiring entrepreneurs, you can often hear the opinion that small business and production are incompatible. After all, manufacturing competitive products is impossible without expensive equipment, qualified specialists and well-established sales channels. But rules are made to be broken, and cladding of products with liquid stone- a clear example of the fact that organizing production is possible even with minor capital investments.
Stone in the interior is always beautiful and presentable, but until recently few could afford such luxury. And only in the last decade, with the spread of artificial stone cladding technology in Russia, furniture manufacturers and construction companies were able to offer their customers window sills, countertops, furniture and decorative elements that imitate natural stone at an affordable price.
Artificial stone is a composite material based on stone chips and binding resins. Its hardening occurs due to the addition of reagents to the mass: an accelerator and a hardener.
The technology for producing artificial stone was invented in the USA back in the 60s of the last century. An analogue of natural material quickly became popular due to its excellent performance properties.
Fake diamond:
It is durable: it is not afraid of scratches and is not subject to corrosion;
- does not age and retains its attractiveness for many years;
- resistant to ultraviolet rays;
- allows you to create a seamless surface of any size;
- distinguished by a rich range of colors;
- not hygroscopic, unlike natural stone, which means it is not predisposed to the development of bacteria;
- resistant to stains from coffee and tea, juices and fruits, gasoline and oil;
- easy to repair;
- pleasant to the touch.
Currently, two types of artificial stone are used in furniture production and interior decoration: sheet and liquid. They are absolutely identical in their composition, strength and technical characteristics, but, nevertheless, they have fundamental differences in production technology.
Leaf stone– this is a ready-made building material: sheets of chipboard or MDF boards, covered with artificial stone. Its production is a high-tech and expensive process.
Liquid stone– a facing and surface material, working with which does not require the use of special equipment and significant costs for organizing a business. Liquid stone, as a rule, is not called the material itself, but the technology of lining various surfaces with a special mixture. The thickness of the layer is small and amounts to 3-15 mm.
In addition to the availability of cladding technology for small businesses, liquid stone has another clear advantage over its sheet counterpart - the ability to bring to life the most daring design ideas.
Liquid stone can be used for finishing:
- countertops;
- washbasins, sinks, bathtubs, jacuzzi;
- window sills;
- furniture elements;
- vases and flowerpots;
- parts of boats and cars.
The basis for spraying can be surfaces of any configuration from:
- wood;
- MDF;
- chipboard;
- stone;
- metal;
- porcelain;
- ceramics;
- fiberglass.
In addition, liquid stone can be used to make decorative tiles that imitate stonework. But it should be taken into account that this material can only be used indoors.
Target audience and placement channels
The end consumers of the liquid stone cladding service are two categories of buyers:
- individuals (owners of private houses, dachas) with average and below average income;
- legal entities (construction companies).
The technology of manual cladding of products with liquid stone involves the production of atypical products, and therefore the work is carried out to order.
Implementation methods:
- direct sales;
- sales through construction stores: installation of exhibition stands, presentations;
- sales through intermediaries: cooperation with construction teams, furniture manufacturers, and distributors of plumbing products.
Production technology
Let's consider the production of countertops made of artificial stone step by step and with a description of all technological cycles.
The room may be small: up to 50 m2, but must consist of two separate rooms: in the first, the production of liquid stone will take place and the material will be applied to the workpiece, in the second, the products will be polished. The air temperature in the room should not fall below 180 C, and ideally be in the range of 20 – 240 C. In addition, the presence of a ventilation system is mandatory.
The process of making products from liquid stone is simple and consists of several stages:
- Preparation of the mixture. Transparent gelcoat (60 - 70%) is mixed with granules (29 - 39%), thoroughly mixed using a drill. Immediately before spraying, a hardener (1%) is added to the mixture.
- Application of the mixture on the prepared product, in one of two ways: direct or reverse:
- Direct method involves applying liquid stone directly to the workpiece. The method is good for finishing products of complex shapes, but has a number of disadvantages: it takes a lot of time for cladding, the complexity of the initial processing of the product and the high consumption of materials. Therefore, the reverse method is considered more profitable from an economic point of view.
- Reverse method involves the production of a form (formwork) of the future product from chipboard, plywood or plastic. A mixture of granules and gelcoat is evenly sprayed into it, then colored primer with the addition of calcite. After the mixture has hardened, a prepared piece of wood-based material is placed into the mold. To remove excess soil and air bubbles, weights are placed on the surface of the slab for 60–90 minutes. Then the future product is filled with soil again.
- Grinding and polishing of the finished product.
All further calculations will be carried out for the technology of cladding various products: countertops, window sills, bathtubs, sinks, washbasins with liquid stone.
What equipment will you need to start a business?
Cladding products with liquid stone does not require any special equipment! The entire production process is carried out using the following tools:
- Drill mixer BOSCH GRW 11 E 18 500
- Gelcoat sprayer G-100 6 100
- Grinder MAKITA PV7000C 9,000
- Jigsaw BOSCH GST 850 BE 4 600
- Screwdriver BOSCH PSR 1200 2 100
- Circular saw Bosch GKS 190 5 400
The total cost of purchasing equipment will be 45,700 rubles.
At the beginning of the activity, there is no need to resort to the help of hired workers: all work can be carried out by the entrepreneur himself. In the future, with an increase in production volumes, it will be enough to hire 1-2 workers.
Main equipment 45,700
Consumables 100,000
Training in liquid stone cladding technology 190,000
Costs for registration of individual entrepreneurs, production of seals 5,000
Premises rental 25,000
Carrying out marketing events 10,000
Other expenses 20,000
TOTAL: 395,700
How profitable can a business covering products with liquid stone be?
Due to the low prevalence of technology in Russia, cladding with liquid stone remains an expensive service. Thus, the average price of a covering with an area of 1 m2, taking into account the cost of work, is 8 - 10 thousand rubles, with a production cost of 2.5 - 3 thousand rubles per 1 m2 of covering. Each entrepreneur will have to decide for himself whether to reduce the cost of services.
You can keep prices high by:
- low competition in the industry;
- high performance properties of the coating;
- growing demand for artificial stone products;
- an individual approach to the implementation of each order.
A price reduction may be justified:
- as a temporary measure at the very beginning of activities to popularize the service among the population;
- in situations where competing companies operating in the serviced region offer customers more favorable conditions.
Technological cycle of production of one product is no more than 4 hours. Thus, in 1 working day an entrepreneur will be able to produce 2 products with a total area of 2 – 6 m2. Based on this, you can calculate the approximate profitability of production.
Daily production volume, m2 4
Number of shifts per month 22
Monthly production volume, m2 88
Price per 1 m2 of products, rub. 8,000
Revenue, rub. 704,000
Fixed costs, rub. 167 100
Consumables for monthly production volume, rub. 264,000
Profitability, rub. 272 900
Profitability, % 39
Payback, months 2.
Among aspiring entrepreneurs, you can often hear the opinion that small business and production are incompatible. After all, manufacturing competitive products is impossible without expensive equipment, qualified specialists and well-established sales channels. But rules exist to be broken, and lining products with liquid stone is a clear example of the fact that organizing production is possible even with minor capital investments.
Stone in the interior is always beautiful and presentable, but until recently few could afford such luxury. And only in the last decade, with the spread of artificial stone cladding technology in Russia, furniture manufacturers and construction companies were able to offer their customers window sills, countertops, furniture and decorative elements that imitate natural stone at an affordable price.
Fake diamond is a composite material based on stone chips and binder resins. Its hardening occurs due to the addition of reagents to the mass: an accelerator and a hardener.
The total cost of purchasing equipment will be 45,700 rubles.
At the beginning of the activity, there is no need to resort to the help of hired workers: all work can be carried out by the entrepreneur himself. In the future, with an increase in production volumes, it will be enough to hire 1-2 workers.
Necessary costs to start a business
How profitable can a business covering products with liquid stone be?
Due to the low prevalence of technology in Russia, cladding with liquid stone remains an expensive service. Thus, the average price of a covering with an area of 1 m2, taking into account the cost of work, is 8 - 10 thousand rubles, with a production cost of 2.5 - 3 thousand rubles per 1 m2 of covering. Each entrepreneur will have to decide for himself whether to reduce the cost of services.
You can keep prices high by:
- low competition in the industry;
- high performance properties of the coating;
- growing demand for artificial stone products;
- individual approach to the implementation of each order.
A price reduction may be justified:
- as a temporary measure at the very beginning of activities to popularize the service among the population;
- in situations where competing companies operating in the serviced region offer customers more favorable conditions.
The technological cycle for the production of one product is no more than 4 hours. Thus, in 1 working day an entrepreneur will be able to produce 2 products with a total area of 2 - 6 m2. Based on this, you can calculate the approximate profitability of production.
* The calculations presented in this section are of a conditional nature and provide only a general understanding of the profitability of this type of activity based on the expert opinion of the author of the material. Please note that you also need to be skeptical about the profitability calculations presented on the equipment supplier’s website. Moneymaker Factory strongly recommends that you independently (or involve independent experts) make a feasibility study of the planned activity, based on specific figures for your region and the planned size of the business. Calculation of payback must be done using a conservative method, that is, expenses should be taken to the maximum, and revenue from minimum calculations.
Natural stone is an expensive pleasure, especially if you want to make a countertop or shower tray out of it, and therefore DIY artificial marble seems to be a more profitable option. Moreover, there are quite a lot of ways to obtain a reliable imitation, using a variety of, sometimes quite unexpected, components and technologies.
How to make artificial marble with your own hands
What is the stone we are interested in? It has a heterogeneous color, most often with veins penetrating the entire thickness, and a granular-crystalline structure. The color can be snow-white, pink, blue, black or gray. Less common colors: red, purple, green, yellow. The easiest way to create the illusion of marble is with gypsum, which produces a dense, non-porous mass. However, this option is not acceptable if you need a countertop or cladding in a room with high humidity levels. Therefore, we will consider alternative methods that allow you to make artificial marble with your own hands.
The simplest technology is casting in molds from a cement-sand mixture. Cast marble is durable, waterproof and, most importantly, looks very similar to the real thing. However, it should be taken into account that thin tiles will be quite fragile, and thick ones will be heavy. As a result, it is possible to make a countertop from such an imitation, but the body of the furniture must be very massive in order to withstand the weight of the stone slab. A thinner version can be made using the wooden plane of the table itself as a basis. Next we will look at both options.
Almost real artificial marble: manufacturing technology
What do we need to end up with a slab of cast stone that is almost indistinguishable from natural stone? First of all, a polyurethane mold, sand and cement in a ratio of 2:1, respectively, water (a fifth of one share of cement) and pebbles as a filler. You will also need a dye (1% of the cement share) and a plasticizer in the same amount. In order for the technical process to be successful, we stock up on plastic film, a construction mixer, a mixer or a special attachment for a drill, as well as a spatula and a short rule.
Manufacturing technology of real artificial marble - step-by-step diagram
Step 1: Preparation
We thoroughly wash and dry the mold, which can be of any size, for example, just for the working surface of the kitchen wall. We prepare the solution by combining cement, sand and pebbles in a dry state, thoroughly mixing the components. Pour in 80% of the stored water, as well as the plasticizing composition, and continue kneading, achieving the highest possible homogeneity of the mass. We add the remaining water and, in unequal portions to different sectors of the container, the dye in order to achieve the least possible uniformity of subsequent mixing of the color with the solution.
Step 2: Filling out the form
As soon as the dye has dispersed through the cement mass in thin veins, the composition is ready, and you can begin the most important phase of the technical process. We take the mold, place it on a completely flat surface to prevent bending of the bottom or walls, and pour the solution into it. Using a spatula, we clean the edges of the mold from any excess that could affect the smoothness of the slab, then smooth the surface of the mass using a rule and cover it with polyethylene.
The larger the artificial stone slab, the higher the likelihood of it breaking due to internal voids. Therefore, if possible, you should use a vibrating table, and if one is not available, when mixing, try not to lift the mixer from the mass so that air bubbles do not form.
Step 3: Getting the finished artificial stone
After approximately 10 days, the solidification of the mass poured into the mold will end, and there is no need to interfere with the process, as other works with cement require. For example, regular moistening of the surface is not required due to the fact that the solution is covered with polyethylene, which prevents rapid evaporation of the liquid. When the slab has completely hardened, carefully lift it, turn it over and, like a cover, remove the mold from the finished tabletop.
To obtain artificial marble, the manufacturing technology does not have to be complicated; everything can be done in an apartment. The output is a product with low porosity, high resistance to a humid environment and various household chemicals. If necessary, polish the slab using transparent polish and alcohol, alternating between surface treatments. In this case, you should first treat it with alcohol, then, after drying, with polish, and, without waiting for it to dry, we again take up the swab moistened with alcohol.
How to make an illusion faux marble
If you want imitation stone to cover an elegant coffee table, you will have to abandon the previously described technology, since it is unlikely that thin wooden legs will withstand the load of a multi-kilogram slab. Instead, the easiest way is to use paints to partially turn the table itself into marble by painting the appropriate stains on it. To do this, you will need a jar of paint for the background, for example, white or green, as well as a small container of color for the pattern. It would be more correct to draw black or gray stripes on a white background, and white stripes on a green or black background.
Before making artificial marble, all cracks and chips on the surface, if any, are filled with a special water-based wood filler. Next, we moisten the tabletop with a spray bottle so that the swollen fibers reveal all the roughness, and, after the 30 minutes required for drying, we sand it as best as possible to a smooth state. Then, having cleaned the surface, we proceed to painting and apply two background layers with the interval necessary for the first of them to dry. To avoid streaks, it is better to use a brush or foam pad. After two hours, you can begin applying the texture pattern.
The pattern of marble is familiar to many; sometimes it resembles zigzags of lightning on a surface speckled with many grains, and sometimes it looks like randomly intersecting cracks. All this is not difficult to depict with a pen brush, with which you can change the thickness of the line. After waiting 5 minutes, mix a small amount of white paint with a transparent polyacrylic coating. Having dipped a wet sponge into the mixture (be sure to remove excess mixture from it), we follow the drawing without pressing hard and thus shade the lines, making them more blurry. After another 5 minutes of drying, wipe the surface with a clean cloth, mixing the colors with light touches. Another 30 minutes of drying and we take up the feather brush again, emphasizing the previously applied and already modified pattern.
After two hours, when the surface has already dried well, we take a thoroughly mixed polyacrylic coating and cover our “marble” with a thin transparent layer. It is advisable to leave the tabletop for a long time after this to allow the film to harden thoroughly. Next, you need to polish the surface with the finest sandpaper, clean it with a damp sponge or cloth and, after letting it dry, treat it again with polyacrylic. Again, we leave the almost formed imitation stone to dry for 2-3 hours, then polish and wipe again. We apply the last layer of transparent coating, wait for it to harden (2-3 hours), and finally polish it, after which we forget about our piece of furniture for about a week.