(November 2009) A sort of ready-to-install parquet was developed by the Brazilian company Brasvit. It is composed of a myriad of stone rods each 30 cm long and 7 cm across. Fused, they come together to large slabs to be used as table tops or flooring to name but two of many possible uses. At present fabrication is available in thicknesses of 2 or 3 cm, respectively.
The production is intricate. First the rods must be sawed then assembled by hand for colour compatibility. Fusion by means of a specially developed glue is done in a vacuum chamber. The seams are minute as a result of hand picking the right pieces. This is important as the parquet would show unsightly dark seams and lose its appeal. The joints are closed by means of a special glue.
Depending on size, production takes about 5 days to run through all steps. Because of the intricate production Brasvit has only used top of the line stone so far. „ In principle waste products from the saw mills could be used“, according to Brasvit’s Frederico Gouvea.
