For homeowners, designers, architects and general contractors
Large-Format Porcelain & Natural Stone Installation
Bookmatched slabs, waterfall islands, full-height feature walls and fireplace surrounds. This is the specialist trade behind everything else we build — and we take it on for other contractors as well as our own clients.
- Fixed written price in 5 business days
- 2-year workmanship warranty
- Fully insured · WorkSafeBC
Bookmatched slabs and feature walls
Bookmatching takes two slabs cut from the same block and opens them like a book, so the veining mirrors across the seam. Done properly it reads as a single continuous piece of stone and it's the most striking thing you can do with a wall. Done carelessly the pattern lands off-centre, the seam falls in the wrong place, and you've spent a lot of money on something that looks like an accident.
It's planned at the slab, not on site. We dry-lay the layout, mark the cuts against the actual veining, and set the centreline against the room — the fireplace opening, the vanity, the sightline from the door. Where the seam has to fall in the middle of a wall, we place it where the pattern absorbs it.
We work in natural marble and quartzite, engineered quartz, and large-format porcelain — including full 3200×1600mm panels.
Why the substrate decides everything
Large-format panels are far less forgiving than conventional tile, and the reason is simple: a big panel doesn't hide an uneven wall, it magnifies it.
The published standards are specific. For gauged porcelain panels, the substrate must be flat to within 1/8" over 10 feet and 1/16" over 2 feet. Anything outside that has to be corrected before installation starts, not worked around during it.
Coverage matters just as much. Large-format work requires a minimum of 95% mortar coverage, achieved by double-spreading — notched mortar on the substrate and back-buttering the panel, with the trowel ridges running parallel so they collapse without trapping air. Hollow spots behind a slab are where cracks begin, usually a year later, usually under a point load.
What this means for your quote. If we tell you the wall needs floating or the floor needs levelling before slab goes on, that's not padding. Installing over an out-of-tolerance substrate is how you get lippage, hollow spots and cracked panels — and it isn't warrantable.
Handling is its own discipline. A 3200×1600mm porcelain panel is unwieldy, brittle on edge, and needs a suction frame and a trained crew to move without cracking it. We carry the equipment and we've broken enough slabs over the years to know exactly how not to.
Waterfall islands, mitred edges and fabrication
A mitred waterfall edge — where the countertop turns 90 degrees down the side of an island and the veining continues through the corner — is the detail that separates fabricators. The two pieces are cut at 45 degrees and joined so the seam nearly disappears and the pattern flows around the corner uninterrupted.
We fabricate and install:
- Waterfall islands with mitred returns and continuous veining
- Full-height slab backsplashes matched to the counter
- Integrated and undermount sink cutouts, drainboards and templated cooktop openings
- Custom stone tables and benches with steel bases
- Floating stone vanities and integrated basins
- Outdoor kitchens and fire features in porcelain and stone rated for exterior use
Fireplace surrounds and media walls
A fireplace or media wall is often the single element that sets the tone of a whole living space, and it's a natural fit for large-format slab — one continuous surface, floor to ceiling, no grout lines interrupting it.
The complications are technical rather than aesthetic. Clearance-to-combustibles requirements around the firebox, thermal movement where stone meets a heat source, recessed niches for equipment, concealed cable routes, and the substrate work needed before any of it goes on the wall. We build the assembly, not just the finish.
Working with designers, architects and contractors
A meaningful share of our stone work comes through design firms and general contractors rather than directly from homeowners, and we're set up for it:
- We attend slab selection with your client and mark the layout at the yard
- We provide shop drawings and dry-lay layouts for approval before cutting
- We work to your drawings and your schedule, and we carry our own insurance and WorkSafeBC coverage
- We're comfortable as a specialist sub inside a larger project — we don't try to take the job over
Commercial work. We've installed backlit onyx bar fronts, reception desks, hospitality feature walls and full lobby cladding across Metro Vancouver. Commercial timelines, site coordination and after-hours access are familiar territory. If you're a designer or GC with a stone package that needs a specialist, we'd like to quote it.
Our Work
Recent stone, slab and millwork projects
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Backlit Onyx Bar
Vancouver · Hospitality
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Bookmatched Marble & Walnut
Vancouver
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Reception & Millwork
Vancouver · Commercial
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Fireplace & Built-Ins
Burnaby
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Custom Stone Table
Vancouver
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Outdoor Fire Feature
Vancouver
Stone and slab questions
What is bookmatched stone?
Two slabs cut from the same block and opened like a book, so the veining mirrors across the seam and reads as one continuous piece. It has to be planned at the slab yard against the actual veining, not decided on site.
How flat does a wall need to be for large-format porcelain?
For gauged porcelain panels the substrate must be flat to within 1/8 inch over 10 feet and 1/16 inch over 2 feet. Anything outside that has to be corrected before installation, because a large panel magnifies an uneven substrate rather than hiding it.
Why does large-format tile cost more to install?
It requires substrate correction, a minimum of 95 percent mortar coverage achieved by back-buttering as well as notching the substrate, specialist suction-frame handling equipment, and a trained crew. The material is also brittle on edge and unforgiving of error.
Can you match a slab I've already chosen?
Yes. We attend slab selection with you, mark the layout at the yard against the real veining, and provide a dry-lay layout for approval before anything is cut.
Do you work for other contractors and designers?
Yes. A significant share of our stone work comes through design firms and general contractors. We provide shop drawings, work to your schedule, and carry our own insurance and WorkSafeBC coverage.
Do you do commercial stone installation?
Yes — bar fronts, reception desks, hospitality feature walls and lobby cladding across Metro Vancouver, including after-hours and phased site access.
Stone and slab installation across Greater Vancouver
- Vancouver
- Burnaby
- Richmond
- North Vancouver
- West Vancouver
- Coquitlam
- Port Moody
- New Westminster
- Surrey
- Delta
Free · No Obligation
Talk to us about your stone package
We'll visit, measure, and send a fixed written price within 5 business days. No fee, no pressure, no follow-up sales calls.