Granite Edge Polishing Price Per Meter: What One Metre Covers
Granite edge polishing is priced per linear metre of finished exposed edge, not per square metre, per slab or by the perimeter of a blank. One metre of edge passes through four steps: straightening, profiling, polishing and end dressing. The gap between two quotes comes down to which of those steps the words "edge polishing included" actually cover, and the usual split is whether polishing is in.
Granite edge polishing price per meter — what is inside that one metre?
The short answer: it is priced per linear metre of exposed edge, measured once the work is finished. One metre means one metre of edge, not one square metre, not one slab, and not the perimeter of the blank coming off the saw. Two quotes for the same metre usually differ for one reason: how far the phrase edge polishing included reaches. A sawn edge becomes a finished edge in four steps, straightening, profiling, polishing and end dressing. A rate that covers all four is not the same as a rate that covers the first two. Ask which steps are in the price before you ask for the rate. Some quotes fold edge polishing into a square-metre rate and give one blended figure; that number shows neither how many edges were polished nor lets you compare sizes, so treat it as a package price.
| Step | What the step does | What quotes usually leave out |
|---|---|---|
| Straightening | Grinds out the saw marks and pulls the edge line true | Says ground, without naming the arris it is aligned to |
| Profiling | Holds the drawing: square, chamfer, bullnose or a special profile | Names the profile but not the angle or bevel width |
| Polishing | Brings this edge up to the gloss of the slab face | Edge polishing included often stops before this step |
| End dressing | Hand work at ends, corners and butt joints | Corners are often outside a per-metre rate and billed separately |
Is a polished edge only about looks?
No. A sawn face has three marks: saw lines still visible, a rough feel under the hand, and a reflection that differs from the slab face, so the whole edge reads one shade paler. On an outside corner that face leaves a sharp right-angled arris, and the arris is the first thing to chip when slabs are stacked, carried or set. A chip exposes the rough face, which holds dirt better than a polished one. Polishing buys two things: it carries the gloss from the face across the edge, and it takes the sharp arris away. A third effect gets forgotten. Straightening pulls the edge line back to a true line, and only then do two slabs butt tight with an even joint. Polish without straightening and you get a bright edge on a wavy line that still steps at the joint. Outdoors and in wet areas it matters more: a sawn edge takes in water and holds dirt, and rain leaves a dark line along it that wiping does not remove.
Polishing, chamfer and bullnose — are they one line on a quote?
No. They are three different passes and three different prices. A square polished edge keeps the right angle and grinds only the sawn face up to the gloss of the slab. A chamfer cuts a narrow bevel on the arris, 45° is common, and the quote has to state both the angle and the width of the bevel, because those two figures are what buyers mean by edge angle. A bullnose turns the arris into an arc, and the radius follows the slab thickness: a full bullnose has a radius of half the thickness, and the derivation is in the bullnose radius article. On site you can tell them by hand: a sharp right angle is unpolished, a narrow bevel is a chamfer, a run of arc is a bullnose. They also take a different number of passes, and a bullnose is run with a profiling wheel one cut after another, with the curved face polished as a separate operation. The wider the bevel, the softer the arris reads and the more it takes off both the face and the thickness; when two pieces butt, the bevels have to match, and a wide one against a narrow one reads as a wide joint.
Same one metre — why does a thick slab or a profiled edge cost more?
Because the face being ground gets bigger. Edge face area equals thickness times metres: a 30mm slab gives 0.03 m² per metre, a 50mm slab gives 0.05 m² per metre, so the second is 1.67 times the first. Sesame Grey G602 is made in 30mm only; the 50mm figure is the same formula with another thickness, and the 1.67 ratio holds. More face means more grinding time, so for the same edge profile a thick slab carries a higher rate per metre than a thin one. That is not a surcharge, it is more stone removed inside the same metre. Profiled edges show it more clearly: they are not ground in one pass but built section by section, each section with its own wheel shape, so arc and flat alternate, the polishing contact breaks, and the speed has to drop at the crown of the arc. Align thickness and edge profile before comparing rates. If either differs, the comparison means nothing. Ask as well whether the rate grinds the whole vertical face of the edge or only runs a small chamfer along the arris; the second is cheaper, but the vertical face stays sawn and shows at every butt joint. And have the factory run a one-metre sample before a profiled edge is ordered; a hand over the crown of the arc settles more than a drawing.
A slab has four edges — which ones go into the metre count?
Only the edges that will be polished. Total metres equal the number of pieces times the sum of the polished edge lengths on one piece. Four states cover most orders: no edge, where a tight-jointed paving slab keeps all four sides sawn and the count is zero; one edge, where a window sill has only its outer edge polished; two edges, the nosing and the underside of the riser on a stair tread; four edges, on a modular slab butted against its neighbours. When all four are polished, metres of edge per square metre equal 2(L+W) ÷ (L×W), calculated on the nominal finished size with no joint deducted. Polishing is done piece by piece, so a wider joint never reduces the metres to be polished. On the same 100 m², 600×600 needs 667 metres of edge and 300×600 needs 1,000 metres, 1.5 times as much, so the smaller the module, the heavier the edge cost per square metre, and a small size is not automatically the cheaper buy.
| Size | Perimeter per piece | Pieces per m² | Edge metres per m² | Total metres per 100 m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 600×600 | 2.40 m | 2.78 pcs | 6.67 m | 667 m |
| 800×800 | 3.20 m | 1.56 pcs | 5.00 m | 500 m |
| 300×600 | 1.80 m | 5.56 pcs | 10.00 m | 1000 m |
| 1000×600 | 3.20 m | 1.67 pcs | 5.33 m | 533 m |
How do I check the metre figure so I am not overcharged?
Work it backwards yourself. For 100 m² of 600×600: 100 ÷ 0.36 = 278 pieces, then 278 × 2.40 = 667 metres. If the figure comes back higher, ask how many edges were counted, whether corners were counted twice, and whether cut-out or groove edges were folded into the metre figure. A corner is measured up to the corner point and the next run does not repeat it. Cut-outs, grooves, drip lines and anti-slip grooves are not part of edge polishing; they are separate lines. Ask for the metre schedule: pieces, edge length per piece, which edges are polished, total metres, line by line, not one lump figure. Put four things on the order: thickness; the edge profile in its English name plus angle or radius; which edges, marked A, B, C and D one by one; and whether the rate includes polishing. Sesame Grey G602 is kept in stock at 30mm only, with a 100 m² minimum and 5 days for regular slabs; a 20ft container takes 346 m². The plant is in Cenxi, Guangxi, and runs 20 large saws. Edge polishing is scheduled after cutting, so the earlier the drawing is confirmed, the earlier the slot.
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