Commercial · Lakewood, WA
A full-height Sea Pearl quartzite fireplace wall for the HIVE Project in Lakewood. Heavy natural slabs, a tall wall and hidden fixings had to come together as one continuous face.
The wall is 24 feet tall and the quartzite panels are heavy, with delicate veining that had to keep its flow from floor to ceiling. Access to the site was tight, so moving the panels into place called for a plan for equipment and handling. No fixings could interrupt the face of the stone.
We captured the wall with StoneEx digital laser templating and approved the slabs so the veining would run continuously. A Quattrolifts vacuum lifter let the team lift, tilt and set each panel with control and very little hand contact. The panels hang on a concealed L-hook mounting system.
The finished wall reads as one tall stone surface with aligned seams and no visible hardware. It is the architectural centerpiece of the HIVE Project.
The challenge in detail
The fireplace wall for the HIVE Project rises 24 feet, and every panel on it is Sea Pearl quartzite. Natural quartzite slabs carry a lot of mass, and this stone also has delicate veining that careless handling could damage. Keeping the panels aligned over that much vertical surface took detailed planning before any stone moved.
The main technical problem was getting large, heavy panels up and into position without harming the stone or drifting away from the design. Access to the installation area was limited, so the equipment and the logistics had to be chosen for this site. Slab selection mattered just as much. The pattern needed to keep its natural movement across the whole wall, with the veining running from one panel to the next and nothing on the face to break it.
How we approached it
Work started with StoneEx digital laser scanning of the fireplace wall. The scan gave the measurements for every panel, and each piece of Sea Pearl quartzite was cut to that digital template so it would sit in its planned place within the overall layout. Planning the layout this way is what let the seams and the veining line up once the panels were on the wall.
Handling was built around Quattrolifts vacuum lifting, which let the team move the heavy slabs safely and position them with care. For the installation itself, the team used a custom high-capacity lifting system that could lift, tilt and maneuver each quartzite panel under control. This kept manual handling to a minimum and lowered the risk of damage to the stone as the panels went up the wall.
The finished project
The finished Sea Pearl quartzite wall is the main architectural feature of its space in the HIVE Project. The full-height panels and the natural character of the quartzite give the room a clear focal point that works for both its look and its use.
The concealed L-hook mounting system keeps every structural part out of view, so the stone is the only thing on show. Seam alignment and pattern continuity were planned from the scan onward, and that planning carried through the cutting, the lifting and the setting of each panel. The project shows what a natural stone installation of this height involves, from digital templating through slab handling to the hidden fixings that hold it in place.
Photos
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