Articles
Notes from the job site
What we have learned measuring, fabricating and installing countertops: materials, care, cost and the details that decide how the job runs.
Tear-out day: what to clear and what to expect
Clearing every cabinet and drawer the night before is the part most people remember. The part they forget is the spice rack mounted to the side of the island o…
Read the article →Integrated vs undermount bathroom sinks
Run a finger around the rim of most bathroom sinks and you will find a joint where the bowl meets the counter. Whether that joint exists is the difference peop…
Read the article →Farmhouse sink cutouts: what the fabricator needs to know
A farmhouse sink bought online often turns out to be a different size than the cabinet opening built for it, sometimes by close to an inch, and the gap usually…
Read the article →Outdoor kitchen countertop cost in Houston
Granite on a Houston patio island often prices higher per square foot than the same stone inside the kitchen. The difference has little to do with the slab and…
Read the article →Waterfall islands: what the mitered edge costs you in slab
A waterfall island drawn on a plan looks like one continuous piece of stone, yet it often takes more than one slab to build. The reason sits in how a mitered c…
Read the article →Marble etching: what it is and how to live with it
Tomato sauce, lemon and vinegar are everyday ingredients in a Houston kitchen, and any of them left on polished marble for a few minutes will leave a faint dul…
Read the article →Quartz vs porcelain: two engineered surfaces, two different jobs
A Houston counter that takes afternoon sun or a grill's heat needs a different surface than one that stays under the kitchen lights. That one question, sun and…
Read the article →Outdoor kitchens through hurricane season
An outdoor counter near Galveston Bay takes more weather in one hurricane season than an indoor counter sees in a decade: months of direct sun, then weeks of w…
Read the article →Quartzite countertop cost in Houston: why it runs above granite
A quartzite kitchen usually prices well above a granite kitchen of the same size, and the gap is set in the quarry and on the saw, not by the square footage. #…
Read the article →From estimate to install: the timeline
Countertops sit near the end of most kitchen remodels, which makes their timeline the one that decides when the rest of the kitchen can be finished. Knowing th…
Read the article →Double vanity layouts and sink spacing
A double vanity works or fails on one decision: where the two sinks sit. Standing at the old vanity and walking through a normal morning, who uses which side a…
Read the article →Undermount vs drop-in sinks on stone
The drop-in sink in an older Houston kitchen can move over to a new granite top. Whether it should is the real decision, and the answer usually turns on how th…
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