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.
Dark countertops with light cabinets
Near-black granite or quartz over white shaker cabinets is a contrast that suits an inside-the-loop remodel and a new build in Katy alike. It is not a pairing…
Read the article →Cleaning quartz without damaging the resin
Most damage to a quartz top comes from the cleaning cabinet, not the stove. High pH cleaners attack the resin that binds the stone, and the dull patch they lea…
Read the article →Quartzite vs marble: the veining without the etching
Set a piece of Taj Mahal quartzite beside a Carrara marble sample and the two are hard to tell apart from across the room. Run a hand across both and the quest…
Read the article →Getting a stain out of granite
Granite is porous enough to take a stain and dense enough to give it back. A stain sitting on top of sealed granite is rarely permanent, since the sealer is do…
Read the article →Humidity, subtops and stone: what Houston does to a kitchen
Under an old laminate top in a Houston kitchen, the particle board along the sink edge is often swollen and soft. Years of small leaks and humid air work on it…
Read the article →What happens on template day
Digital templating has replaced the paper strips and string lines once used to measure a countertop. A handheld laser maps every wall and cabinet edge onto a l…
Read the article →Sizing a vanity top for a bathroom remodel
How much sink and counter fits on a 30 inch vanity cabinet without the whole thing feeling cramped? The question matters most in the hall baths of Houston's 19…
Read the article →Island overhangs and when they need brackets
Islands in Houston kitchens have grown deeper as they took over the job of the breakfast table, and a deeper island usually means a longer overhang where peopl…
Read the article →White countertops that hide daily wear
Crumbs, drips and water rings turn into a daily chase on a stark white quartz island in a house with kids, and a stark white can start to feel like the wrong s…
Read the article →How to seal granite countertops in five steps
A few drops of water left on a five-year-old granite counter will often darken the stone in under a minute. That is the plainest sign the original seal has wor…
Read the article →Granite vs quartz for a Houston kitchen
Granite and quartz can arrive in nearly the same warm grey, which leaves the choice to everything the color does not show. The two solve different problems, an…
Read the article →Level 1 granite explained: what the level means and what it does not
On a Houston yard's price sheet, the level printed beside a granite name moves the number more than the color does. Level is a word yards use to sort slabs by…
Read the article →