On the outer ring of the metro, in Chambers County, a house in Anahuac with a back porch facing open land may have room for an outdoor counter beside the grill.
The five stones we cut
We cut and install five materials, and each one fits a different kind of kitchen. Granite is natural stone, quarried mostly in Brazil and India. It handles normal pan heat and resists scratching well, and it needs a penetrating sealer. Quartz is engineered: about 90 percent ground quartz bound with resin and pigment. It never needs sealing, and its pattern holds from one slab to the next. The resin is its weak point, since sustained heat above about 300 F, harsh solvents and direct sun all damage it, so quartz stays indoors.
Quartzite is natural stone too, quartz sandstone fused by heat and pressure. It is harder than granite, carries veining that reads like marble and needs sealing. A few stones sold as quartzite are really dolomitic marble and etch like marble, so it pays to know which kind a slab is before you buy it. Marble is the soft one. Lemon, vinegar and wine etch it, it scratches and it wears a patina over time, which is why people choose it for a vanity, a fireplace surround or a baking station, and for a kitchen when they like the patina. Porcelain comes in large, thin slabs with the pattern printed on the face. It resists heat, sun and stains, which makes it a strong choice outdoors, though a chip in porcelain is hard to repair.
Picking the slab
Natural stone is picked in person, at any stone yard. Stand back first to see how the pattern moves across the whole slab, then look close at the area where the sink will go. Bring a cabinet door or a photo of the floor, since yard lighting flattens color. Yards sell granite by level, and the level reflects rarity and yield, not strength. Quartz and porcelain are chosen from samples, and every slab of a pattern matches its sample. Whatever you choose, we lay the template out on that slab so the strongest part of the pattern lands where you look most.
Vanities, fireplaces and backsplash
Stone goes well beyond the kitchen. Vanity tops can run in 2 cm stone, and when the sizes work, a small vanity can come out of the kitchen slab. A fireplace surround can match the kitchen or contrast with it, and marble is a classic there, since a surround sees little wear. Backsplash can stop a few inches above the counter or run full height to the upper cabinets, and a full-height splash cut from the counter slab carries the pattern up the wall. Each of these starts with the same free estimate as a kitchen.
How a job runs
Every job runs through the same steps with the same crew. It starts with a free estimate at the house. We look at the cabinets, the sink and the cooktop, bring samples of all five materials and give you a written price, with tear-out and the sink install as their own lines. Then you choose the stone. Granite, quartzite and marble are picked slab by slab at any stone yard: you send us a photo of the slab tag, and the slab is confirmed at template. Quartz and porcelain are picked from samples.
Once the cabinets are set and level, our templater comes back and records every wall, run and cutout with a digital template. Someone should be home for that visit, since seams and overhangs get settled on the spot. In our shop, we cut the slab to that template, polish the edges and cut the sink and cooktop openings.
On install day, the crew takes out the old tops and hauls them away, sets the new stone, fills the seams with color-matched epoxy, sets the sink and drills the faucet holes. Granite, quartzite and marble get their sealer before the crew leaves.
Planning the template visit
The drive to a house well outside Houston takes time, so it helps to have everything the template depends on ready before that visit: the cabinets set and level and the counters cleared. The install brings the finished tops, the epoxy and the sealer on the same truck.
Where we work and how to start
Beyond Anahuac, our crew works across the rest of Greater Houston, including Mont Belvieu, Baytown and Winnie.
We would be glad to look at your kitchen in Anahuac. Send the form below or call us to set up the free estimate.