Kingwood was master-planned as the Livable Forest from the 1970s to the 1990s, and its villages include Trailwood, among the earliest, as well as Kings Point, Elm Grove and Kingwood Lakes. A house in Elm Grove, on the San Jacinto River, may have been rebuilt after a flood, with cabinets newer than the rest of the house.
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.
Caring for the stone
Daily care is warm water and a mild soap. Skip bleach, vinegar and harsh solvents, which wear on sealer and dull quartz resin. Wipe oil, wine and coffee before they sit. To test the sealer on granite or quartzite, put a few drops of water on the stone: if it darkens, it is time to reseal. Lighter granites want sealer about once a year, dense dark stones less often. Marble etches from acids, so wipe lemon and wine quickly. Hard tap water leaves spots on dark polished stone, and a dry cloth after the dishes keeps them away.
Outdoor kitchens
An outdoor counter takes full sun, heavy rain and the heat of a grill, so the stone has to handle all three. Granite, quartzite and porcelain do. Quartz does not: sunlight yellows its resin on any patio, covered or open, so we never install quartz outside. The base under an outdoor top is built by others and must be finished and level before we template. From there the job runs like a kitchen, with the grill and sink openings cut in our shop.
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.
Older houses and older cabinets
In an older house, the cabinets under the old top may no longer be level, and the walls may not be square. We check every run with a level before the template, and the digital template records the walls as they are, so the stone is cut to the room and not to a drawing. A cabinet that needs shimming or a repair should be fixed before template day, since fixing it first saves a recut.
Where we work and how to start
Close to Kingwood, we also work in Atascocita, Porter and Humble.
We would be glad to look at your kitchen in Kingwood. Send the form below or call us to set up the free estimate.