Magnolia has late 1990s and 2000s acreage subdivisions and master-planned communities from the 2010s and 2020s, among them Audubon, NorthGrove, Kresston, High Meadow Ranch and Lake Windcrest. On an acreage lot, the house can sit well back from the road, and the truck needs a firm path to the door for the finished tops.
Choosing between the stones
The first choice is natural or engineered. Granite, quartzite and marble are cut from the earth, so every slab is different and you pick the actual slab we cut. Quartz and porcelain are made to a pattern, so a sample shows you what the whole slab looks like. After that, the choice comes down to heat, care and look.
Granite is the working stone. It takes normal pan heat and resists scratches, and it needs a penetrating sealer. Quartzite looks closer to marble and is harder than granite, with the same need for sealer. Quartz asks for no sealer at all and stays clean with soap and water, but it wants a trivet under a hot pot, and it never goes outside, because sunlight yellows its resin.
Marble etches from acids and scratches more easily than the others, and it needs resealing over the years. People who choose it for a kitchen choose the patina too. Porcelain is thin, often 12 mm, and it resists heat, sun and stains. Its printed face can stop at the edge, so a mitered edge is the common fix, and it needs a solid, level base underneath.
Seams and overhangs
A long run or a large island can need more than one piece of stone. Where the layout allows, the seam goes at the sink or the cooktop, where a cutout already breaks the surface. We cut the joint tight in our shop and fill it on site with epoxy tinted to the stone. A seam is visible if you look closely, and a busy pattern hides it better than a quiet one. You see the seam plan at template, before anything is cut. Seating at an island needs knee room, and on 3 cm stone any overhang deeper than 10 inches gets support brackets.
Picking the slab
Natural stone is picked in person, at any stone yard, and you send us a photo of the slab tag so the slab can be confirmed at template. 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.
From estimate to install
You will see us three times. The first visit is the free estimate. We measure enough to price the job, check the cabinets for level, look at the sink and the cooktop and bring samples, so you can see each stone in your own light. The written price lists the stone, the edges, the cutouts, tear-out and the sink install line by line.
The second visit is the template. It happens once the cabinets are set and level. Our templater records the room digitally, which catches walls that are out of square, and settles the seam placement and the overhangs with you. Nothing is cut before that. In our shop, the slab is then cut to the template, with the sink and cooktop openings cut and the edges polished.
The third visit is the install. The crew removes the old tops and takes them away, sets the stone on the cabinets, fills the seams with epoxy tinted to the stone and sets the sink. Faucet holes are drilled on site at install, where the faucet will sit. Natural stone gets sealer, and the crew cleans up before it 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
Beyond Magnolia, our crew works across the rest of Greater Houston, including Pinehurst, Tomball and Montgomery.
The first step for a kitchen in Magnolia is the free estimate. Use the form below or call us, and include photos of the room if you can.