Close to downtown, in Harris County, a single-story house in Piney Point keeps the carry from the driveway to the kitchen on one level.
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.
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.
Countertop repair
Not every worn top has to come out. We fill chips at edges and sink rims, rework seams that have opened, re-polish dull spots and re-seal stone whose sealer has worn thin. A loose undermount sink can be re-attached. Some damage cannot be made to disappear, and a chip in porcelain is hard to repair. The quickest way to begin is to describe the damage in the estimate form.
Where we work and how to start
The crew that serves Piney Point also works in Bunker Hill, Memorial and Hunters Creek, and across the rest of Harris County.
To book a free estimate in Piney Point, send the form below or call us. Tell us which rooms, which stone you like and your street, and add photos if you have them.