A short drive from downtown, in Harris County, a lot in Uptown/Galleria with mature trees or a fenced side yard can narrow the path from the truck to the door.
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.
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.
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.
Tear-out and haul-away
If old tops are coming off, that happens at the start of the install visit, right before the new stone goes in, and an early tear-out is available on request. The sink and the faucet are disconnected first. The crew then lifts off the old laminate, tile or stone, protects the cabinets and the floor as it works, and hauls the old material away on our truck. Tear-out is its own line on the estimate, so you can see what it costs.
Where we work and how to start
Beyond Uptown/Galleria, our crew works across the rest of Harris County, including Tanglewood, Bellaire and West University Place.
We would be glad to look at your kitchen in Uptown/Galleria. Send the form below or call us to set up the free estimate.