A long drive from downtown Houston, in Chambers County, a country kitchen in Winnie with a long run of counter can need a seam where one slab ends.
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.
Sinks and cutouts
Undermount, drop-in, farmhouse and vessel sinks all work with stone, and each one shapes the cutout. An undermount sink hangs below the counter, so the cut edge is polished and stays in view. A drop-in sink rests on top, and its rim covers the cut. A farmhouse sink needs its own base cabinet and a cutout sized to its front. A vessel sink sits on the counter and needs a drain hole and a faucet hole. An integrated sink is shaped from the same material as the top, and we talk that option through at the estimate. The sink and cooktop openings are cut in our shop from the template.
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.
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.
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
Towns and neighborhoods near Winnie that we serve include Anahuac, Liberty and Mont Belvieu.
We would be glad to look at your kitchen in Winnie. Send the form below or call us to set up the free estimate.