Homes in Long Meadow Farms, Grand Mission and Winston Terrace get the same quartzite process as every other part of Richmond.
Richmond has 1940s to 1960s bungalows in town, Winston Terrace among them with its first houses built in 1940, and master-planned communities have grown around the edges. A bungalow from those years may sit on pier-and-beam, and a settled floor can leave the cabinets out of level before stone goes on them.
What quartzite is and how it performs
Quartzite is natural metamorphic stone: quartz sandstone fused by heat and pressure. It is harder than granite, handles normal pan heat and resists scratching, and it carries veining that reads like marble. It needs a sealer, which we apply at install. One caution comes with the name. Some stones sold as quartzite, Fantasy Brown and Super White among them, are dolomitic marble and etch from lemon, vinegar and wine, so it pays to know which kind a slab is before you buy it.
Colors and looks
Quartzite leans toward whites, grays and soft taupes with long veins, and some slabs carry a crystal sheen. Warmer slabs run toward gold, cooler ones toward blue or green. Every slab is different, so you choose yours in person, and we lay the template out on it so the veins land where you want them. When the veining is strong, a mitered edge carries it down the front of an island.
Quartzite next to granite and quartz
Next to granite, quartzite is harder and costs more, and it looks like marble where granite looks like granite. Both take heat. Next to quartz, quartzite is natural stone whose veins never repeat, and it takes heat and sun. Next to marble, true quartzite resists the etching and scratching that give marble its patina.
Choosing your quartzite
Choose quartzite in person, and choose the slab, not the name. Check the whole slab and mark the part you love, since big veins need big pieces and we center the layout on that part. Ask the yard whether the slab is true quartzite or a dolomitic stone, since a dolomitic slab etches like marble. Bring a cabinet door, because yard light flattens color.
Sinks and cutouts in quartzite
Quartzite takes undermount, drop-in, farmhouse and vessel sinks, and an undermount sink shows off the polished cut edge. The sink and cooktop openings are cut in our shop from the template. On a veined slab, we plan the openings so the strongest veins run clear of them where the layout allows.
Seams and edges in quartzite
Seams in quartzite take the most planning, because the veins run long. Where the layout allows, we put the seam at the sink or the cooktop, or along a vein where it hides best, and fill it with epoxy tinted to the stone. You see the seam plan at template, before anything is cut, and we cut the joints tight in our shop. Any of our ten edge profiles can go on quartzite, and the mitered edge is the one that shows off the veins.
How a quartzite job runs
A quartzite job starts with a free estimate at the house, where we check the cabinets, look at the sink and the cooktop and bring samples. Quartzite is picked slab by slab at any stone yard: a photo of the slab tag tells us which one, and the slab is confirmed at template. Once the cabinets are set and level, our templater records the room with a digital template, and someone should be home to settle the seams and the overhangs. In our shop, we cut the quartzite to that template, polish the edges and cut the sink and cooktop openings. On install day, the crew removes the old tops and hauls them away, sets the quartzite, fills the seams and sets the sink, with the faucet holes drilled on site at install.
Where we work and how to start
Beyond Richmond, our quartzite work reaches Pecan Grove, Rosenberg and Greatwood, and if quartzite is not the fit, we cut granite and quartz too.
If quartzite feels right for your kitchen in Richmond, the next step is the free estimate. Use the form below or call us.