Granite and marble have characteristics that can not be duplicated by any other materials. The variety of colors and patterns is so diverse it's almost unbelievable. This makes it possible to find a natural stone that's just right for any situation in your home or office. STONE RESOURCES 

Silestone®, CaesarStone, and HanStone are engineered stones that offer good choices when you want a durable solid-surface counter top material with qualities somewhat different than natural stone.

Do you want a casual or a more formal look?

A dark stone with little pattern or a very subdued pattern will create a more formal impression. A lighter stone, or one with a more obvious pattern, will often seem more casual.

A more elaborate profile for finished edges, like an ogee, will seem more formal. A simple shape, like a full bull nose, or flat will seem more casual.

• When an EXACT STONE COLOR is important to you there is one way and ONLY ONE WAY to get it.
  You must pick the specific pieces you want from a warehouse.
• BLACK STONE shows every tiny stone defect, every fabrication defect, every finger print, every speck of dust,
  and is generally very difficult to keep up. Before you make this your choice, decide whether or not you can
  tolerate the smallest of physical defects and whether or not you want to spend the time it takes keeping it up.
• HONED BLACK STONE presents other challenges than polished black stone. Any soft metal, such as a ring,
  aluminum pan, pewter cup or plate that moves across it makes a mark that looks like a scratch.
• WHITE MARBLE may tend to discolor over a period of time, it's soft. Use it accordingly.
• CHISELED EDGES are popular, but they can be difficult to clean and they are abrasive to clothing. 

What kind of seam do you want?

Tight Seam

Caulked Seam Top View

Caulked Seam Front View

In many cases people want the seam between counter top pieces to be as invisible as possible. They believe that this will be the most attractive. That's not always true. There is a type of seam that's used infrequently but that is quite attractive. Finish the seam like you would the space between tiles. Make the seam deliberate and clean.

• To make the seam as invisible as possible the stone you choose must have little or no pattern, or it needs
  a small pattern that is homogenous throughout. A stone with a very distinctive pattern usually cannot be
  matched in the adjacent piece. This will usually make the seam more obvious.

What thickness of stone best suits the situation?

2cm with lamination ( buildup)

3cm with no lamination ( no build up)

3cm with no lamination ( no build up)

Most natural stone colors come in both 2cm (3/4") and 3cm (1 1/8") thickness. For counter top applications, stone that is 2cm thick usually is doubled for the finished edge thickness. Then the 4cm (1 1/2") edge is profiled into the desired final shape. In most cases this works well and produces a very nice overall finish since the buildup covers both the edge of the sub top and the top edge of the cabinets.

With 3cm slabs the finished edge is not as thick as the finished edge of a 2cm slab with buildup. For this reason it doesn't give quite the same look. However, the appearance is similar to the 2cm with buildup and will probably not be noticed by the casual observer.

• 2cm stone with a 4cm finished edge can still work for cabinets where the drawer faces are extremely
  close to the top edge of the cabinet face. Just make sure the sub tops are at least 3/4" thick, possibly more.
• 3cm stone will not cover up any space between the top of the cabinet face and the bottom of the stone. Either don't use any sub top, or else plan on using a trim piece to cover the edge of the sub top.

What type of stone do we recommend?

When you're deciding on the type of material you want for your counter tops, please make your decision based on the QUALITIES of the material you want, not on the cost. You'll be so much more satisfied.

The two general kinds of stone that are used the most are granite and marble. Granite is generally the most durable, although there are softer and harder types of granite.

• Granite is recommended for counter tops in the kitchen. It can take much more abuse than marble or any
  other softer stones. In places where there is less wear and tear, softer stones like marble can be used with
  good results, such as on bathroom vanities.
• Travertine and sandstone are extremely soft stones. Their lack of toughness makes them poor choices for
  counter tops in high-use situations. They are easily marred by common household utensils.

Top of page