REASONS TO CHOOSE NATURAL STONE COUNTERTOPS Natural stone surfaces are easy to maintain. They're highly sanitary. Granite countertops rate higher than plastic laminate, tile, concrete, and wood in germ eliminating tests. There's a wide variety of stone types and colors to choose from. Natural stone surfaces increase the value of your home. They're extremely durable. A hot item placed on the surface will not damage the granite. For granite kitchen countertops, a person can cut fruit, vegetables, meat, etc. on the top itself and it won't scratch. ADVANTAGES OF NATURAL STONE Affordability: When assessing the affordability of natural stone, consider durability, lifespan, uniqueness and timeless quality. These characteristics make it clear that natural stone is very affordable. Care and maintenance: natural stone, when properly sealed, is simple to care for and maintain. Keep your natural stone looking its best by sweeping, dust-mopping or vacuuming prior to wet-mopping with a pH-balanced neutral cleaner or warm water. Color: In recent years, more new stones have been brought to the marketplace than ever before. Granite tiles and slabs cover the spectrum from near-white to rich green, absolute blacks, and even blues. With the warm tones of travertine and limestone, and varied beauty of marble, the possibilities are almost endless. Remember that stone is a product of nature, and color varies from piece to piece, as well as between lots. Your stone should be viewed and approved before installation. COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q. What are some characteristics of natural stone? A. Marble, Granite, Limestone, and slate are quarried products. Stones are a natural-honed or polished rock; not factory-made or fired. No two pieces are alike; there are many inherent variances in all stone. There characteristics may include color and shade variations, geological flows, irregular markings, voids, pitting, veins, fissures and lines of minor separations. However, there characteristics are part of the natural beauty of the stone and will not impair the function of wearing qualities of the material. Q. How are natural stone countertops different from other surfaces? A. Not only do natural stone surfaces look beautiful. They also require low maintenance and are highly durable. Most other surfaces don't have the long lasting qualities that natural stone has. Q. What do I do if I am interested in purchasing natural stone countertops? A. The very first thing a person needs to do is to obtain a bid. To do this, you may fax a layout with dimensions to our office or have one of our estimators come to your house to take measurements. After you receive your bid, it is time to look at stone. We will buy material from any stone distributor. All you need to do is go to a slab yard or warehouse and choose your slabs (you may do this before the bid is given if you wish). At the slab yard put the material that you like on hold. The company will then contact us with the information on the selection. Next we finalize the contract and get started working on your project! Q. How long does it take to get my new countertops? A. In most cases it takes two weeks from the time we build a template to the time we install the product. However, depending on the amount of jobs we are working on at the time, the two week time frame may fluctuate by a few days.