Expert Kitchen Remodelers in Midlothian, VA

Stone is a natural product and cannot be manufactured. Blocks of stone are removed from a quarry, a type of open-pit mine, and from those blocks slabs are cut. The slabs are then fabricated into the final stone to be installed. Natural stone generally comes from all over the world except the United States for countertops. Caledonia, Dakota Mahogany, Virginia Mist are a few granites quarried domestically, among many marbles. Green materials are generally associated with South America, blue hues from the Nordic area of the world, and earth tone colors from the Middle East.

While you can find websites that indicate it is ok to use certain countertop materials as a cutting board (darker granites, quartz), we always recommend not to do it. If you want to purchase a matching cutting board for your kitchen, please ask us and we can get you pricing.

Some granites can tolerate temperatures in excess of 1200 degrees (F.) and you might be able to put direct heat on the countertop. Capitol Granite recommends never putting items from your oven, stove top or grill directly on the granite surface without a trivet or hot pad. Once items have cooled, placing them directly on the stone countertop would be acceptable. For quartz, it is recommended to use a trivet and direct heat is not advisable due to the chemical makeup of this material. For solid surfaces, plastic laminate and wood, No. These materials are much softer and direct heat is not advisable.

A polished finish has sharp reflections and is considered a mirror gloss. A honed finish means the stone has been textured with abrasive heads making for a dull sheen that can vary from light to heavy. Flamed or thermal finishes change the color of the stone as the plane surface is finished at a high temperature by mechanically controlled operations that ensure uniformity. Similarly, the water jet flamed finish allows for more of the natural color to show through a uniformly textured finish. When a stone is split into any number of thicknesses, a cleavage face forms, this is called a natural cleft finish. Slate is a common example of a material that is cleft or honed. When a machine is used to grind a material into a specific thickness using circular abrasives the finish is called gauged.

The selection begins by focusing on vertical or horizontal planes. Interior vertical surfaces factor in highly used areas, mainly in commercial buildings, which lead to stones that are dense, resistance, and easily maintained and in variably prove to be a better choice in long-term investments. Water resistance becomes important in areas such as fountains and showers because the stones must be able to endure constant water projections and for showers hot steam. Traffic is a consideration in interior horizontal surfaces, especially when selecting floor stone. Heavy-volume traffic needs to withstand vehicles or carts, high heels, mud and sand, salting compounds, etc, requiring stone of maximum resistance. In medium-volume traffic areas dimension stones with a honed finish work well and are more easily maintained as they mask wear like scratching and etching on the surface. In residential areas and other light-volume traffic zones making a decision based on aesthetics as long as maintenance is kept up. Functionality is the primary concern in selecting countertop stones. The handling of food is a major factor in kitchens, whereas lavatory tops see little wear besides pollutants in cosmetics and can be chosen more or less to taste.