Stone notes
Notes from the shop on picking stone, caring for it, and what we have learned templating and installing kitchens across the Midlands. No sales pitch, just the truth as we know it.
A plain look at how engineered quartz fits Columbia's homes, from Shandon bungalows to new builds off Clemson Road, and the questions we hear most at our Cayce shop.
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A plain look at how marble fits Lexington's home styles, what buyers usually ask us in Cayce, and how it stacks up against granite and quartzite for local kitchens.
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A plain look at quartzite for Midlands homes, what it is, what it costs, and the questions we hear most from Columbia and Cayce customers at the slab.
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A plain look at granite countertops for Lexington homes, how they compare to quartz, and what we actually hear from Midlands homeowners at the shop in Cayce.
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Travertine is one of the more porous stones we install, so sealing matters more here than on granite. Here's a simple schedule and a two-minute water test you can run yourself.
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Dolomite is porous like marble and granite, so it needs sealing and periodic resealing. Here's how to check if it's due and what a realistic schedule looks like.
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Taj Mahal quartzite is a real quartzite, and that means it's porous and needs sealing. Here's the walk-through on when to seal it, how to run the water test, and what a realistic reseal schedule looks like.
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People ask us how often to reseal their quartz. Here's the short version: you don't, and here's what to do instead of the water test.
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Picking a fabricator comes down to what they show you, what they ask you, and whether they stand behind the seal. Here's what separates a good shop from a risky one.
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