FAQ

Granite and Marble countertop company. We custom fabricate and installGranite, Marble, and Quarz products. Showcase our work. 

FAQ Q: Is your granite pre-fab? Will your company be creating a lot of mess in my home?

A: At Coastal Stone Countertops we custom fabricate your countertops. We generally work with full sized “slabs” of Granite, Quartz and Marble (approx. 5-6ft high by 9-10ft long) and 3cm (about 1-1/4”) thick. This means every countertop is custom-tailored specifically to fit your kitchen design, minimizing the number of seams and maximizing the beauty! The “messy fabrication process is performed in our shop, with the exception of small finishing work on-site. To ensure that your counters are just right. We guarantee professional results from the initial design throughout the fabrication process, to the final installation. Q: Will I be able to hand-pick my slabs?      A: You will always be able to hand-pick the exact granite or marble slabs used for your countertops, either from our in-house inventory or at the location of one of our suppliers. Quartz surfaces because they are very consistent in color and texture, are ordered directly from our sample collection.  Q: Will my countertop have visible seams?  A: Most Kitchen countertop installations will require at least one or more joints called seams. During layout and design,  Coastal Stone Countertops will always try to minimize the number of seams required and to locate seams in places which make them less conspicuous. Also, our installers are trained to color-match the joint filler material to enhance their appearance. Seams are created with a permanent, maintenance-free epoxy material, NOT like tile grout in any way!                                    Q: Will my granite look like the online sample?                                                         A: The samples you see on the computer have been scanned and saved as digital images. The color tones may not be absolutely correct due to variations in computer systems and monitors. Granite also has naturally occurring variations in color, tone, granularity, pattern, etc. These variations are expected and the source of its natural beauty. Although the sample stones are intended to be representative of the quarry’s product, the material quarried at one time may differ slightly in color and veining from the sample. Moreover, even a single slab will possess a certain amount of color variation from one end to the other. Interior designers and architects have come to view this tendency of natural stone as an advantage. Slight irregularities can be pleasing, introducing an element of the natural into human-designed spaces, whether residential or commercial.              Q: Can I cut on my granite/ quartz countertop?                                                    A: Only if you want to ruin your good knives. Granite and quartz are harder than steel and will dull your knives very quickly if you choose to use the countertop as a cutting surface. Always cut and chop on a wooden or plastic cutting board.                               Q: Can I place hot pots and pans on my granite/ quartz countertop?                          A: Granite is nearly impervious to typical kitchen cooking temperatures, though you may wish to avoid any risk of damage by using hot-pads or trivets. Quartz surfaces such as Caesarstone and Zodiaq are tolerant of heats up to about 300 degrees F., so you’ll want to use more care around them with very hot cooking surfaces.                   Q: Can you re-connect my electrical and plumbing connections?                                 A: Coastal Stone Countertops is a highly trained and licensed contractor for countertops, but we are not electricians or plumbers. We cannot assume any liability for making electrical, gas, or plumbing connections.                                                  Q: Are there special cleaning requirements for granite and quartz countertops?            A: Maintenance of granite and quartz surfaces is easy. For daily cleaning, a non-abrasive dishwashing liquid is recommended. Although granite is very solid and nearly non-porous, spills left on the surfaces for an extended time period may leave some residual staining – even if sealed properly. Most stains usually dissipate over time on their own. If immediate removal is desired, a stain-lifting poultice powder can be used. Quartz surfaces are billed as “maintenance-free” and do not require sealing – otherwise, they feature the same ease of daily cleaning as granite. Marble, because of its mineral makeup, requires a bit more care and maintenance, although, in a bathroom which is where we typically install marble surfaces, there are few issues.        vide the preview of slabs.                        Process                                                            Estimate                                                   In-home estimate: One of the easiest and quickest ways to get an estimate for your project is to request an in-home estimate. We will come to your home, measure your counters, and then we will give you the bid within 24 hours.                                                 In Shop estimate: Another option to get an estimate for your project is to bring a simple birds-eye-view drawing with measurements to our office. We can set up an appointment for you to stop by with your drawings. You will be able to view our operations as well as meet our staff.                                          There is always no cost and no obligation involved with getting a free estimate from Coastal Stone CountertopsLLC.                     Select your material                              Either using our website (click on materials) or by visiting our showroom, select which material you wish to use for your countertops. We have samples of all of our quartz colors in our showroom. Full slabs of granite inventory are also available for viewing in our slab yard and warehouse.Once you have selected your material and decided you want to move forward, please call us as soon as possible to inform us of your decision. At this point, we will schedule dates (template & install) for your project. We require a signed sales order to put you on our calendar. We usually have 2-3 week backlog of work, often longer during the summer construction season. In other words, from the time you sign up until we can actually start the work. Can be 1-2 weeks, so plan ahead.                              Template                                                    On the specified template date, our experienced countertop fabricators will come out to your location and create an exact “template” of your countertop to ensure the best possible fit.                          Any upgrades new sinks, faucets, cooktops, and other appliances should be on-site for the template and accurate measurements. When there is special request involving layout. We like our clients to set up an appointment to come to our shop to be included in putting the templates on the slabs. Once the layouts are done. The slabs are then cut with our Bridge saw.  The individual pieces are passed along to our fabricators. Our fabricators then take the individual counter tops and shape the edge profile of them with a router. Once the routing and grinding are completed. They polish the edges. Following the edge completion, the sinks, faucet hole, and cooktops are then cut out.                           Install                                                                We will install your countertop on the specified install date, which is normally 10-12 days after the template date.