countertops

Feb 14 2021

Tips on How to Move Granite Countertops

So you have gone to the granite stores and identified a granite slab you love, and you have confirmed it will look in your home. You have even paid for it, and now it’s time to move it.

Although granite slabs are tough and easily resist scratches, burns, and other forms of abuse, they are prone to cracking if you don’t handle them with care.

For the countertops to reach your home in one piece, you have to move them with caution. To help you out, here are tips on how to move granite countertops.

Have the right moving equipment

The equipment and tools you use for your work will heavily influence the countertops’ safety during transit. The cool thing is there are plenty of safety equipment you can use for your work. They include:

A-frame

The A-frame is wood fashioned and bound together in an “A” shape and it makes it possible to transport large countertop slabs leaning. You need to transport the countertop in a leaning position because the countertops can crack if you transport them flat or horizontally.

Moving straps

To prevent the countertop slab from shifting or wobbling during the move, you have to tie it to the A-frame, and there are no better tools to do this than moving straps. There are all types of straps online and offline you can go for.

When making the purchase, avoid cheap straps as they are often weak, and don’t provide a tight hold. Remember, your countertops are worth thousands. Do you want to secure a thousand-dollar slab with a two-dollar strap?

To avoid accidents, invest in a high-quality strap that will securely hold the countertop in place and give you peace of mind during transportation.

Moving blankets

Moving blankets provide cushioning to the countertops, so the hits aren’t too hard on the countertops. The blankets are a must-have if transporting more than one countertop at a time.

If you can’t find the moving blankets or they are out of your budget, use bubble wrap as it will work just as well. As you are using the padding materials, ensure you hold them in place, so they don’t fall off during the move.

Carrying clamps

The purpose of the carrying clamps is to provide a strong grip to the countertops’ sides, so you have a handle from which to carry the countertops from.

Gloves

Granite can easily slip from your hands, so you can’t trust your hands when carrying the countertops. Regardless of where you are carrying the countertops to, you want gloves with a strong grip to have an easy time moving them.

Extra help

Carrying the countertops isn’t a one-person job, regardless of your physical might. To avoid injuries, risk of damage and have an easy time moving the slabs around, get help from other people. For example, you can get extra hands from the countertop store you are buying the countertops or ask your friends to help out.

Move the countertops using the right techniques.

You might be having all the right equipment, but if you aren’t carrying the countertops properly, you risk damaging them. To help you out, here are tips to remember as you are carrying the slabs:

Carry the countertops vertically. Not flat or horizontally.
Don’t drag or push the countertop as you will crack it. To ensure this doesn’t happen, have a few extra people help you lift it.
Move the countertops one way—don’t have rest stops on your way as you increase the pieces’ chances of breaking if you keep stopping in different areas.

Hire a professional moving company

While you save money moving the countertops by yourself, it comes with plenty of risks. To protect yourself from the risk, let a professional moving company handle the work.

Besides the company moving the countertops safely, it also will most likely be insured, so when an accident happens, you don’t worry who will compensate you for the loss—the insurance company will do it.

A great place to find professionals to move your granite kitchen countertops Reston is from the store you are buying the countertops. As a rule of thumb, ensure the company you are hiring is experienced enough. You don’t want to entrust your expensive purchase to noobs, do you?

Feb 09 2021

How to Bring Back Shine to Granite Countertops

You installed granite counters in your home because you want the sleek elegance that the counters bring to the table. Unfortunately, with time, acidic substances etch the countertop surfaces causing them to appear dull and faded.

Faded countertop surfaces can’t give your home the elegant appeal you have been working hard for, can they? Fortunately, you can restore the shine of your countertops and bring back the lost glory. Wondering how to bring back shine to granite countertops? Here is how to do it:

Use dish soap and other soap-based cleaners

If your countertops’ dullness is due to a buildup of soap film, you can easily get rid of the buildup using dish soap and other soap related cleaners. The soap will also remove stains brought about by hard water.

Use polishing powder

Do your countertops have grease stains or mild etching from acids in foods? These stains are tough to remove, so to remove them you need a tougher material such as polishing powder.

Buy a polishing powder designed for natural stone countertops, then mix it with water to make a paste. You should then apply it to the problematic areas using a soft cloth.

Some powders might need to be left on the counters overnight, so follow the instructions keenly. While these powders are effective at getting rid of the stains, be cautious when using them as many of them have been shown to damage granite counters.

Treat with acetone

If you don’t want to use the polishing powder due to its etching capabilities, use acetone to get rid of oil, grease, soap scum, and other thicker residues.

Use a soft cloth to apply the acetone to the dull areas. Since acetone works as a solvent, it’s highly effective at dissolving the thick greasy stains leaving you with shiny countertops you will be proud of for a long time.

After scrubbing the countertops with acetone, rinse the surfaces with warm water.

Reseal the countertops

It’s common for the countertops to lose their shine when the sealer coat is etched. If the surface of the stone underneath is still in good condition, you can easily bring back the shine by resealing the countertops.

For best results, use a sealing product recommended by the installer or manufacturer. Also, remember to clean the surfaces before applying the sealer.

After cleaning the surfaces, use a rag or spray bottle to apply the sealer on the surfaces, giving them an even coat. After the sealer has dried, apply another coat to provide more effective protection for your countertops.

Refinish the countertops

If your countertops are badly faded, chances are they are deeply etched from acidic substances. To remove the etched surfaces, refinish or re-polish the faded areas. Since granite is hard, you need specialized equipment such as a grinder or stone polisher to achieve this.

Unless you have the necessary skills, let an expert handle the work.

Keep the shine

Once you have restored the countertops, work at keeping the shine. One way to do this is to ensure you don’t use any abrasive or acidic cleansers.

You should note these include household cleaners, so be ultra-cautious when using the cleaners. Before you use any cleaner on your surfaces, always confirm whether it’s acidic content and if high, don’t use it.

Keep acidic foods such as lemons, tomatoes, limes, and alcohol away from your countertops. If you have to place them there, ensure they are in a bag.

When spills happen, granite contractors, recommend you get rid of them as soon as possible. You should note that even water can get into the deeper layers of the stone and stain them when you allow it to stay on your surfaces for a long time, so regardless of what spills on the countertops, move with haste and get rid of it.

After cleaning the countertops, dry the surfaces thoroughly to ensure no water or cleaning product remains on the surfaces.

Finally, use coasters, hot pads, trivets, and cutting boards every time you are cutting anything on the countertops. This is to protect the surfaces from heat damage.

Jan 26 2021

Is It Worth Getting Granite Countertops?

If you have been talking to your friends about renovating your home, everyone must be telling you to install granite. While the stone has been around for ages, is it worth getting granite countertops?

There is no definite answer to this, as it depends on you. To help you make an informed decision, here are a few granite features you should know about before making the purchase. Go through them and decide whether granite counters are worth it.

The cost

If you have been shopping for stone kitchen countertops, you must have noticed they don’t come cheap. In fact, price is one of the prime reasons most homeowners go for cheaper alternatives such as laminate.

While the laminates are cheaper to purchase, they don’t last as long as granite, so you have to replace them more often. If you do your calculations, you will find that granite is much cheaper when you factor in the durability aspect.

To get a great countertop deal, don’t be in a hurry when buying. Take time to visit different countertop stores and compare their prices. Avoid buying from the big box stores as they not only sell their countertops at premium prices, but they also don’t have many countertop options to choose from.

Instead, buy from the small countertop stores. There you will find many countertop options, not to mention these stores don’t sell their countertops at high prices.

Quality

Granite is one of the toughest countertop materials you can install in your home. The only thing you need to do is clean and seal the countertops so stains don’t get to the deeper layers.

Although the countertops are tough, and you can chop, slice, and even bake on them, avoid doing it often as you risk scratching the surfaces, hence giving your surfaces an ugly look.

Instead, always have a chopping board in place at all times. To avoid stains and spills on the countertops, have coasters, pads, trivets, and other items that will provide your countertops with an extra layer of protection.

The cool thing is, once you take good care of the countertops, they last forever.

Natural beauty

Since granite is obtained from a natural stone, no two slabs are the same. This gives you a variety of colors and textures, so when you install the countertops, you can be sure no other person in the world has the same countertop slab.

To buy countertops that match your home design, take your time to try different slabs and see how they come in.

As a rule of thumb, never buy a slab from the store. This is because the slab might look good in the store, but otherwise in your home. The right thing to do is to carry the slab home and see how it looks there. Remember, the slab’s look varies depending on the lighting conditions and other factors, so you will have to try out different slabs before you find the find the most ideal for your home.

The heat resistance

Granite is natural, so it can withstand high temperatures. While this is the case, you should note that the countertops aren’t heatproof. This means when you regularly expose them to high temperatures, they are bound to get damaged.

To protect the surfaces from damage, avoid placing hot pots and pans directly on them. Instead, have a trivet in place all the time where you set your hot pots and pans.

Installation

One of the major misconceptions is that granite is tough to install, but this isn’t the case. While the installation isn’t a DIY project, installing the countertops isn’t hard, especially when an expert does the work.

If buying the countertops from the small countertop stores, you don’t have to worry too much about granite countertop installers, as most of these stores have their own installation professionals that don’t come at premium prices.

If you have to hire the installers, take your time to interview three to five of them and settle on the most qualified charging a sensible fee.

Yay or Nay

After reading the above guide, do you think granite counters are worth getting? It’s all up to you. If you think they are worth it, have them installed by experienced granite installers. You also should take good care of them, so they last for a long time.

Jan 11 2021

Can Water Stain Marble?

Can water stain marble? Yes, it can, but in rare cases when the city water or well water is acidic. Marble is made of calcium carbonate and it reacts with the acidic water leading to transparent or chalky dull spots.

You should note that pure water will not stain or damage marble countertops.

While water deposits can stain your marble, it happens in extremely rare cases. In 99% of the cases, the water stains are as a result of the stone coming into contact with acidic things such as fruit, coffee, juice, sauces, dressings, alcoholic drinks, and many others.

While the “water stains” seem like they are as a result of water penetrating to the inner layers of the stone, they aren’t. Instead, they are a result of etching or corrosion of the countertop surface due to the reaction of the countertop with the acidic substances.

Since the etch marks look similar to water deposits, many homeowners term them as water spots.

How to remove water stains from marble

To be clear, when we are talking about removing the water spots, we are talking about removing the etch marks from the countertops as they are the causes of 99% of “water stains.”

To remove the etches you should begin with wiping the marble surfaces clean then cover the stain with enough polishing powder then spray water over the polishing powder 2-3 times with a spray bottle to dampen the powder.

When in place, dampen a towel and use it to scrub the polishing powder over the etch mark for 20 seconds to 1 minute. If doing it right, the etch mark should begin to rub away.

When rubbing your marble with the polishing powder, don’t apply a lot of pressure to avoid scratching the marble surface.

A great way to go about it is to rub the countertops quickly at a high frequency until the etch mark is gone. Only apply pressure on the countertop if the mark fails to go away after 20 seconds.

After removing the etch mark, spray the marble cleaner over the surface then clean the marble surface with a clean towel. You should then dry the surface completely once clean and free of extra polishing powder.

In most cases, the etch marks will go away from doing this once, but if you do it and the stain doesn’t go away, repeat the process the second time. If this still doesn’t work, contact a marble professional to help you out.

Can you prevent your countertops from etching?

Yes, you can, but you can’t prevent the etching 100%. The best you can do is maybe 90% prevention and you do this by applying a chemical coating on the countertop.

If you have a high use area such as a hotel or bar, the coatings are a great idea but you are discouraged from using the coating on your home countertops. This is because the coating can:

Change the look of the stone, making it look plastic
The countertops may require additional special maintenance
The coating can wear easily than the stone, giving your surfaces a cheap look
The coating can sometimes be difficult to apply correctly or require expensive professional application.

For your home, avoid the coating and take good care of your marble surfaces. This calls for you to:

Seal the countertops with a high-quality sealer at least once every year
Clean the surfaces with non-acidic cleaners. The best materials to use are sponge or soft cloth with hot water and a specially formulated marble cleaner.
Avoid soap as a regular cleaner as it has been shown to lead to a dull film covering the surface when you use it for a long time.
When cutting or placing items on the countertops, use cutting boards, trivets, and coasters. These items will protect the surfaces against scratching and direct contact with juices that can etch the surfaces.

Trivets prevent your countertops from coming into contact with the hot pans, hence prevent scratches and possible scorching.

Since marble is softer, it often requires more care than other tougher stones such as granite, so if you don’t like giving the countertops a lot of attention, ask your local granite countertop installers to install the countertops in your home.

Jan 04 2021

How Long Do Marble Countertops Last?

If you are asking, how long do marble countertops last? You must be thinking about installing marble on your kitchen surfaces, right?

Natural marble is durable and resistant to heat damage, so when properly maintained, it can last for a century or more.

Cultured marble countertops aren’t too tough, so you have to replace them after two decades.

How do you maintain marble countertops?

As mentioned above, for the countertops to last for a long time you have to take good care of them. How do you do this? Here is what to do:

Seal the countertops

Although marble is tough, it’s porous, so it requires regular sealing to protect it from stains and spills. You can do the sealing by yourself or hire a professional to help you out.

If you have decided to do it by yourself, use high quality, penetrating marble sealers. You should note that you should do the sealing at the time of installation and at least once a year thereafter.

If hiring a technician to seal the surfaces, it’s good you hire the same technician that installed and sealed the counters at the time of installation. The technician is more conversant with the countertops, so he/she is more likely to provide a better service.

Clean the countertops

The other thing you need to do is to clean the countertops. Proper cleaning removes food residues that might harm the surfaces. At the same time, it keeps the countertops looking spectacular.

The cool thing is, you don’t have to be fancy about the cleaning. Using a sponge and soft cloth is enough. Avoid cleaning agents as much as you can. Remember, the only agents you need are hot water, preferably one formulated for marble.

It’s recommended you avoid using soap as a regular cleaner. While the soap might not harm the stone at first, consistent use will dull the film covering the surface, giving your countertops a dull ugly look.

To make your countertop cleaning work easy, make it a habit to blot the spills as soon as they happen. Remember, marble is more sensitive than granite to acidic substances such as fruit juices, wine, coffee, sodas, tomato sauces, toiletry, and other cleaning products so, to protect your surfaces from staining or etching, blot these spills.

Protect the surfaces from damage

There is no way the countertops will last for a long time when they are constantly exposed to damage, will they?

So, to keep your countertops in top shape for long, you should protect your surfaces.

How do you do this? Here are tips on what to do:

Use coasters, cutting boards, and trivets

It’s almost impossible to completely prevent countertop etching, but you can reduce the extent of damage by using cutting boards that will protect the surfaces from scratching and coming into direct contact with food juice that might etch the surfaces.

When buying the cutting boards, buy those with a good grip, are reversible, dishwasher safe, and durable.

Placing trivets under hot pans prevents the countertops from scratching or scorching.

You also should use coasters under bottles, glasses, and cans.

Finally, don’t sit or stand on the countertops. While the countertops are tough, they can easily crack when you place a lot of weight on them.

Use the countertops with care

Even if you are excited about having the countertops of your dreams, be cautious about how you handle them. As a rule of thumb, don’t use the countertops as your workbench.

Using the countertops as your stage or work area is asking for trouble as the nails, hammers, screws, screwdrivers and other tools can scratch or even gouge the countertops.

You should also regularly dust them with a mop to get rid of the dirt that can wear on the finish and cause scratches.

While you can achieve the same with a vacuum cleaner, be cautious when using it as the worn-out parts or grit jammed by the wheels can scratch the surfaces and damage them.

Do you love marble?

If you love marble and you feel they belong in your home, visit different marble stores, and see the available options. After settling on a slab, hire experienced and certified granite installers or any other professionals to install it for you.