Materials
What each material looks like, what it needs from you, and what it is good for — written by the people who cut it. Relative cost is shown as $ to $$$$ for slab cost only.
Every image on this page is rendered from the character of the real stone rather than photographed. Colours vary slab to slab; come and see the actual pieces in the yard.
Nothing else looks like it. Softer than granite, and it etches — the honest trade-off is a patina that some people love and some people don’t. We will tell you which you are.
The workhorse. Very hard, takes heat, and no two slabs are alike. It is porous, so it wants sealing — we seal every top we set and tell you when to do it again.
Natural stone that reads like marble but is harder than granite. Etch resistant in a way marble is not. It is also the most expensive of the four — and some stone sold as quartzite is softer than claimed. We will tell you what you are looking at.
Ground quartz in resin, pressed into slabs. Non-porous, so it never needs sealing and does not stain. The pattern is consistent from end to end, which is either the point or the problem.
Three materials we cut less often and are happy to talk you into or out of.
Finishes
Finish changes how a stone looks and how it lives. Toggle between them below — Carrara marble and Absolute Black granite, rendered in each finish.
Ground to a mirror. Deepens colour, shows veining at its best, and shows fingerprints and etching at their worst. The default for most kitchens.
Matte and soft. Hides etching and water spots, mutes the colour a little. Our recommendation for marble you actually cook on.
A brushed, lightly textured surface with a low sheen. Hides everything, feels like the stone it is. Best on dark granite.
Edge profiles
Shown in cross-section: the slab runs off to the left, the finished edge is on the right. Eased is included in every job; the others are priced by the linear foot.
A square edge with the sharpness taken off. The most common, the least expensive, and the one that disappears into a modern kitchen.
A flat chamfer across the top corner. Crisp and architectural; sheds a knock better than a sharp corner.
Rounded over the top, flat underneath. Softer to lean on than an eased edge without going fully round.
A complete half-circle. Nothing to chip, nothing to catch, easy to wipe. Popular with small children in the house.
The traditional S-curve. This is the edge people mean when they say they want the counter to look expensive.
Two slabs cut at 45° and joined so the stone turns the corner and runs to the floor. Makes a 2 cm slab read as a solid block.
We will put acid on a sample of anything you are considering so you can see how it behaves before it is in your kitchen.