Stone Creations FAQS

Visit our showroom and let us educate you on all the surfaces we specialize in, including:

Granite, limestone, marble, slate, travertine, onyx, acrylic solid surface, engineered quartz, and sustainable green surfaces.

Here's a primer to get started:

Granite - a coarse-grained, hard rock consisting chiefly of quartz and feldspar, highly resistant to heat, scratching and staining. This classification includes a wide range of exotic stones that are not "true" granites. These stones are suitable for many applications.

Limestone - a common sedimentary rock consisting mostly of calcium carbonate reactive to acids and alkalines like cleaning supplies or lemon juice. Easily absorbs oils, liquids, and scratches. Limited suitability.

Marble - formed from limestone, ranges from granular to compact and is usually heavily veined with lots of color. With its calcium carbonate base it is reactive to acids and alkalines and can scratch easily. Ask us how this can fit into your home.

Slate - a dense fine-grained metamorphic rock produced by the compression of various sediments into paper-thin layers. The rough texture of this material provides a beautiful stain-resistant, easy-to-clean, no-slip flooring or wall application.

Travertine -a light-colored porous calcite material used primarily for flooring or vertical wall applications. Travertine forms from the bottom of evaporated inland seas and has many gas holes creating its unique appearance. These holes are typically filled with a color-matched epoxy.

Onyx - formed in limestone caves from dripping water as stalagmites or stalactites. The colorful bands represent the different trace minerals as they settle in the water. This material is beautiful backlit as most colors are translucent. Due to its water-soluble calcite structure, it is extremely sensitive to acids, alkalines, heavy mineralized waters, and scratching. Recommended for minimal use such as decorative applications.

Acrylic Solid Surface (e.g. Dupont Corian®) - With a beautiful color range and the ability to mold and shape intricate designs, this product is flexible and suitable for a wide range of applications as an alternative to natural stone or engineered quartz surfaces.

Engineered Quartz - consists of crushed quartz minerals, impregnated with color and set in a polymer resin base material. These materials are very heat, stain and scratch resistant making them suitable for both residential and commercial applications. We represent many engineered quartz with a wide range of color palettes to choose from.

Sustainable Green - Ask us about our growing family of environmentally-friendly, recycled products such as recycled glass, paper stone, and concrete.

In choosing a stone it is important to consider how the stone will change over time. Many of the more porous stones will stain easily. Unfortunately, even the best impregnators may not be good enough. If this aged look is what you prefer, most stones will be applicable and can also be honed.

If you are a bit more particular, we suggest you consider what the French call "Pierre Marbriere" or, "Marble Stone." A "Marble Stone" is a metamorphosed limestone that has become considerably denser and harder while in the Earth's crust. Limestones such as Villebois Jaune, Saint Baudille, Demi Roche Gris, Jerusalem Stones, and Saint Croix are a few. Ask us for samples. You will find these stones are more stain and wear-resistant. Unfortunately, as carbonates, "Marble Stones" are acid sensitive.

The two most important words we need to remember are "carbonate" and "silicate." Simply stated, the important difference is a carbonate is acid sensitive and silicate is not. A silicate, like granite, for example, does not react to acid. If we take a lemon (citric acid?) and squeeze the juice onto the stone, nothing happens. If we take a lemon and squeeze the juice onto a carbonate, such as marble, the stone starts to dissolve immediately. Like Tums, also calcium carbonate, the stone neutralizes the acid quickly so the change is not deep. The damage will be the loss of the smooth finished surface. Acids will do more damage to a polished stone then a honed or matte finish. Both etch equally, but the damage is more pronounced on polished stones. Try this test yourself. A little experimentation works wonders - but don't use your cocktail table! Remember one of the great things about stone is that we can usually restore it to its original beauty.

We know stone, but we do not know you - yet! Everyone's needs are different. Some love the aged look of a Carrara kitchen, and others want the consistency and properties of a quartz surface plus the durability and beauty of granite. That's where our design team can help you. Give us a call.

Marble and limestone will etch. Darker stones etch more noticeably. Some will also be more apt to stain, but we can impregnate the stone to improve performance – the denser stones will still be better. The bottom line is, as much as we love marble and limestone kitchen counters, these surfaces are not for everybody.

Many green marbles make good kitchen counters – mainly because they are not true marbles. These wonderful greens are natural stone, but not calcium or magnesium carbonate – as in marble – but rather magnesium silicate (serpentine). Our industry takes artistic license here, and deviates from the science of geology by labeling greens as marble because of their marble-like appearance. Pure serpentine is not acid sensitive, therefore there is no etching. However, not all greens are pure serpentine. Some lighter greens, like Spring Green, have some carbonate mixed in, and will react to acid. Also, there are greens that are true marbles such as Verde Antigua and Cippolino, so be sure to ask us first.

The best way is to experience hand selecting your material here at Stone Creations. If the stone is coming from the factory, you may need to go there to see the look of the stone before it ships or is processed. It is important to have a supplier who you can trust, and who is willing and able to communicate the stone’s variation. In general, we believe it is important to understand that stone, as a natural material, is beautiful because of its variation.

Once the type of stain has been identified (for example, is it oil, organic, ink, etc.), the most effective method for removing the stain can be determined. Surface stains can often be removed with an appropriate cleaning product. Stubborn or deep-seated stains may require the use of a poultice. A poultice incorporates a liquid chemical (determined by the kind of stain) mixed with a white powder to create a paste. The resulting mixture is spread over the stain, covered with plastic, and left to set for approximately 24 hours. If the stain is particularly stubborn, the process will need to be repeated. For stains such as water spots, flour can be used to draw the moisture out of the stone.

Because samples represent a small area of the stone, they can be indicative of general coloring, texture and veining. Stone is a product of nature and will vary, sometimes greatly, from slab to slab and block to block, even side-to-side or top to bottom. Two batches of the same stone from the same quarry can look very different. In order to obtain the best knowledge of what your finished product will look like, always view current, full slabs when making your material decision.

In viewing your stone generally, you will notice all stones have some veining and crystallization that may appear to be cracks, but are actually indigenous to the stone. These are characteristics of the different minerals melding together. As a natural product perfectly consistent color, finish and texture cannot be found.

Typically, once a stone selection has been made, the bid has been approved, and a deposit has been made, you can expect installation approximately seven to ten days after templating has been done. Other deciding factors include availability of material and the size of the job.

Stone Creations has the largest indoor showroom in Northeast Wisconsin. We personally select our materials from the United States and overseas. Our staff will guide you in your selections from our hundreds of different materials. If you like a color that we don’t have in stock, we can import it from our suppliers, or the quarry if necessary.

If you are concerned about bacterial contamination of your kitchen countertops, granite is the way to go, according to a recent study by the Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management, a St. Paul, Minnesota-based organization that develops educational materials and research for the retail food industry. The study measured the bacteria resistance capacity of six common countertop materials. Each surface was contaminated with E-Coli (nearly 2 billion of the microorganism), washed and rinsed with soap and water and then sanitized with a vinegar-and-water solution. The results are as shown in the table below.

Surface microorganism eliminated by cleaning:

• Stainless Steel - 85,113,804
• Plastic Laminate - 498,884
• Granite - 79,432,823
• Concrete - 32,810
• Tile - 293,765
• Wood - 2,080

Dr. O. Peter Snyder, Jr. who conducted the study said, "We hope our research will help consumers make healthy decisions when selecting a countertop surface for their kitchen."

Source: Today's Homeowner Magazine, Via: Building Stone Institute/Nov. 1999.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted their own research on this topic with the findings to be published in 2011. In an initial peer-reviewed EPA study, the vast majority of risk calculations resulted in "NO RISKS EXCEEDING the EPA acceptable 10–4 – 10 – 6 lifetime mortality risk range" in residential scenarios.