14

Mar

Advantages of Replacing Your Kitchen Countertop

Every kitchen and the majority of bathrooms have built-in countertops. If you want a perfect workspace, you need solid countertops and wooden cabinets that are waist-high. They are useful, beautiful, and smooth. The majority of stone and granite countertops add some elegance to your kitchen, as well as any design of a kitchen. It is also good to replace your countertop and make it a major remodeling project to revamp your kitchen.

Homeowners want to install new countertops even if they already have one in their home, but people certainly know why they want to replace their countertops. If you want to know the benefits of getting a new one, this article will tell you.

Chip and Scratch Resistant

One reason why people want to get granite countertops is that they have the durability to resist scratching and chipping under normal circumstances. Granite is the 2nd hardest material, and the first is diamonds.

You should be cautious about using very sharp cleavers and knives since they might cause marring. That is why you must use a chopping board when you chop, slice, and dice foods. Are you aware that granite countertops last almost forever if they are installed together with the right support bracket? Now you know.

It Will Match Your Island Countertop

When you have installed a new kitchen island, it is a good reason to get new countertops as well. You will require a newly installed countertop surface to match the island. Therefore, you want other parts of the counters to match them. Adding a kitchen island is a great opportunity to have completely upgraded the look and feel of your kitchen. Your existing cabinetry can get a fresh paint job and then pick a countertop that is beautiful on the island and your entire kitchen countertop.

Increases the Resale Value of Your Home

If you want to sell your home in the future, take into consideration that your kitchen is one area that greatly influences the decision of a buyer. A kitchen remodel can add thousands of dollars to your home’s selling price, with a significant ROI. Even just a minor remodeling project, like replacing countertops, can have the same effect.

Resistant to Moisture, Heat, and Stain

Aside from being chip and scratch-resistant, a granite countertop is also resistant to moisture and stains when you use the right sealant. Since granite countertops are porous, sealing is important to guard protect them against staining and etching by acids and alkaline. You must remember that sealant should be reapplied yearly to keep the resistance.

In addition, food and liquid spills should be removed right away with mild detergent and water. When spills dry on the countertop, it is very easy to scrape them off. In addition, heat and pressure are used to form granite which means they are heat resistant, so you can place hot pots and pans on them.

Replace Low-Quality Materials of Countertops

Some homes do not have a high-quality countertop, to begin with. A lot of older homes were created with Formica or laminate countertops, and they are both less desirable inside any home. Aside from being low-quality, they are also poorly made so they become less attractive as time goes by. Any homeowner who sees a shabby and low—quality countertop has all the reasons to replace the counters with attractive countertops. You should replace every countertop in your house because Formica is not only limited to a single installation job.

If you are looking for countertop replacement services Potomac, you can contact them right away for the best outcome.

 

 

07

Mar

Benefits of Hiring a Professional Kitchen Designer

These days, there is an abundance of interior design blogs that make it seem like anyone can just start finishing their remodeling project.

If you are an ambitious homeowner, you can look for a professional designer and hire a good granite contractor who can install the countertop you prefer. You cannot just do it all on your own if you are not an expert. You will see that hiring a professional has a different effect on your kitchen, and it is not a small project you can just take on.

You might have to pay quite a bit for an expert, but the benefits are all worth it. You can find out what they are right here.

They Follow the Right Coding and Licensing

When you want to do a major redesign of your kitchen, you have to make sure that you are not violating coding and regulations where you live. These guidelines about construction projects should be met, and they must be followed. If you call a hire licensed expert kitchen contractor, you can just find out that they will follow all the required regulations.

Knowledgeable About the Budget

Kitchen renovations cost a lot, which is why you want to be sure about spending your money properly. A designer helps you stay within your budget, and they can source better materials as well. Most of the time, they know where the better deals are, so you will get more for your budget. The connections and knowledge they have to help you achieve the kitchen you want but within the range of your budget.

You are Getting Good Materials

Your designer is helpful in making sure that you will get the best materials for your investment, which helps you sort out your goals and ideas to come up with a great plan. At the same time, they will sometimes ask you to fill out a questionnaire and from here, they can understand what the most important thing is to you. At the same time, your designer guides you through all the options and gives recommendations in a couple of meetings, and prioritizes all of them for yourself – this makes it less stressful. You can always splurge, but knowing that you can lower the costs is excellent.

Eligibility of Your Warranty

Kitchen renovations will not be only about replacing the backsplash or repairing the old cabinet doors. You have to make important decisions about the design, styles, layout, materials, as well as electrical and plumbing systems. Kitchen designers consider and make sure that every appliance, furnishing, or attachment is going to suit your needs.

A kitchen remodeling expert can give you professional advice and a different perspective that you will not find anywhere else. They know what goes well together and what the best layout is for your home.

It Takes Less Time

The remodeling process of your kitchen will most likely last twice because you are not getting any expert opinion. Professional kitchen designers will coordinate a schedule with you, know the right plumber for you, and even figure out how long the flooring cures itself before you can install cabinets. The process ends up taking a lot longer, more confusing, and it might not go as planned if you think you can do the designing on your own.

Professional Commitment

Kitchen planning is a non-stop process and the initial design goes through a couple of changes before the final output. The designer will look closely through all the aspects and will continue to do so until the project is finished.

These are the benefits you will get from hiring a kitchen designer, and looking for the best granite companies Rockville.

25

Feb

Countertops: What to Consider When Choosing Them

When looking for countertops for your kitchen or bathroom, you shouldn’t go blindly at it—you need to consider several factors to buy the right ones. Which are these factors to consider? Here they are:

Countertop material

If you have been researching countertops, you must have realized that they come in different materials ideal for various applications. The common materials are:

Solid surface: These materials are often artificially modified, but they contain some natural stone. Due to this combination, the countertops are durable and more affordable hence the perfect units to go for when operating on a tight budget.

The most popular countertops under this category are quartz countertops. Others are Corian, Avonite, polyester, acrylic, or a mix of the two.

Natural stone: As the name suggests, these are made from natural stone. Other than some cutting and shining, the countertops are unmodified. The most popular countertops under this category are: slate, soapstone, marble, and granite.

Since the pieces are unmodified and natural, they are often costly.

Wood: Wooden countertops are affordable, durable, and highly hygienic. Most wooden countertops are made from cherry, walnut, teak, marble, and oak.

Concrete: Although not as popular as the above countertops, concrete is beautiful when properly installed and durable when you take good care of it. When installing it, remember to give it time to cure for a couple of weeks before sealing it.

The most common problem with the countertop is cracking. To reduce the cracking, work with experienced contractors that know what they are doing. They will advise you on the best cement to use, the strengthening materials, and any other important fact.

Usage

How will you be using the countertops? This is important as different countertops are ideal for various applications. For example, if you love cooking and spend most of your time in the kitchen, you need a durable but easy-to-maintain countertop that can withstand abuse.

Do you love baking? Marble countertops are the best to go for.

If you aren’t sure about the right countertops to install, install two countertop materials in different areas of your house. For example, you can install granite countertops in one area and butcher block counters in another.

This not only makes your countertops more functional and exciting, but also much cheaper, so you save yourself a lot of money.

Aesthetics

How will the countertops look in your kitchen or bathroom after installation? It’s important to consider this as you want your surfaces to be functional and attractive to the eye. Marble countertops are hailed as the epitome of luxury, so if you’re going to give your surfaces a high-end look, these are countertops to go for.

Do you want to give your counters a natural feel and look? Granite countertops are the best to go for.

Solid surface countertops give your surfaces a unique look if you aren’t keen on naturalizing your counters.

To install the right countertops that give the feel you want, get the input of a professional.

Ease of maintenance

You don’t want pieces that will be a hassle to keep in top shape, do you? Natural stone countertops are often high maintenance, as they need regular sealing. You also have to be ultra-cautious with the liquids in the kitchen or bathroom as they stain easily.

If you lead a busy life and don’t have time to dedicate to your countertops, go for quartz countertops that are easy to maintain.

Do you have a commercial kitchen? Stainless steel countertops are the best to go for.

Cost

The final but vital factor to consider is the cost of the countertop materials. As mentioned above, natural stone countertops such as marble and granite countertops Rockville are much more expensive than the other materials, making them the wrong choice if operating on a tight budget.

Different stores sell their countertops at different prices, and it’s up to you to research and find the one selling at affordable prices. To avoid paying more than you should, visit different stores and see how much they sell their units.

19

Feb

How Do You Keep Quartz Countertops Clean And Shiny?

When you install quartz countertops, you want to keep them looking clean and shiny, and the good news is that it’s possible to do it. How do you go about it?

Here are ways to keep quartz countertops clean and shiny:

Stay on top of daily maintenance

How you handle your countertops daily goes a long way towards determining how they look in the long run.

As a rule of thumb, make it a habit to clean the countertops every day. You remove dust, liquid spills, crumbs, and bacteria by doing this. And the beauty is that you don’t need to be fancy how you go about the cleaning.

Simply wipe the counters with a wet, soapy rag, and you are good to go. You can use a mild all-purpose cleaner to have better results but steer clear of abrasive or harsh products that might etch and dull the surfaces. This calls for you to stay away from oven cleaners, bleach, dishwashing soap, degreasers, and paint striper.

Besides cleaning the countertops, you should make it a habit to clear any spills as soon as they happen. This is mainly to prevent stains from developing.

Treat stains immediately

Even with the best care, it’s common for accidents to happen, and they go unnoticed, leading to stains.

Although quartz is stain resistant, coffee, tea, red wine, and other dark-colored liquids can leave marks when you don’t remove them early enough.

If your countertops have developed stains, you shouldn’t give up on them—try to remove them. And the cool thing is that it’s possible to do it.

One of the best ways to remove the stains is using an adhesive remover that has been proven to do the removal without damaging the shine. All you need to do is to cover the stain with the adhesive remover, then let it sit for at least 15 minutes, after which you should wipe the area with a clean cloth.

Finish it off by rinsing the surface with clean, warm water.

Use hot pads and cutting boards.

On first look, quartz countertops look tough and indestructible, but they aren’t. While the countertops are heat resistant, they aren’t heatproof. This means that when you repeatedly expose them to a lot of heat, you are bound to damage them.

To keep your counters in top shape, you should protect them from heat. This calls for you to avoid placing hot pots, pans, and other hot items directly on the countertops as you will damage them. Instead, you should have cookie sheets, hot pads, and other protective materials on the countertops to protect them from hot items.

When chopping vegetables or any other materials, don’t do it directly on the countertops—instead, have a chopping board in place and chop your materials here.

Don’t place heavy materials on the edges.

Even if a cooking pan is cold, don’t place it on the edges of the countertops as you risk cracking them. When placing a heavy item on the countertops, do it gently and with utmost care to don’t damage the countertops.

The same way you shouldn’t place heavy pans on the countertops is the same way you shouldn’t sit on the countertops as you risk damaging them.

Regularly remove gunk from the countertops.

Like spills, gunk, and caked-on crud from food and dirt will adhere to the countertops. To keep your countertops looking clean and shiny, you should scrape off the gunk whenever you notice it. For the best outcome and avoid damaging your countertops, use a hard plastic scraper to scrape the gunk off.

As a rule of thumb, never use metallic materials to damage the countertops.

Keep permanent markers away.

If you have kids, they will want to draw on anything, including your precious quartz kitchen countertops Potomac.

Unfortunately, the drawings and writings are hard to come out of, especially if they are made using permanent markers. Although, you can remove permanent markers from quartz, you require harsh chemicals to remove them, which can etch your surfaces, risking the shiny finish.

To avoid removing the markers, be strict and enforce that no one should write or draw on the countertops.

17

Jan

Do You Need Trivets On Granite?

If you are asking, do you need trivets on granite, you must have installed granite countertops in your kitchen, and you are wondering whether you should protect them using a trivet, right?

You place trivets between the countertop and the hot pan to protect the surfaces from getting burned. And yes, you need trivets on granite.

The cool thing is that trivets do more than protect the counters from burn marks—they also protect you from having broken baking dishes or a cracked countertop due to thermal shock.

Overall, having a trivet in place reduces the chances of damaging your valuable items, so it’s wise always to have them in place.

But aren’t granite countertops heat resistant?

Yes, granite countertops are heat resistant, and this is one of the primary reasons they are heavily used in the kitchen, but they aren’t heatproof.

This means that while you might not experience any damage on the countertops when you place hot pans on them for the first few times, when you repeatedly do it, you risk causing permanent damage to the surfaces.

What are other granite best practices?

Besides having a trivet or hot pad on your countertops to protect them from damage, there are plenty of other best practices that ensure your countertops retain their good looks for a long time. Some of these best practices include:

Clean the countertops regularly

There is no way your countertops will look good if you don’t clean them regularly, is there? Make it a habit to clean your surfaces at least once every day.

The cool thing is that cleaning the countertops is easy as all you need is soap and water. Spray some soapy water on your countertops, then wipe it with a clean piece of cloth, and you are good to go.

Regardless of how dirty your countertops are, don’t clean them with ammonia, bleach, degreasers, glass cleaner, and other abrasive products as they reduce the effectiveness of the granite sealer, leaving your countertops vulnerable to stains. To avoid damage and keep your countertops looking good for a long time, stick to cleaning them with soap and water.

When choosing the soap type, avoid dish soap as its repeated use causes a soapy build-up that dulls the shine of your surfaces, leaving them ugly and uninviting. For the best outcome, use soap designed to clean granite surfaces.

Seal the countertops regularly

As much as they are tough, granite counters are porous. This means they have pores on them that increase their chances of staining should spills happen. You should seal the countertops with countertop sealing products to seal these pores.

There are plenty of products in the market, but not all are right for your countertops. Research and find one designed for your countertops.

You should do the sealing at the time of installation then once a year thereafter. You can do the sealing work yourself or hire a professional to help you out.

For the best outcome, it’s always wise to have a professional do it.

Clean spills as soon as they happen

As you are preparing the meals, accidents are bound to happen. For example, coffee, soda, citrus juice, tomato sauce, or even water will spill on your surfaces. Even if you have sealed the countertops, the liquids can find their way under your countertops and cause hard-to-remove stains, when you allow them to stand there for a long time.

To avoid this, make it a habit to clean spills from your countertops as soon as they happen.

Use cutting boards

When you are chopping meat, fruits, or vegetables, it’s tempting to want to chop directly on your countertops due to how tough they look, but don’t. This is because you will scratch the countertops, which gives the surfaces a cheap, dull look.

To keep your countertops scratch-free, always use a chopping/cutting board to protect both your countertops and knives.

Granite installers Rockville also recommend you keep off hard objects such as rings and bottles as they can scratch or even dent the countertops, and you don’t want this, do you?

 Yes, you need trivets on your countertops.

To keep your countertops in pristine shape, you need trivets. There are no right or wrong trivets. As long as the units provide you with the protection you need, you are good to go.

07

Jan

How Do You Make Granite Countertops Look Good?

Granite countertops look magnificent in any home, and this is one of the primary reasons many homeowners go for them. If you have had your countertops for a long time and they have started losing their original exquisite look, you must be wondering, how do you make granite countertops look good, right?

Well, there are plenty of ways you can do it. Some of these ways include:

Shine the countertops

When you installed the countertops for the first time, you must have noticed an inviting natural shine. The shine is largely due to the high quartz content in granite.

While the shine is inviting when new, over time, it fades off, giving your countertops an old, cheap look.

To make your countertops look good, you need to maintain this shine. Besides cleaning the countertops regularly, you also should regularly polish the surfaces.

Thankfully, there are plenty of polishing products in the market you can use. All you need to do is find those that match your countertops and give your surfaces a perfect look you are looking for.

When polishing the countertops, take care not to use rough cleaning tools that scratch the surface. As a rule of thumb, use a soft cloth, precisely a microfiber cloth, that won’t cause any harm to the surface.

Use the same soft cloth to buff the surfaces and buff in a circular motion to don’t cause any harm and reach the entire surface.

Other ways to keep your granite looking good

Besides polishing the countertops, there are many other ways to keep your granite looking good. Some of these other ways include:

Take good care of the countertops

Like your car, clothes, appliances, or any other thing, if you want your countertops to look good, you have to take good care of them.

The beauty is there are plenty of ways to take care of them. Some of these ways include:

Clean spills immediately: As soon as spills happen, you should clean them to avoid hard-to-remove stains from forming.

Use coasters: Coasters come in handy at preventing the hot pots placed on the countertops from coming into direct contact with the countertops. As a rule of thumb, use high-quality coasters that will provide the countertops with maximum protection and last for a long time.

Use cutting boards: The same way you should use coasters and hot pads is the same way you should use cutting boards when cutting meat, vegetables, and other food items. As a rule of thumb, never cut directly on granite surfaces.

Don’t sit on the countertops: It’s normal for most homeowners to sit on the countertops as they wait for food to cook. Others will come to the kitchen and sit there as they chat. This is wrong.

To avoid cracking your countertops, avoid sitting on them, especially on the edges. You also should avoid standing on them to reach the top shelves or replace a burnt bulb.

Clean the countertops regularly

As mentioned above, cleaning the countertops goes a long way towards keeping them looking good. When doing the cleaning, use the right cleaning products.

In most cases, water and soap are enough to keep the surfaces in top shape, but you can use commercial cleaning products when looking for that extra shine. When buying the cleaner, use one specifically designed for granite surfaces.

Never use ammonia, citrus, or vinegar to clean the surfaces as they are highly acidic cleaners, and using them will dull the surfaces.

The right way to clean the countertops is to spray or mist the cleaner across the entire surface, then let it sit for a minute, after which you wipe it with a soft microfiber cloth until it’s dry.

Seal the countertop

The final thing you should do is seal the countertops to lock out any materials that might try to find their way into the countertops. You can seal the countertops or hire granite countertop installers Rockville to help.

When sealing the surfaces, work in small sections to don’t spray the same area more than once. After applying the sealant, wipe the surfaces with a soft cotton cloth until completely dry.