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Part IV: Wood Kitchen Countertops

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Wood countertops, though out of fashion for years, have always been a great option for kitchens.  Today even more species and styles of wood tops are available.  The classic butcher block tops are great to use at a work station or an island.   The boards can be run with the face grain showing, the edge [...]

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Part III: Paper Countertops and Concrete Countertops

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If you’re looking for a durable, eco-friendly countertop with rich beautiful colors look now further than paper countertops by Richlite.  These tops are made from Forest Stweardship(FSC) certified wood pulp and/or post consumer recycled cardboard cured in a phenolic resin.  Ok, now I know you might be saying to yourself “Paper countertops? durable?  Who does [...]

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Part II: Quartz Kitchen Countertops (and cousins)

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Quartz Quartz tops are a man made slab consisting of crushed quartz stone bound in a resin.  They are very strong and durable.  They are, generally speaking, more costly than natural stone tops.  One of the reasons for this is that slabs of quartz are produced in smaller sizes than natural stone.  Therefore it can take [...]

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Part I: Granite & Stone Kitchen Countertops

Granite, marble, limestone and soapstone are the most common choices in this category.   Granite is an igneous rock (formed by cooling volcanic flows) that is extremely dense.  It is usually polished although some countertop fabricators are offering interesting patterns (like “leather”) that has more of a matte textured finish.  Granite is very resistant to scratches [...]

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Which Countertop Material for my Kitchen Remodeling Project?

Kitchen countertops are always a critical choice for a kitchen remodeling project.  There are many different brands and manufacturers and you might feel a bit overwhelmed with the number of choices. Because of the number of choices available I’m going to break this article down into multiple articles, each one delving more in depth into [...]

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Tips for Using Epoxy Tile Grout

As a professional remodeler I’ve struggled with epoxy grout a few times, so it ocurred to me that a DIYer could probably use some tips and suggestions. In preparation for grouting it is an excellent idea to seal your tile with a good quality sealer (we use DuPont StoneTech Bulletproof) before you grout. This is [...]

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Corn Cake and Corn Crouton Recipe

One of my original menu entreés consisted of Cajun blackened catfish with a black bean salsa, sweet and sour purple cabbage and a corn cake. The corn cake was popular of it’s own accord but even more appreciated when it was cut up into chunks and deep fried, then served as “corn croutons” on a [...]

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What Does ‘Quality Material’ Mean?

If we’re asked to explain why the total investment on our proposal is higher than someone else’s price for a project one of the factors I cite is that we only use high quality materials. It’s easy to tell a client something like “we only use high quality materials”, but what does that really mean? [...]

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What Type of Grout Should I Use?

In years past there have been two basic types of grout for tile installations: cement grout or epoxy. A few years ago StarQuartz grout emerged on the market, a pre-mixed urethane grout. It largely flew under the radar but urethane grouts are starting to become a commonly used grout material. Traditional cement based grouts are [...]

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Understanding Modern Tile Tub Surrounds

Very often when we do a bathroom remodeling project we’re taking out an old 50′s through 70′s era tiled tub surround. Every time we do we find mold behind the tile. I’m a huge fan of tiling tub surrounds and I always try to talk my customers into tile instead of a fiberglass surround. Now, [...]

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