Expo Stone countertops in Houston.

Expo Stone is a Houston supplier with a yard on the west Sam Houston Parkway, at 1055 W Sam Houston Pkwy N. The slabs on their lists include granite, quartz, quartzite, and marble. Granite names that have been on that list include Uba Tuba, Alaska White, Dallas White, and Kashmir Cream. Quartz names include Grey Sparkle, Calcutta Gold, Concrete, and White Fusion. Quartzite names include Taj Mahal, Macaubas, White Macaubas, and London Smoke. Marble names include Calacatta, Statuario, Arabescato, and White Carrara. The yard changes. We confirm what is actually there before anything is templated.

Quartz is a manufactured surface, more even from slab to slab, and lemon or vinegar does not etch it the way those liquids etch marble. Keep hot pans off quartz. Granite is natural stone, sealed, and each slab moves in color. Quartzite is also natural stone. A similar name still leaves it a different product from quartz, and the slab you picked is the one to judge for sealer and variation. Marble will mark with acid. We say that in the kitchen, before it is ordered, because a photo of Statuario hides the etching you will live with. Expo Stone, Floor & Decor, and Sherwin-Williams are trademarks of their owners, and we are an independent contractor.

You pick the slab at the yard. A two-centimeter sample and a full slab in daylight are different, and book-matched veins only exist on the slabs standing in the rack. Their posted hours have been weekdays and Saturday. Hours change, so confirm with them before you drive. We can meet you there when that helps, and the decision is still the slab in front of you.

Templating happens after the cabinets are set and level. We measure the kitchen you have, including sinks and cooktops, overhangs, and where a seam will show the least. Older kitchens in Bellaire, West University, and River Oaks are often out of square. A factory rectangle will leave gaps in a room like that. The template is what the fabricator cuts. If a cabinet is soft, low, or still waiting on a delivery, we wait. A new top on a twisted box will rock, and the seam will open.

On install day the pieces are dry-fit, the seams are set, and the sink goes in. A cooktop cutout is part of the template, made before the stone reaches the house. Faucet holes are decided before the stone is cut. Edges, whether eased, a small bevel, or a mitered waterfall on an island, are chosen with the slab, because a thin edge on a busy veined stone chips more easily at a doorway. We level the cabinets as part of the set. Plumbing is reconnected and checked for a leak before we leave the sink.

A stone backsplash can be cut from the same material when the slab has the length for it, so the vein can continue up the wall. A full tile backsplash is a separate layout, set after the counter is in, so the tile meets the stone on a clean line. Bath vanities are the same stone conversation at a smaller size: the top, the backsplash if you want one, and the faucet holes. We use Expo Stone for this work. You buy the slab from them. We template and install.

In a remodel the counter is in the middle of the sequence. Cabinets first, then the template, then fabrication, then the set, then the backsplash and the last paint. Painting the walls before the stone arrives means we protect that paint. Painting after means the stone gets covered. We pick one with you so a finished edge is not the surface that collects dust. An island that changes size changes the slab. We template the cabinets that are in the room.

Bath remodel tops are often marble or quartz on a vanity, with the stone stopped where the shower begins. The shower is waterproofed before its own tile. A vanity top is a different surface from the shower wall. If the layout moves the sink, the plumbing is finished and holding water before we template, so the hole in the stone matches the faucet you bought. Katy and Woodlands baths are often larger. A West University powder room may be a single top and a tight wall. The measuring is the same.

A sink leak, a supply line, or a dishwasher can swell the particle-board box under a stone top while the stone still looks fine. The box is the problem. We do not set a new slab on a soft cabinet. The room is dried, the damaged cabinet is rebuilt or replaced, and then the top is templated. If the stone itself cracked at the sink or the seam opened, that piece is replaced. A crack that was only filled usually opens again.

If you are filing a claim, we photograph the cabinet, the leak path, and the stone. The estimate is the price of the cabinet repair and the new top. You file the claim. Your insurer decides coverage and payment. We are not public adjusters, and we do not give legal advice. A planned remodel with no leak is construction, and we describe it that way.

A straight kitchen is often one install day once the pieces are cut. The wait is the template appointment and the fabrication, and a seam, a waterfall, or a second bath adds to both. We tell you those steps after we see the cabinets. Removal of an old top is its own hour, and an old tile top that was mud-set can take longer than a screwed-down laminate top. We protect floors and appliances.

The office is at 511 Crestwater Ct, Houston, TX 77082. Scheduled visits are Monday through Saturday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Call (713) 909-0034 for a free estimate. We install these tops across Houston, including Katy, Sugar Land, Bellaire, The Woodlands, River Oaks, Memorial, and West University. Family-owned since 1993.