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pa_pattylou

Stonemark Granite kitchen Countertop from Home Depot

pa-pattylou
17 years ago

Has anyone purchased Innovative's Stonemark Granite from Home Depot? If so, would you please let me know if you are happy with your kichen countertop and if you had a good experience. Did the selling feature of not having to seal the counter for 15 years influence your choice? We're thinking of making this purchase, please help. Thanks!

Comments (23)

  • formulaross
    17 years ago

    Re: Would you please let me know if you are happy with your kichen countertop and if you had a good experience.

    The experience is going to depend greatly on the local granite installer, which obviously is going to vary from place to place. IMO, you will get a better installation if you find and quote the job yourself and work directly with the fabrication/installation people; it's in the communication and the details.

    Regarding the 15 year sealing guarantee, I wouldn't base my decision on that. It is sooooo easy to seal granite (less than 10 minutes for our large kitchen) that to seal it every year or even every 6 months is no problem. My wife looks forward to doing it.

  • jambar300
    17 years ago

    Pa-pattylou, did you end up going with Stonemark. We are looking at countertops and the salesperson at Home Depot was high on Stonemark. If you purchased it, were you happy with it.

  • jubileej
    17 years ago

    Hi, I'm usually hanging out in the Kitchen forum, so just now saw this post. I went with the Innovative Stone and just love the granite!

    A very design-conscious friend came by a week ago, and ran her hand immediately over the counter, saying I had really gone high end!

    My only distress is that the fabrication company had not cut an extension of the counter top into the dining room area so it was symmetrical, and I didn't realize it because of the trim being off. But the installation is perfect otherwise and the seams don't show, so I'm not going to have them waste an entire piece of granite to refabricate it. (and am fairly certain they would refuse anyway. I had given them sign-off when the finished, and they refuse to come out to fix the dishwasher faulty install, which my GC ended up taking care of.)

    But I have to say that HD was excellent to work with throughout, and as I said, sent their own person out to check on the installation. Just wish either of us had caught the asymmetry at the time.

  • luckyducks
    17 years ago

    We just got Stonemark granite countertops installed by HD this past week and oh my are they bee-ee-a-yoootiful! I can't stay away from them! LOL We did the kitchen and bathroom and I find myself walking by and staring a lot. Very classy and rich looking. The whole process was so fast, too and everyone was great to deal with. As for HD, they just take your money and do absolutely nothing else. In fact, if you can get in touch with the fabricators, you might do better to bypass HD and see if you can deal with them directly somehow. You'll save nearly half the price. I wish I'd known that before I went with HD - the template guy and the fabricators and the installers were all wonderful, friendly people. I could have had the installer do my job himself and saved a ton. I'm getting an extra piece to make a table top. HD wanted like $800 for a 24 round piece of granite! I told them to take a hike. So get the Stonemark brand of granite but try to find out if you can skip having to go through HD somehow. You'll save a ton and be glad you cut out the middle man. Wish we had. If you can't and have to go through HD, make sure you go see your slabs at the granite yard before they fabricate and don't let them try to tell you that it's not necessary because the style you select is one that doesn't need to be pre-viewed. Do it anyway...besides, it's kinda fun. Oh yeah and make absolute certain that your cabinets are all perfectly level when you take off your existing countertops for the template guy. They can't install granite on uneven cabinet tops because the granite will not lay flat which will cause it to crack. Don't shim the top, either to get it level because when you're sitting at the kitchen table, you'll be able to see the gaps under the counter and it might just drive you crazy. You have to jack them up from the floor and shim from the bottoms and add cove molding or something. Also, bowed walls will not allow the back splash to fit tight against the wall and will have some gaps. Not much can be done about it either as they can't scribe granite the way they do formica countertops. You just gotta live with it and caulk it or put some decorative trim across the top, or tile the wall to the top of the granite backsplash to hide it. Just some helpful tips so you don't have any surprises. Anyway, we're still very happy with the whole experience, even if we had to use HD. It was 100% problem-free and done from start to finish in less than a month, how about that.

  • jubileej
    16 years ago

    Hi lucky -

    Great advice - only, somehow our fabricators scribed the countertop right up to the wall - and they had and uneven layout to work with.

    I am told that the granite is soaked in a tub of sealant for 3 days and that this process absolutely takes care of the sealing longterm. Hope so - and so far, so good! Will keep my eye on it, though.

  • prescott
    16 years ago

    Has anyone seen the actual warranty? There is no copy of the coverage anywhere on there website or the Home Depot web site (unlike the Corian and Silestone) please post a link if you have one.
    Thanks

  • mklein3
    16 years ago

    They don't actually post the warranty even on the Stonemark website. Everything below can be found on Innovative's website. The limited warranty states that the manufacturer (not the fabricator or HD) will work with customers on removing stains that may occur for 15 years. This does not mean that they will replace the tops if the stain cannot be removed. The warranty is only effective if the owner adheres to the following rules: Clean up spills immediately, not using household cleaning products with acid and ammonia (Windex, 409, etc. will void the warranty), using a specialized cleaner (made and sold by Stonemark) on a daily basis, not using liquid dish soap with lemon scents and abrasive cleaners, protecting the countertop with trivets and coasters when food or drinks are placed on the surface. Look at the care and maintenance section of the Stonemark website from Innovative. If you do not follow all of the steps in care and use, you may not be able to fall back on any warranty.

  • graniteshop
    16 years ago

    I'm sure that StoneMark is a good product, but I am hesitant to believe that they offer anything special or exclusive. Their product is simply natural stone (which is available from many sources) with a fancy sealer applied and some words on paper to back it up. Only time will tell if they offer anything superior to what is already available from other sources.

    As a fabricator, I have a couple problems:
    1) They are building their reputation on a general misconception that all stone needs to be sealed. There are many stones that do not need to be sealed and gain little (if any) benefit when one is applied. There are some porous stones that should be sealed properly for stain protection.
    2) Few (if any) of the materials they offer are "exclusive". They have re-named many commonly available stones with their own names, which only serves to further confuse people. ie StoneMark "Baltic Rain" is common Baltic Brown with their "special" sealer applied.

    A product is only as good as the company behind it. I'm not saying that StoneMark isn't good, but it is still relatively new in the market, and has barely had a chance to endure the "test of time".

    Here is a link that might be useful: StoneMark Warranty

  • marie17
    16 years ago

    Does anybody know if Stonemark's Nova granite is a commonly available stone? If so, what is its name? I love the stone, but I'd like to see if anybody else carries it besides Home Depot.

  • Buehl
    16 years ago

    To add my question to the mix, what is EXPO/HD's Diamond Black's more common name? It's similar to Black Galaxy only instead of copper speckles it has silver speckles and not as many...

  • tommydel
    16 years ago

    Great Stonemark tips and advice! Any idea on how to go around Homedepot? Thanks in advance for your input.

  • granitectopguy
    16 years ago

    Stonemark is not "building their reputation on a general misconception that all stone needs to be sealed." Their product doesn't need to be sealed at all. I'm not surprised that industry people, such as fabricators, many of whom sell competing products to Stonemark, misinterpret the product's benefits. They don't use a sealer. It's a special treatment that is applied in their factories that works inside the stone, not just on the surface. That's how they give that 15 year guarantee.

  • angier_2007
    16 years ago

    To go around Home Depot- ask who does their installs and call them.

    I chose to buy my countertop from HD so I could finance it with the 12 month no interest special. I was very worried because I had read so many negative comments about buying granite from Home Depot. But I had also read that it really comes down to the fabricator/installers. So I asked and found out that my HD uses one of my areas biggest and best fabricator/installers and felt much better. That being said and my counter in I am very satisfied. The 15 year warranty or the non-sealing feature really didn't matter to me. It did help me justify the cost to my DH though.

    Be aware that Home Depot does not have samples or displays of all the granites that are available for order from Stonemark. I had already placed my order for one pattern (Tropic Brown?) when I happened to be in a different store and saw Vecchio Oro (Venetian Gold) on display and liked the latter better and changed my order. It was at this point that I went to the fabricators to see the full slabs and pick the exact one I wanted. (there were variations in slabs of the same pattern).

    Also know that Stonemark has renamed the granite.

    I love, love, love my new counters!!!

  • nodirthere
    16 years ago

    I got a quote from HD and from a local granite contractor- the
    HD granite was twice as much! I think sealing it once a year will be no big deal- and the local guy offered to do it and repair any scratches/chips that may have happened.- I like the idea of an established relationship that will be on-going. I suggest getting a referral from a friend. (my guy is in Chicago suburbs if still looking)

  • danno_onnad
    15 years ago

    I'd love a referral. Our HD guy said they use a shop in south Elgin. Anyone? We plan on going out for a look. Our HD guy had no problem with that.

  • granitectopguy
    15 years ago

    "I got a quote from HD and from a local granite contractor- the HD granite was twice as much!"
    - Stonemark consists of premium quality, Grade-A, hand-selected stones by certified stone inspectors. The stones are also treated with PermaShield. Comparing Stonemark to generic granite from slabyards is not a prudent or fair endeavor. Also, the price is comparable so that's very odd. If it's true that the stone was found for double the price, I would be very dubious of the quality of that stone.

    "I think sealing it once a year will be no big deal"
    - Families who are concerned about potentially being exposed to harmful chemicals every year may disagree. Granite countertops with PermaShield protection are both NSF and Greenguard certified for safety, and they don't need to be sealed.

    "I like the idea of an established relationship that will be on-going."
    - The point of buying countertops with PermaShield-protection is that you won't need to establish any relationships with stone yards.

    Ultimately, you get what you pay for. If you like natural stone and want a safe and easy to clean countertop, PermaShield is the way to go.

    Here is a link that might be useful: PermaShield

  • noviceremodeler
    15 years ago

    I have purchased Stonemark countertops from Home Depot and love the look, color, and feel of my countertops but my experience with our area installer has been very distressing. One section of the countertop has a 1/2 inch by 1 inch chip and another section has a scratch in the middle of the island under a direct light. The imperfections either were there when the granite was pulled from the truck or were incurred during installation. When I went to sign off on the installation I noted that I was unhappy with the chip and the installer said that they would not replace the piece. They only offered to refabricate. I had him refill the chip twice with different colors and it still looks awful. I can deal with the scratch being filled as it seems minor compared to the chip. It has been 9 business days and no one at Innovative Stone will return my phone calls. I have purchased $25K of cabinets, flooring, and countertops ($6K of Stonemark) for my kitchen remodeling project from Home Depot and it all has been a fairly good experience up until this install. Innovative Stone is not even responding to calls made from my Home Depot expeditor. I am in Ohio so it might just be my local installer but beware. I realize that a chip is not covered by warranty but how can they install a countertop with such a large chip and consider it a good business practice? Does anyone know how the refabrication process works? I am assuming that they will grind the stone where the chip is and feather it back into the edge of the piece. The chip is on the front of the countertop where it meets another piece of granite. I am concerned that if I agree to have them refabricate this piece it will look odd and then two pieces of the countertop are affected.

  • noviceremodeler
    15 years ago

    I recommend Stonemark and am very pleased with my new kitchen:)

    This message is in follow up with my previous posting regarding Stonemark countertops from Home Depot. The issues mentioned in my previous posting have been resolved completely to my satisfaction and I am very happy with my new granite. I love it and will recommend this product to anyone. Home Depot and Innovative Stone have been very helpful with my concerns since my posting. I apologize for the previous posting as there were miscommunications and my "chip" turned out to not be a chip and a few moments of cleanup and polishing has made my countertop perfect. I was hesitant to purchase granite but the appearance and color looks better than I ever imagined. YouÂll love it.

  • parney
    15 years ago

    Does anybody know if Stonemark's Forest Mist granite is a commonly available stone? If so, what is its name? I love the stone, but I'd like to see if anybody else carries it besides Home Depot.

    Thanks!

  • rosefolly
    15 years ago

    I don't know anything about Home Depot's product and I would imagine it is fine. But we bought our granite directly from a stone vendor, picking out the exact slabs we wanted. Actually we had a lot of fun doing that. Then the fabricator picked them up, cut and finished them, and installed them at our house under our GC's supervision. I would guess that adding Home Depot to the equation would add to the cost -- another layer of middleman. Perhaps if you lived in an area where there are no independent stone vendors, they might offer a useful service.

    Rosefolly

  • lauraluvs2shop
    14 years ago

    Innovative Stone LLC that supplies Stonemark with Permashield filed bankruptcy last week.

  • ferg3351
    14 years ago

    Does anyone know what Zen Magic might be know as in Canada? HD does not carry Stonemark in Canada, and I really like this colour.

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