FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
NATURAL STONE
HOW DO YOU CLEAN NATURAL STONE?
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Don’t let any spill sit too long on natural stone. Clean spills up (preferably by blotting) as soon as you can.
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Clean stone surfaces with a few drops of neutral cleaner, stone soap or a mild liquid dishwashing detergent using a clean rag and warm water. Too much cleaner or soap may leave a film and
cause streaks. -
Rinse the surface thoroughly after washing with the soap solution and dry with a soft cloth.
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Do not use products that contain lemon, vinegar or other acids on the granite. The high acid content may etch the surface. Do not use scouring powders or creams; these products contain
abrasives that may scratch the surface. -
For best results use special stone cleaners available at: www.StoneCare.com
DOES GRANITE STAIN?
All stone is porous to some extent, but granite has very little porosity. Most colors will never show any stains.A few colors may show some moisture if exposed for a period of time. For example, a puddle of water left on the counter for 30 minutes for some colors, may show a dark spot when the water is wiped away. This spot will then dry up and no evidence will show. Only a few colors demonstrate this trait.
CAN YOU SCRATCH GRANITE?
Granite is one of the hardest stones available. It cannot be scratched in ordinary use. Though A knife blade will not scratch granite. Granite can only be scratched with specially sharpened tools designed to work with granite like tungsten and diamond tools or granite itself.
"CAN GRANITE CHIP?"
Only in cases of severe abuse with a hammer or impact tool could a chip occur. In the event that a chip occurs, chips can be filled with granite dust and an epoxy mixture to conceal any damage.
WILL SEAMS SHOW ON THE GRANITE COUNTERTOP?
Because granite is a natural material and is mined from the quarry in blocks usually no more than 10′ long, you will end up with seams. Also, because granite is sold in rectangular pieces, you may want to use seams to reduce your costs, such as in a ‘L’ shaped corner. The visibility of seams will depend on the granularity, color and pattern. A small, uniform grain will not be as apparent as a larger varied grain. A dark color will be less apparent than a light color. A dramatic pattern with swaths of color will show more seams than a uniform pattern. Most customers have found that the beauty of natural granite outweighs the concern of seams. Having said that:
Placement of seams is the discretion of the fabricator; seams will typically vary from 1/16? To 1/8 and will be visible to the eye or touch. Color coordinated epoxy will be used to form the seam and blend in with countertop. Even though a customer is consulted with regards to the seam location, the fabricator reserves the right to adjust if needed.
INSTALLATION POLICY
We recommend the homeowner be present during the template process. This person will answer questions in regards to seam placement, corner radius, overhangs and special designs on island, etc;
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Pricing:
We price your orders based on measurements that you provide during an initial quote or after a field tech visits your home to measure out your project.
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Cabinets:
All cabinets must be in their final location, installed, secured, level and square. The template will finalize information regarding the placement of sinks, appliances, seams and edges.
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Lead Times:
We schedule hard dates for your project as soon as you are able to sign and make a 50% deposit.
Between template to the installation date is roughly 7-14 business days depending on our project schedule.
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Installation Approval:
After the product has been installed the customer MUST be present to inspect the countertops confirming the satisfaction with the quality, fit and damage free condition of countertop. If you are unsatisfied with the agreed upon work, please notify the office immediately and we will address the issue while we are still on site. Please be advised that your balance paid in full constitutes an approval of the agreed upon installation.
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Incidental Damage:
We advise final wall preparation (painting, wallpaper, etc) NOT be completed prior to installation if possible. Care will be exercised during the countertop installation; however due to the heaviness of this material: scrapes, punctures and/or digs are possible. These items are considered incidental damages and are the customers responsibility to repair. If a much bigger obvious damage is done to the wall or structure we will repair that particular part of the wall only, with wall compound only, not paint.
WALLS OUT OF PLUMB
Please be aware that walls are more often out of plumb than not. When this inevitably happens, we aim to accommodate them as much as possible when we template and fabricate your countertops.
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CLEAN-UP:
Please be aware that during installation of the granite or marble, if any cutting or grinding must take place at the job site, some dust is expected or a film of dust may be created. The installers will have a vacuum on site to do a general clean up after the job is installed. But we are not liable for additional cleaning (i.e. the inside of the cabinets, walls, or any other rooms where the dust may have landed).
WARRANTY:
Master Granite Marble & Tile provides a 12 months warranty of workmanship. This warranty does not cover replacements or corrections or any results of misuse, including, but not limited to, improper maintenance or normal wear and tear. The warranty does not cover any variations in colors, shades, markings or inconsistency of the granite and marble once the Customer has inspected the completion of the job and signed the Inspection Form as approval. The warranty does not cover against scratches or staining by human errors, or pitting/fissures (natural occurrences) in the material. The warranty will be 100% void if our final invoice is not paid in full. This is called a breach of contract, and will negate all warranties. Thank you for reading our company’s policy. We try to provide as much information as possible to our clients to ensure they understand the process and our policies.