Concetto

CaesarStone has a new material available called Concetto. Concetto is created using individually cut semi-precious stones that are bound together to form a high-end countertop surface. The applications for this product are many and varied: furniture, counters, vanities, kitchen & bathroom surfaces, countertops, special features, etc. Concetto is the perfect material for creating a truly unique countertop that will be the centerpiece of conversation for anybody who visits your home.

If you would like to visit CaesarStone's concetto website, please click here. They have examples of applications of this material as well as some of the colors they offer in the Concetto line. If you want the full spectrum of Concetto colors, let us know and we will send you the brochure.

Radon, or Radiation, In Countertops

Recently there have been many, many articles about how dangerous granite countertops are. They say that there is radon emanating from the granite, which is supposedly a great "health risk". However, what people fail to realize is that there is radiation everywhere.

All you have to do is go to your favorite search-engine, and type in "Radon In Countertops" or another variation of those words, and you will find a plethora of information. Therefore, I do not plan to mislead anybody. There is, in fact, natural radiation that comes from natural stone products. Shocked? I wouldn't think so. All natural stones come from the ground, and from thousands of years of being there. It may come as a surprise, but there are high levels of radiation pouring from everything around you. The soil from the ground outside has dangerous levels of radiation. Even the drinking water that comes from the faucet has radon energy in it. I have even seen a video of someone comparing the level of radiation from granite countertops to a potato. The results were surprising to say the least. Potatoes are DEADLY!

I will not say that countertops are completely safe. To say that would be a lie. They are considerably less dangerous than most other things, but they are technically a "health risk" in my personal opinion. If you're genuinely concerned, purchase a radon tester and take it with you when you're browsing all of your choices of material. However, I do have a key suggestion on how to remain save with countertops. Radon energy is only dangerous in an area with poor ventilation, and it is considerably more dangerous in dark areas. From what I've seen, most areas of the house are not poorly lit, and are also have fairly good air movement. So as long as you aren't putting natural stone in your dungeon in the basement that has no windows or fans, I think you're safe.

The mention of Radon in countertops is the way of the other solid surface producers to get people to purchase their product. The Marble Institute of America (MIA) has never denied the presence of radon in countertops. They have many links and lots of information about the risks of granite, and they have had that information on their website for many years since the first claim of "dangerous countertops" surfaced in the early nineties. They have been pro-active about the implications of radon in natural stone since the beginning as opposed to retro active. Granite Countertops, or other natural stone countertops, are completely safe within the household, and have been used in homes for many years, and nothing will change that.

June: Craftsman of the Month

The Craftsman of the Month for the month of June is Hugo Olivarrias. He is one of the lead installers at Johnson Stone Countertop. Hugo is constantly doing the best he can with all of his projects, and performs high-quality installations. We're pleased to have Hugo on our team, and look forward to him continuing his quality of work.

May: Craftsman of the Month

The Craftsman of the Month for the month of May is Edgar Servin. He is the lead operator of the Quasar machine at Johnson Stone Countertop. Edgar has been a quick learner, and maintained his machine very well. He is very consistent, and continues to produce high-quality work. We hope that he continues to do so, and thank him for his hard work. Congratulations Edgar!

Lucky Eagle Casino

Johnson Stone Countertop just recently landed the Lucky Eagle Casino job. We will be fabricating the men's and women's restrooms. Lucky Eagle Casino selected a new product called Fuez, and the color is Williamette. Fuez is another one of the recycled glass products. We will post more information about this project as the template nears, and we will also post more information about Fuez after we have worked with the product.

Emerald Queen Casino

Johnson Stone Countertop is doing the granite-work for part of the EQC Hotel & Casino in Fife. You can visit their website at

We will try to have some photos up shortly. The material that they chose is called Emerald Pearl.

"I don't want a seam in my granite. Is this possible?"

Generally, the answer is no. There almost always has to be a seam in the countertop. However, it depends on the size of your job. Even if your countertop will fit on an entire slab, you also have to take into account that our installers have to be able to install the granite. If you have a monstrous countertop that weighs a lot, our installers aren't going to be able to lift it if it is in one piece. We also have to be able to fit it into your house. So you need to take into account the height of your doorways. It's always best to talk about your concerns about seams with the templater when he is on the jobsite.

Johnson Stone Countertop does its best to reduce the amount of seams needed for your project. We also put them in less conspicuous areas so that the seam isn't noticeable. Our installers also color-match their epoxy so that everything is uniform. Our installers are capable of impeccably tight seams and we haven't had a complaint about our seams as of yet.

Going "Green"? Use Johnson Stone Countertop

We are strong supporters of using green material for countertops. We have a variety of products to choose from that are environmentally friendly.

One of the products is called IceStone. IceStone is made from recycled glass and concrete. It is produced by an environmentally friendly manufacturing process in a daylit factory in Brooklyn, New York.

Another product that is eco-friendly is VeTrazzo. Vetrazzo is 85% glass, and all the glass they use is recycled. The largest proportion of glass comes from curbside recycling programs. Other glass comes from post industrial usage, windows, dinnerware, stemware, automotive windshields, stained glass, laboratory glass, reclaimed glass from building demolition, and other unusual sources such as decommissioned traffic lights.

Paperstone is another Green product. Original PaperStone contains 50% post-consumer recycled content and PaperStone Certified is made from 100% recycled materials. PaperStone made from virgin fiber is also available. All PaperStone products are made from Paneltech's proprietary, petroleum-free resin that contains natural ingredients like cashew nut shell liquid.

It is important to note that we do not stock any of this material. We order all of the material direct from the supplier. If you would like any of your countertops bid with these products, let us know and we would be pleased to do so.

FAQ#4: "What is the process to get granite countertops?"

Answer: The process to getting your countertops is rather simple. In order for us to give you a bid, we need some kind of rough drawing with dimensions of your countertops (or the area that you want). We need a drawing with dimensions because we do not have a square foot price. All projects that we do are unique, so our pricing is based upon how many saw cuts, how much edge detailing, etc., that needs to be done on the job. Also, if you have 1-3 materials that you're interested in, please list those off with the dimensions. If you're unsure of what material you're looking for, we can price your kitchen with a basic granite color, such as Uba Tuba.

Once we have all of that information, we are able to provide a bid for you. If down the road you decide to change your material, it won't be a problem for us to revise the bid for you.

Once you have a bid that you're pleased with, all you need to do is sign the bid and provide a 50% deposit. Once we have both of those, we can schedule the template for you. We need at least a couple of days notice in order to schedule a template. On the day of templating, Josh Lavine (owner of Johnson Stone Countertop) will come to your house to make a template of your countertops. When he's there, he'll go over everything with you to make sure that you get the product that you want. He'll probably also have you sign off on the templates so that we know for sure that everything is to your liking.

As soon as we have the template completed, we order your material and have it delivered to our shop. Depending upon the material that you selected, you might want to come to the shop to place the templates on the slabs so that you get exactly what you're looking for. Sometimes the material is uniform, however, so it wouldn't be necessary for you to place the templates.

From template until installation, it generally takes about 2 to 2 1/2 weeks. However, that is constantly changing. It's always best to ask how long it will take once we have scheduled the template.

Once we have completed the installation, we will mail out to you an invoice for the remaining balance due.

Upon completion of your job, we will send you an invoice for the remaining balance.

Today's Featured Product: Natural Marble

Marble colors are extremely beautiful and come in a wide range and variety of colors. We've worked with marble that was pure white, as well as marble that was green/white mixed and it also had sparkly silver flecks in it. You never know what kind of beautiful marble you may come across. Which is why I would recommend taking a trip to your local slab warehouse. The closest slab importer to our location is Pental Granite and Marble. They're about 10mins down the road from us, located in Fife.

FAQ#3: "Do you fabricate Corian?"

Answer: Corian is actually a product that we do not fabricate. It is comprised of mostly plastics, and is usually molded using extremely hot water. We do not have a hot-water bath, and our saw and hand-tools are not equipped to do any fabrication on Corian. The disadvantages of Corian is that it scratches easily, can be damaged by chemicals, and is not heat-resistant. So if you put any pots or pans directly from the hot stove on the countertop, it will melt.

Today's Featured Product: CaesarStone

CaesarStone is one of the many products of engineered stone. CaesarStone is 93% crushed quartz, one of nature's hardest minerals. The quartz is combined with high-quality polymer resins and pigments and then compacted under intense vibration, vacuum, and pressure into dense, non-porous slabs.

Photos Of Granite

Here are some pictures of granite that are on our MySpace page. We do not stock any granite at our location, we are only a fabricator and installer. We get our granite from slab importers (ex: Pental, Meta, Dal, Import Stone, Michelangelo's, CaesarStone, etc.). The granite in this photo slide is just some of the more common materials. There are so many colors to choose from, and the importers are constantly getting in new material, so it's best to go to the importer and browse the materials that they have in-stock.

**Commercial Install** Sarku Japan

Today our install crew is going to the Westfield Southcenter mall to install Black Galaxy countertops at the new Sarku Japan Restaurant. Here at Johnson Stone Countertop, we always comply with the safety standards of Washington State. When installing a commercial job, our crew wears all of the necessary safety equipment. They wear hardhats, safety jackets, boots, and goggles whenever at the job-site. We hope that you will visit the new Westfield Southcenter mall once it's complete and that you will notice the excellent craftsmanship that went into the completion of the countertops at Sarku Japan. As soon as I am able to enter the job-site safely, I will take photos of the install to share with all of you.

We look forward to completing this job, and will continue to provide excellent service for all of our commercial vendors.

FAQ #2: "Are your remnants only $10-$15 per square foot?"

This is a common misconception. They do only cost $10-$15 per square foot, but only if you want to purchase the material as it is. We will not do any cutting or fabrication on the remnant. You must also provide the transportation for the remnant.

If you want us to cut a small countertop for you out of the material, then the remnant costs $50-$65 per square foot, and may be more costly for the expensive stones.

Also, it's important to note that you are only being charged for the fabricated portion of the remnant. We aren't going to have you purchase the whole remnant if you're not going to be using the whole remnant.

FAQ #1: "We are purchasing the whole slab, aren't we?"

Answer: This is actually one of the most common questions that we get. You are actually not purchasing the entire slab. Johnson Stone Countertop is purchasing the whole slab. We are only charging you for the fabricated portion of the slab. Therefore, once the job is completed, any remnants of the slab that are left become property of Johnson Stone Countertop, and we re-sell it as remnants. If you want the remnants from your slab for a possible future project, we can most certainly hold the remnants for you.

Johnson Stone Countertop Starts Blog

Welcome everybody to Johnson Stone Countertop's first blog. We invite everybody to ask any question that they may have concerning countertops. We will do our best to answer your questions. We will also try to maintain a weekly update with interesting facts or helpful hints for countertops.

We hope you enjoy this blog and take advantage of the information that we can provide for you!

Thank You,
Kevin Fox
Johnson Stone Countertop
www.johnsonstone. com
ph: 253.460.1585
fax: 253.460.3571