Kitchen Countertops in Hampton, VA

Hampton Countertop Pros fits kitchen countertops in homes across Hampton. We measure your cabinets first, then have each piece cut to fit them, with the holes for your sink and stove marked before anything is cut.

Choosing a material for your kitchen

The EPA lists artificial materials, quartz, marble, slate and granite among the materials that may be used to make countertops. A report in the CDC's library says engineered stone has grown in popularity over the past decade to become the most used countertop material in the United States. NIOSH says engineered stone is also known as artificial stone, manufactured stone, or quartz.

The main stones and mixes behave differently in a kitchen:

• Granite. The U.S. Geological Survey says granite is mainly made of minerals that resist acid attack, such as quartz.
• Marble. The U.S. Geological Survey says limestone and marble are mainly made of calcite, which dissolves readily in weak acid.
• Soapstone. The U.S. Geological Survey says soapstone is an impure rock containing talc and other minerals, and that talc is the softest mineral. On the Mohs hardness scale, it gives talc a 1 and diamond a 10.
• Solid surface. A review by NIOSH researchers says the mineral in solid surface is about 70% alumina trihydrate, a powder bound together in acrylic along with other binders, pigments and trace metals.
• Concrete. A Federal Highway Administration guide says the basic parts of concrete are crushed stone or gravel, sand, portland cement and water.

We also fit quartzite, porcelain and butcher block, and we explain each of them on its own page.

Mixing materials in one kitchen

We can put one material on the island and another on the counters along the walls. We list both on one written quote, so you can see what each costs.

Virginia's food regulations, the rules for food businesses, say that wood shall not be used as a surface that touches food, apart from a few exceptions. One exception is hard maple, or another wood that is just as hard and close-grained. If you want a wood top to chop on, we'd point you to butcher block made of a hard, close-grained wood.

What sets the price of kitchen countertops

We price kitchen countertops for your house once we've measured, and you get that quote in writing. Our price depends on the material and slab you choose, how much counter we cover, how many seams the layout needs, the edge you pick, and how many holes we cut for the sink, faucet and cooktop, the burners set into the counter.

Dust when your countertops are cut

An OSHA and NIOSH hazard alert on stone countertops tells countertop firms to do as much of the work as they can in the shop instead of at your house. The CDC library report says engineered stone typically contains more than 90% crystalline silica, compared with about 30% in granite. Whoever you hire, ask them where your slabs will be cut and how they keep the dust down.

What to get in writing

Ask for these in writing, whoever you hire:

• The material, its name or color, and the thickness of each slab.
• Which slabs are yours, so the ones you picked are the ones that get cut.
• A drawing of the layout, with every seam and cutout marked.
• Which edge you are getting, and whether the island edge differs.
• Whether taking out and hauling away the old countertops is in the price.
• Who disconnects and reconnects the sink, faucet, dishwasher and cooktop.

Questions about kitchen countertops in Hampton

Get a quote for kitchen countertops

Call us, or send the quote form with your ZIP code and the rooms you want done. We'll measure, go through materials and edges with you, and give you a written quote. To see the other countertops we fit, go to the Hampton Countertop Pros home page.