Category: Special Features

Stories that defy definition.

Special Features

Outdoor Kitchens: Cookin’ Up a Market

By K. Schipper

The biggest problem with kitchens, if you’re in the stone business, is that there’s generally just one to a household.

Oh, sure, the well-to-do may add a kitchenette to the basement rec room or family room, but it’s a rare home where the number of kitchens equals the number of bathrooms.

A new kitchen market, though, is growing out the back door – literally. Despite the economy, the outdoor kitchen market is on the rise in popularity, especially among high-end homeowners.

Special Features

Outdoor Kitchens: Countering Nature

CARROLLTON, Texas – There’s no question as to the emphasis of Ryan Burden’s business. He readily admits that Countertop Specialty focuses on all types of stone countertops – including outdoor ones.

Special Features

Signs For The Times

By K. Schipper

There’s nothing like a declining bottom line – and for stone fabricators, an end to the once boundless lineal feet of countertops – to get people considering ways they can expand their products or services to bring in a few more dollars.

For stone stops, one solution isn’t so much a different product as it’s an old standby in a different plane. Stand that countertop on its edge, decorate it, and voilà: A sign is born.

Special Features

Radon Theater

The following is an updated list of broadcast reports concerning granite countertops and radon/radiation since early May 2008. (Links were active as of Sept. 11, 2009.)

Special Features

One Stone’s Story

By Gregg Wallis

Recently, I read an article on the Web about Granite Industries of Vermont and its contract for the stonework for Arlington National Cemetery. In the story, the company was creating a headstone for Captain Michael Tarlavsky. Unfortunately, I had a greater connection to this story than just the industry I’ve been involved in for more than seven years.