Ask an Expert: The Fabrication Edition
If you’re planning a kitchen remodel, your wishlist may include new countertops. From quartz to porcelain, to natural stone—how do you choose the option that’s right for you? That’s where the fabrication specialists come in! We met with Jenny Taylor from Scrivanich Natural Stone to discuss the ins and outs of choosing the right slab.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Photography by Emily Keeney
Meet Jenny, our slab expert!
Sami: I always like to kick things off with a little introduction. What is your job title? How would you describe the work that you do?
Jenny: I'm an estimator and project manager at Scrivanich Natural Stone. I have been doing this since 1993. I got my start helping designers and fabricators with the tile and slab selections for their clients. I found out that one of the fabricators, Larry Scrivanich, wanted to hire an estimator, and I've been an estimator, project manager, and helping with design since then. Every time I look at the natural stone, I am still just in awe over what Mother Nature has created. It just blows me away— the colors that come through the movement.
The selection and decision-making process
Sami: What do you think is the first step for homeowners planning a design project involving slab?
Jenny: They need to hire a designer like Jennifer, and they really need to take a look at how they want their space to function for them. That determines whether or not they should use an actual stone versus a manmade product.
I would say probably 80–85% of what we fabricate now is quartz versus natural stone. Quartz is 93% crushed stone and it's 7% resin. It does still have natural stone in it, but it is a manmade product. It was developed because people wanted the look of marble, but marble is so porous. It doesn't wear well in a kitchen. I think a homeowner going into it needs to decide if they want that look of marble, but they don't want to have the issues that come with marble in their kitchen. Then quartz would be the way they'd want to go.
Another factor to consider is color. The quartz is limited in its color. But natural stone also is limited because, well, it's natural, and the movement that goes through it and the colors that go through it, will be unique.
Homeowners should also know how much maintenance they’re willing to do. If they're ok with some maintenance, then they can go with the granite. If they want really no maintenance or low maintenance, then they should go with the quartz.
Sami: How can homeowners prepare for this consultation? When someone comes in to meet with you, what's some great prep work they could do beforehand?
Jenny: If they do a little bit of homework, knowing how they want to use their kitchen, that would be really helpful. Some people cook with a lot of spices, and those can stain. And so if they know that upfront, then that lets us know where we should start looking.
If the homeowner wants quartz, then usually I can meet with them at our showroom because the quartz, since it is manmade, doesn't vary too much from slab to slab. The movement might change a little through it. But the coloring, for the most part, is the same.
If they want a natural stone, there's really no way to sample that. Every single batch is different because it's created by Mother Nature! When this is the case, I send clients to the suppliers to take a look at the materials. So that's how I establish whether or not they should come into the shop and meet me or whether or not they need to go to the suppliers too.
The installation process
Sami: Could you share a little bit more about the fabrication and installation process?
Jenny: Once the cabinets are in, we schedule to go out and do a template. My template guide likes to meet the homeowner, the designer, or the contractor—just to go over any little details like overhangs and how you want your outside corners to look. Do you want them sharp or rounded? You know all those little details.
Some people do a laser template, but we are still a little old school, and we actually prefer to do physical templates. So our fabrication shop does physical templates, and then we come back, and depending on what the material is, I'll either do the slab layout by myself or I'll have the homeowner involved.
The sink bowls are cut, the faucet holes are drilled, and a cooktop is cut—all of that's done in our slab shop. We usually take about two weeks or so from the time we template to the time we come back out to install. Depending on the size and depending on how many rooms we're doing, it could be multiple trips. Whenever we do something like the shower walls in a porcelain slab, those take multiple trips, but for a normal kitchen installation, it's usually a day.
Lately, we've been doing a lot of shower walls in porcelain slab. Porcelain would be a bit of a trend for 2024. Porcelain slabs can be used for countertops, walls, and floors. We strongly recommend that it be used for the fireplace and shower walls.
You can use it on a counter, but it's not quite as durable. The porcelain can create a beautiful look, and it’s screen printed on the surface to look like natural stone. However, because it’s just a screen print, the veining doesn’t go through the porcelain itself. This is more obvious on a countertop. We can do a mitered edge, which would then hide that. Otherwise, homeowners have to know that they’re going to see a porcelain color on the very edge of the counter.
The other thing with a porcelain counter is if you accidentally drop a can of vegetables or something on there, it will most likely crack the slab—unlike natural stone, there is no way to repair a porcelain slab. When it comes to the kitchen, natural stone is still the best choice as far as being able to fix any damage that could potentially happen in its lifetime.
Sami: If porcelain has such a high risk associated with it, especially in the kitchen, are there any benefits to having porcelain in the kitchen, or is it just a trend?
Jenny: I think it's a trend because it’s new. And again, it's super great for a fireplace! Quartz is not recommended for a fireplace because of the heat. So, if you still want to have that look of marble, there are a lot of porcelain slabs made to look like a big, beautiful marble slab.
We also use porcelain tile on the floor. It's everywhere. It's in the shopping malls. The thing is, if you drop something on the tile and break it, you're replacing a tile versus replacing an entire countertop.
“ When it comes to the kitchen, natural stone is still the best choice as far as being able to fix any damage that could potentially happen in its lifetime. ”
Common challenges (and how to avoid them!)
Sami: What do you wish that more homeowners knew about choosing their materials?
Jenny: I guess just knowing the difference between the natural stone and how it's going to wear versus the manmade materials. I think, for the most part, people know that it can scratch, it can chip, it can stain, and that you need to keep up on regular maintenance. Other times, people think that they’ll go with quartz because it seems low-maintenance, but even that isn’t entirely true. High heat can potentially crack quartz. One tip that I tell people is if you're going to use a slow cooker on high heat, then you need to put a cutting board down under it. Quartz is not bulletproof!
I think that our job as a fabrication shop is to educate homeowners about the materials. We're the ones cutting it, fabricating it. So we pretty much know how it's going to wear. And it's really important for homeowners to talk to people, to talk to their fabricators, and their installers to gain that knowledge.
Sami: What do you think are common stumbling blocks that people sometimes run into, and how can they avoid them in the first place?
Jenny: Sometimes we’ll run into problems with sizing—the slab isn't the right size, or it physically can't get into the house. We might have to put a seam in a piece because there's no other way to get it into the space if they have a lot of stairs or hills, narrow hallways, and stuff like that.
When a contract is signed, and everything gets started, we don't actually come out to the job site to do our template until the cabinets are in place and the sinks and the faucets are on-site.
So, the homeowner does need to plan ahead. They need to make sure that their sink is picked, and ordered, and they need to give us the specs for the cabinets that will be installed. Once everything is ready, we come out and do a physical template of the space, and then everything is fabricated based on those templates.
When we come out to do that template, that's when we realize if there are issues with stairs, pieces not fitting, or the slab size not working. This usually takes place at the beginning of our process. So by the time we're fabricating and installing, all the details have been worked out.
Rising design trends and inspiration
Sami: Have you worked on a recent project or seen another project recently that inspired you?
Jenny: We did a mitered fireplace recently, and it's just a very unusual shape with lots of angles. Something like that was a little different. Unusual. I love that. Personally, I also love natural stone. I just love how every piece is different and has character.
The most memorable pieces would be the ones where there's lots of color variation, lots of veining, and lots of movement—and to see how those all come together and flow in the space, is where I get the most excited. The natural stone projects are usually the ones that really challenge your mind and thoughts for the layout. It's like putting together a puzzle, and then once you see it put together, it's just so beautiful.
Sami: Are there any trends that you've been noticing lately? What are some trends happening in 2024?
Jenny: Quartz is still a big one. Quartzite, which is a natural stone, has also become popular. I think that as far as colors go, gray and white have been popular for a really long time. That look is timeless. Carrara marble and Calcutta marble with the whites and the grays—those have been around forever.
In 2024, people are asking for warmer tones. We're seeing a lot more of the tans and beige. Even some greige (a grey and beige mix). So, people are still using the whites and grays, but are warming them up with brown and tan tones.
“The natural stone projects are usually the ones that really challenge your mind and thoughts for the layout. It’s like putting together a puzzle, and then once you see it put together, it’s just so beautiful. ”
Photography by Emily Keeney
Budgets, costs, and more, oh my!
Sami: Breaking down the budget: what are the typical, low, medium, and high budget ranges that a homeowner could expect?
Jenny: Well, it's very hard to put a number on it because it does depend on the layout of the kitchen itself. I would say that the granite and the quartz are pretty similar in price, but there are some quartz that have jumped pretty high in price, and those are usually the ones that have a dramatic vein or something like that. The availability of natural stone determines some of the price. For example, Carrera is readily available, so it is a medium-priced marble.
I always tell people, let's price it out and see, especially because the slab size can dictate things too. Let’s say a homeowner falls in love with a slab. However, the supplier told them that it’s in the higher price range. Sometimes what happens is that the size of that slab works out so well that we can fit the whole kitchen. And the cheaper slab was smaller, so we needed more of it. It might actually turn out that the more expensive slab works out better with the budget, after all.
I want to give a big thanks to Jenny for taking the time to share her expertise and experiences with us! Visit Scrivanich Natural Stone if you’re ready to begin a conversation with a fabrication expert.
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