♪ ♪ ♪ we want to welcome you backfor another episode of the village home show. thisshow is our opportunity to notonly tell you about kitchen and bath projects going on inour area, but now we can showyou the entire process from start to finish. on thevillage home show you canexpect to see projects at various sizes, budgets andstyles, and we know there'ssomething for everyone to take away from each storythat we tell here on the show.the response to this tv show has beentremendous and we thank you somuch for your interest andenthusiasm to see before and after storiesthat are local to you. intoday's episode
we will show you a geneseoillinois kitchen that has beentransformed without removing any walls. we think you will bepleasantly surprised by thecountertop selection at this project. speaking ofcountertops we'll take a tripto visit one of our stone fabrication shops to see howour stone projects are custommade just for your project, but first we want towelcome an expert from villagehome stores to explain the various types ofmaterials you can use for thekitchen countertops at yourhome. it is no secret that there areso many types of countertops tochoose from when your working on yourown project. joining us todayto help us sort through all ofyour options is chris robinson. hichris. chris - hi elizabeth howare you doing today? elizabeth- good
chris - thanks for having me.elizabeth - no problem. welllets start by just letting meknow what are some of the products available whatare the general categories ofcountertops? chris - well forstarters you get into something like thisone right here this is anatural stone and then ah toyour left we have our man-madequartz products and then youwould get into your solid surface products and thenbeyond that you would get intoyour traditional laminate countertops that mostpeople are familiar with.elizabeth - ok and and from those differentcategories how would you rankthem as far as price investment where do they allfall into line? chris - as faras your investment i believethat the granite and quartz will bevery similar. they're going tobe at your higher
price point. then you get intoyour corion or what some refer to you know a solid surfacecountertop. um, they cansometimes be the same price of a quartz or agranite. it all depends on whatcolor you end up falling in love with and thenyou get into your laminatecountertops, and they some a few differentprice variables not too much,but ah usually a laminate countertopwill run about say about halfthe price of a granite countertop installed. elizabeth- ok and if you were to comparesay a laminate top and a solid surface type oftop. um i think a lot ofcustomers are familiar with formica or laminate andhave had it for quite sometime. um if they were
instead to go to a solidsurface what could they expect?chris - moving into a solidsurface i would say you'd still havethe same care and maintenanceas a laminate countertop it's still not scratchresistant, it's not heatresistant um you'd want to be careful whatyou set on it cause it couldscorch the top. um that's when you get into ifyour worried about scratchingand heat resistance you would want toget into a natural stone or aquartz product. uhh basically you can cut allyou want on a quartz countertop or a granite countertop you'renot going to hurt it your justgoing to dull your knives. um and you can with the quartzcountertops they are completelynon porous
so there's virtually nomaintenance whatsoever.elizebeth - so with the engineered quartz being um verylow maintenance or nomaintenance as your saying um with if we went from that tosay a natural stone countertop what is the maintenance thatwould have to be involved withthe granite or a marble? chris - with a with a naturalstone they do seal it when it'sinstalled um so typically you shouldn't have toreseal this for another 10years. um it all depends on how much usethe countertop gets. um you maynot ever have to seal it again ah you want tokind of i always just recommendjust dropping a bead of water on it if it beadsup leave it alone cause if youkeep reapplying a
a sealer to it your going toend up dulling the stone andyou'll have to polish it out. so it's a with with a graniteif you were to spill somethingjust wipe it right up and it will be carefree. ifyou if something does soak into the pores because itis a porous stone then itusually it can be pulled out, so it isa repairable product. elizabeth - wonderful will iknow that the natural stonesand even the quartz that we'retalking about come in large slabs of materialso depending on what yourlayout of the kitchen is i know that we have a unusualone here at the studio um butyou can expect to see some seams. what can acustomer expect by thatconversation that they
may have at the fabricatorabout their seaming? chris -well when your selecting natural stone likethis you would want to go viewthe slabs and select your slabthat you like and for instance this one has alot of veining and beautifulfissures in there it's made by mother nature so when thefabricator comes out to yourhome to do the template he's going to look at theplacement and what would hesuggest would be the best way to do it because you haveto take into the factors as faras putting it in areas where youreyes aren't drawn to it, butalso structural stability so our fabricator isalways going to try to ah youknow put the seam placement in a smart area whereit looks attractive, but also
it's gonna make the topwithstand the test of time.elizabeth - and we've beenspeaking in terms of kitchens becausethat's a lot of what we speakof on the show here, but all the categories of materialwe've talked about do theytranslate over into a bathroom or are there anyother options? chris - ohabsolutely you could put any ofthese in a bathroom. um i would probably suggest thequartz material would be one of your better choices ahsimply for the maintenancefactor behind it. you couldstill do a granite countertop if youwant the beauty of the granite with that absolutely just be alittle bit more maintenance tomake sure you don't have any issues with it. then we alsooffer products like a culturedmarble
then you could get intosomething with an integral sinkso then then it's very easy to keep care andclean that way. elizabeth - wonderful wellthank you so much for joiningus today. chris - well thanksfor having me. elizabeth - therh to choose from but don't worryyour team at village homestores will help you selectjust the right the right one for your ownproject. ♪ ♪ say hello to the adornecollection. brilliantlybeautiful switches, wallplates, and outlets. so stylish andconvenient you'll wonder howyou ever lived without. say hello to theadorne collection by legrand. make the switch today withvillage home stores andvillagehomestores.com
if your kitchen needs a littleenhancement learn how our diode l.e.d.system of unercabinet lightingcan illuminate the surfaces of your kitchen for both taskand ambient lighting. ourexpert staff can help you estimate andselect the perfect lightingplan with these products. this system has quickly becomea customer favorite and yesthey are dimmable. whether your shopping for thatone light to change the look ofyour room or an entire home oflighting we're here to help. contact ourexpert lighting team for anappointment today. village home stores, downtowngeneseo. projects in your home involve alot of material selections tobe made. with each
decision for your overallproject there are smallerchoices to be made with them. there are a number ofcountertop materials you canselect from for your kitchen or bathroom project. inthe case of selecting yourcountertops you need to do the following. select thetype of material perfect forthe lifestyle and taste that you have. selectthe color or design of thematerial perfect for your design concept. then weselect the edge profile toapply to your counters. and last we collectall sink, faucet, and cooktop information for your design.our fabricators need to knowinformation about all items needing a cutout intoyour countertops. the greatnews is
when you work with village homestores we're with you everystep of this process to helpmake it easier and fun. there are avariety of edge stylesavailable and some are limited to certainmaterials. the edge profile ofyour countertop may seem like a small detail,but we know that this is thetype of detail that truly gives your project an expertlydesigned look. in the categoryof stone countertops there are a numberof options available. astandard eased edge is most common. for manylayouts and styles this isalways a classic choice. the half round edge justsoftens the top edge of thecountertop to a more smooth round look.bullnose edge profiles
round the top and bottom of thematerial. more ornate anddecorative options are available at aslight upcharge. a beveled edgeprofile gives the top edge of yourcounters a clipped look. agreat choice if you want to add a decorative detail to amore square or clean lineddesign. the ogee edge is a morecurvilinear version of thislook. ogee edges can take any project from basicto beautiful. they especiallylook great on an island top or curved bartops that are in plain sightapart from the perimeter of your design.picture those areas where yousee guests congregating in your kitchen. could adecorative edge profile on thatarea be a more
memorable design detail. lighthighlights edge profiles morethen you would think on a polishedstone countertop. don't missout on a great opportunity to show off a unique islandshape. other interesting edgeoptions are the more rustic chiselededge profile and a double thickfront edge. laminate countertops frombrands like formica andwilsonart have a lot of new innovative edge optionsavailable to help give you agreat look without the investment of a granite orother solid surfaces. eachcategory of countertop material willhave a number of edge optionsfor you and your designer from village home stores to selectfrom. stop in and see ourshowroom full of samples
and installed examples of allof these materials. our expertstaff is here to help you select the perfectmaterial for your project andbudget. ♪ the kitchen is the hub ofyour home. it's where you start your dayand get ready for the next. what happens in between arememories made, and traditionscreated. some important life momentswill happen right here at thiscounter. is your kitchen ready? letvillage home stores show you what your dream kitchen canlook like. appliances,cabinetry, lighting, and floorcovering.from start to finish, villagehome stores,
downtown geneseo. ♪ ♪ quality, it's the result ofshared values. the joy found in an honest days work. respectfor true craftsmanship, and the need not the want toget things right. it's the result of rememberingyour roots. being foreverhumbled by how far you've traveled andforever hungry to push onfurther. quality is a result. quality iswho we are. cambria, family owned, americanmade. whenever a price is quoted fromvillage home stores
for stone countertops,templating, fabrication, andinstallation are included in that price.whether they're granite,marble, or engineered quartz this is all included.the fabrication part of thisprocess is not normally something ourcustomers get to see. the largeslabs of stone like the ones we saw whenwe visited epic stone indavenport are brought to a fabricator. the fabricatorwe hire for your job then cutsand polishes down those slabs tothe exact size needed for yourjob. we are excited to say that oneof our favorite localfabricators let us come out totheir shop to show you some of thatfabrication process includingadding the edge
profiles. take a look. ♪ well today on the village homeshow were very excited to showyou a part of the process thatyou would not normally get to s. after you've selected a stonefor your countertops it isgiven to a fabricator who then turns itinto the tops that end up inyour home. today we are atsurface resource in wilton iowa and we're joinedby b.j. axtell. thank you somuch for having us. b.j. - well thanks for comingit's great to have you.elizabeth - we have donebusiness with you a long time, g have you been in business? b.j.- so we've been in businessabout 12 years. elizabeth - wowhow many people work out here? b.j. - we have 9 full-timeemployees. elizabeth - that'sgreat and we have a lot ofprojects go through here, but you havejust a ton of stone comingthrough here in a year do youhave any idea how much?
b.j. - so about five hundredthousands of stone comesthrough our shop in a year which is equivalentto the weight of a blue whale. elizabeth - that's a lot ofstone and i see that water is abig part of the process onceyour in the fabrication portion. howmany gallons of water do you gothrough in a year? b.j. - so about five hundredthousand gallons of water peryear which is almost enough to fill a olympic sizeswimming pool. elizabeth -that's a lot of water. um, what are some differentprojects besides countertopspeople use stone for? b.j. - um, where seeing alot of people use natural stonein like an outdoor patio area. um also we do a lotof shower parts
and fireplaces. elizabeth -yeah there's just a lot ofdifferent projects you can useit on. indoors and outdoors. um couldyou walk us through just ingeneral the different stages that a project goes throughwhen it's out here in yourshop? b.j. - sure, so after template um we'll come back andactually lay the physicaltemplate on the slabs um and then cut them to size on our saw.after the saw they go to ouredge polishing machine which grinds andpolishes the edge. ahh after the polishing machineit goes to the sink cutoutmachine which will cutout the sink oftheir choice and polish
those edges, and then it endsup in our finish area which umis just where we put the final detailson on the project so. elizabeth- well we really can't wait tosee some of this stuff in actionwould you mind showing usaround? b.j. - absolutely. so we start off at our sawwhere we take the physicaltemplates that we made on the job site and tracethem out on your slab. this machine will do all of therough cutting and make each piece match thetemplate. from here we move on to the edge shapingmachine. so here we are at ouredge polishing machine. currently we offer 5standard edges. if you follow
me i can show you some of thetooling that we use on themachine. we start out with 2 diamonds. this diamond as you can tell isa little aggressive diamond to start off the shapingprocess followed by a fine diamond. after the diamondshave done their work we usespecialty pads for quartz andnatural stone to finish the polishingprocess. so this is our sink cutout machine. we usea high speed spindle, a diamond tipped bit and lotsof water to cutout the sink.
this is an actual template ofwhat the sink opening will looklike. our drum follows the templatearound cutting about a sixteenth of aninch of stone on each pass. it takes about ahalf hour to cutout each sink. ♪ what a great tripwe had learning the fabrication process. i'velearned a lot and i hope youhave too. we love working with the folksat surface resource on our jobsand always get compliments from our customers on howclean, courteous, and nicetheir crews are. coming up get a full tour ofthis new kitchen including acountertop selection
that may surprise you. staytuned for more of the villagehome show. ♪ ♪ village home stores is home to one of the mostbeautiful and versatileshowrooms in the region. withhundreds of fixtures on display andthousands available fromvendors like elk, hinkley, quorum, and kitchler. ourexpert staff can help youselect the perfect lighting plan for you. the right lighting canimpact a space like nothingelse. whether you're shoppingfor that one light to change the look ofyour room or an entire home oflighting we're here to help. lighting that is on trend andfixtures that are timeless.find them all here in ourdowntown geneseo showroom. contact ourexpert lighting team for anappointment today.
i've only got a couple minutesok. ♪ literally listen i need aminute. ♪ ♪ i need a minute -baby cries- ♪ ♪ ok but you're just going tohave to change it i need a fewminutes. finding time that'scaring and that's why whirlpool madetheir range with frozen baketechnology that can save time by eliminating the need topreheat. everyday, care. whirlpool. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ welcome to this bright newkitchen
in geneseo illinois. before weshow you around in detail letstake a closer look at some of the before andafters of this completelychanged kitchen. ♪ ♪ many of the kitchens wefeature here on this showinclude rooms that have been opened upbecause of a wall being removed. this space is a great exampleof using the same footprint ofspace and adding new materials. no wallsremoved. painted white cabinetry from our koch classic line in ain a shaker-style door is aclean and classic look. perfect for any older home inthe historic town like geneseo where this new kitchen islocated. there really is a lotof space and a lot of
great natural light in thiskitchen. removing the soffitsand installing taller wall cabinets gives anupdated look and adds a wholeextra shelf of storage above. crown molding and light railbelow these wall cabinetscomplete the look. what continues theclassic look of this kitchen are the marble countertops, butthey're not marble. thesecounters are calacatta marble by formica laminate.there have been major steps made in formica to offer largerpattern prints for theirlaminate products. this ability allows the naturalveining to give a prettyconvincing illusion of natural marble. another waythis laminate looks like a realslab of marble
is the edge selected. thefull-wrap edge profile allowsthe material to wrap around andunder the tops. this means novisible laminate seams on the frontedge. laminate countertops canbe fabricated with or without what is calleda post-form-backsplash.ordering these tops without the backsplash onthe wall end of the tops allowsfor an even better true marble look. 3x6 inchsubway tile in a color called desert gray installedfrom the counters on up to thecabinets is a subtle contrast to the whitepainted kitchen. a drop in sinkhas been installed into the countertop.this double-bowl e-granitecomposite
sink is durable and availablein 5 colors. the area above the sink has also beengiven a great new look. avalance, wood shelf, and some trim in the hands ofour skilled carpenters resultin a great customized look fit with lighting. can lightinghas also been installed to fitthe perimeter of this u-shaped kitchen andour diode l.e.d. lightingilluminates the countertops and that greatsubway tile. if your kitchenhas room for storage use it! this deskarea provides a countertopdrop-zone and a huge wall cabinet above,plus the tall pantry cabinet. that's a lot of bonus space.not only is there a tall pantrycabinet by the
refrigerator there's anotherhere by the desk area. not everything in this newkitchen is white. warm woodgrain can be found in the luxury vinyl tile installedthroughout. what a classic look and what a transformationwithout any structural changes.our thanks to this geneseo customer forletting us show you around. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ village home stores is yourlocally owned source for appliance sales and servicein the greater quad city area.we carry the entire whirlpool family ofappliances which includesmaytag, amana, whirlpool, and kitchenaid. thisdiverse assortment of qualityname brands
allows us to offer somethingwithin every customers budget.our full staff of expert salespeople canhelp you decide what featuresand brands are perfect for your lifestyle. for 30years our store has providedquality products paired with serviceyou can count on. ourknowledgeable sales staff undergoes extensive producttraining and keeps up withcurrent trends in the applianceindustry. at village home stores we alsoservice what we sell along with many brands that we don't.our staff of expert appliancetechnicians service all of henry, rockisland, whiteside, and scottcounty. find us online anytime atvillagehomestores.com or giveus a call
at 309-944-1344. ♪ we've learned so much todayabout countertop materials and the edge profiles you canselect for them. i hope theexamples we've shared on thisepisode have helped you decide whatmight be right for your ownproject. we also got a chance to show you abehind the scenes look at thefabrication process of the stone tops that get installed intoyour home. remember the darkgranite countertop being laid out forcutting earlier in thisepisode? we wanted to share with you some images of thatsame granite countertopcompleted. just a few days after our visitto see the fabrication processthese new granite
tops were installed in eastmoline illinois. from thatlarge slab of granite that b.j. showed usat surface resource new kitchencountertops have been finished. because ofthe weight of a stone slab many times an overhang of countertopwill require support brackets. these are installed to offerpoints of contact fordistributing the weight of thegranite over the stretch of space. thiskitchen includes an island topwith an overhang and a sink cutoutin that island top. after thesupports have been installed and thetops have been brought into thekitchen the next step is to apply a sealer to the stone.this sealer is wiped over theentire surface
area. as it is absorbed intothe stone a hazed look will result. this is the sealerstill on top of the stone andwaiting for the stone to draw it into the slab. becausea wooden template has been madeof this exact kitchen each piece isalready cut and polished withthe appropriate finish edges for the layout.once tops are set in place a thin bead of silicone isapplied to the joint where thestone meets the very top of the cabinetry. the corner ofthis kitchen layout requires a seam to be made int hematerial. it is important toour installers to be sure that this joint andmaterial is as clean and asinconspicuous as possible.
a mixture of color matchedepoxy is blended on site toresemble as close to the color of stoneas it is available. even in a brand new home likethis one not all surfaces areperfectly level. this is easily visiblewhen the two raw edges areplaced together before joining. the epoxy isapplied at the joint and a special machine is usedto manipulate how the two slabsset into place. this machine uses 1200 lbs ofvacuum to pull at the stone. roller cams at the front, backand center of the joint are expertly set in place tomanipulate the two together.
once the seam meets the way theinstaller is desiring the epoxycan be evened out and a clean finish look is theresult. installing the kitchen sink to the tops also happensat the job site. sink model and facet drilling informationis collected at the time oftemplate so the exact cutout can be made for thetops. there are metal sinkclips that are positioned around the sink. these clipsare used to hold the sink inplace as the silicone dries and bondsthe sink to the stone slab. abead of silicone is applied to the topof the undermount sink. theinstallers then position the sink on thepolished opening and secure itwith the sink clips from
underneath the sink. once thesink has been installed to thetops a plumber can hook up thedrain, facet, and disposal.purchasing natural stone for yourcountertops can be a fun andinteresting process. be sure to check out episode 5of the village home show wherewe visited epic stone in davenport to show you theslab selection process. you canfind a link to watch that episode atvillagehomestores.com. our fullproject management program is not just limited tothe kitchen. we would love tohear what project your considering. let villagehome stores help keep yourproject on schedule and within your budget. we wantyou to end up with a greatending to the before
and after story of your ownhome. love the home you are incurrently? want to give it updates thatwill help you remain in thathome longer? village home stores can help with that. we knowthat taking on a project inyour home is a big deal. we get the great privilege oftransforming kitchens andbathrooms all the time. even though we do this everydaywe never lose site of the factthat this is your home and we'represerving memories alreadymade and preparing your home for future memories to be made.the quad cities area continuesto grow and grow and that is excitingfor all of us and thesurrounding communities. if you're planning on beingpart of that new growth don'tforget we can
provide so much for you duringthe building process. yes weoffer outstanding products and expertdesigns but it is no secretthat building a home can be very stressful. villagehome stores can also offer youand your builder the peace of mind thatyour project design, materialselection, and the ordering process is allunder the control of an entireteam of experts selected just for your project. newconstruction customers of course receive discounted pricingstorewide plus you can bundlethose purchases throughout the whole store formus. this bundle programtranslates into free lighting for your newhome. contact us today or visit
villagehomestores.com to learnmore about this bundle program.we carry appliances, cabinetry,countertops, lighting, floorcovering and custom shades and blinds for yourhome. all of this all in onelocation to make the selection process easy onyou weather you are building anew home or remodeling the one that your in. if youhave questions about anythingyou've seen here today or if you want to start theconversation give us a call at 309-944-1344 or email us atinfo@villagehomestores.com.find links to all of our social mediaoutlets including pinterest,houzz, facebook and many more
at villagehomestores.com. wethank you so much for joining us for this episode of the villagehome show. you can look forwardto seeing more expertinterviews, industry news, and of coursemore great projects from righthere in the quad city area. youralways welcome to stop by andsee us at our showroom indowntown geneseo. i've been your hostelizabeth round and i lookforward to seeing you right back here next time for anotherepisode of the village homeshow.