Give your kitchen or bathroom timeless style with smooth, high-quality marble from Wisconsin’s best custom stonework specialists.
Cool, classic marble adds instant luxury and brightens up any room in your home. Whether you’re looking for glossy polished marble or satin-finish honed marble, our stone fabrication specialists will design and handcraft the marble cut to size for the perfect countertop, tabletop, vanity, bar or ledge.
Our stonework installation experts work with exacting attention to detail, completing marble installation jobs on time and in budget. Visit our New Berlin showroom to see stunning marble slabs on display or discount marble remnantsperfect for smaller projects.
Our marble stonework fabricators produce beautiful artisan countertops at a reasonable price. Our fast free quotes provide an accurate and honest estimate for your marble fabrication and installation project. Our courteous stonework installers respect your home and budget while adding exquisite marble fabrications to your kitchen, bathroom or living room.
Marble repair experts from Granite Plus restore and reseal marble surfaces if they are damaged or require maintenance.
Marble is one of the most durable options for not only kitchen countertops, but for bathroom vanities and countertops, kitchen islands, dining table tops, flooring and backsplashes. Marble adds instant luxury wherever it’s found. Marble will not only make your home look more elegant, but it will also significantly add value as it is one of the most highly prized materials for a home. When properly maintained, marble will last a lifetime.
Marble absorbs heat readily making it naturally cool to the touch. Marble surfaces in the kitchen are prized by bakers and chefs, and marble is a great way to keep your home or workspace cool and comfortable. Granite Plus has Wisconsin’s lowest prices on custom marble fabrication for home and business use.
While marble is typically available in shades of white, light gray and cream with darker colored veins, some types can also have pale pink or green tints.
Other standard marble colors include:
Marble is less commonly found in shades of red, pink, black and different tones of blue and gray, with many different textures and patterns created by its natural veins.
In any color, marble is a beautiful material suitable for a variety of uses in the kitchen, bathroom and throughout the home, including:
Marble reflects light beautifully and adds brightness to any room, especially when used on an accent wall. Marble is often placed to be seen more than used, for example as bathroom vanities, tub decks, rather than kitchen countertops.
Marble kitchen countertops tend to require more maintenance than other types of stone. Marble can develop more stains and etching over time compared to granite or quartz countertops, which withstand contact with food, liquid and cooking implements much better.
Some homeowners are intimidated by marble. They’ve heard it requires a lot of maintenance and is easy to stain. Others love the way marble gains character as you live with it by etching over time. The truth is marble countertops don’t require any special day-to-day care and most stains and etching can be prevented.
Whether you have honed or polished marble countertops, care is simple:
Never use cleaners with acid such as lemon juice or vinegar. The acid will eat away at the surface and create dull spots (etching). Don’t sit or stand on marble countertops because the weight could cause a crack.
Cleaning your marble countertop is easy and requires only basic supplies:
Most of the time wiping your marble countertops with hot water and a soft cloth will be all you need to do. Use even gentle cleansers sparingly; too much can streak or leave a film. About a tablespoon of mild dish soap in a spray bottle of warm water is plenty.
Removing soap scum requires a special product formulated to remove soap scum from marble without damaging it. There are many products available to safely remove hard water stains or soap scum from marble surfaces.
Soap scum can be difficult to remove, but scrubbing too hard or using common household cleaners will corrode the marble. Once your marble surface is free of soap scum, keep it from coming back by doing a light cleaning regularly with the same specially formulated cleaner.
Marble is a natural stone with a soft, porous surface susceptible to stains and etching. Some liquids wipe up easily, but others leave a stain and fade over time. Many common substances can stain marble, including:
Marble stains because it absorbs the substance and draws it into pores beneath the surface creating a dark spot (although the finish is not affected). Stains in marble are usually not permanent but marble stains do need to be removed carefully.
Marble is primarily calcium carbonate, a substance which reacts to any type of acid. Acids eat away at the surface and create dull spots called etches. Etching is small-scale erosion and can often only be seen in certain light.
Acids like lemon juice, tomato sauce, vinegar, coffee, tea, soda and alcohol can etch marble countertops. Many homeowners who choose marble for the kitchen believe etching and staining add personality to the marble, in essence recording the story of their life.
Etching tends to be less visible on honed marble than polished marble. While a honed marble kitchen island or dining room table may become lightly marked from spills and scratches, the same marks will be much more obvious on polished marble.
Marble used for floors, bathrooms and backsplashes is less likely to stain and etch due to less contact with food and drink. With proper polishing or sealing, marble’s resistance to marking increases significantly.
Contact our Milwaukee area marble experts for more help choosing the right stone material for you and your home.
If your polished marble countertop has etching and dull spots, you may want to re-polish it. Polishing can remove minor scratches and etching. Although you can do polish marble yourself, the process requires tools not everyone has.
First, use the marble cleaner to remove buildup on the surface of the countertop. Apply marble polishing powder using an orbital hand buffer tool. The slightly abrasive powder restores the marble to a glossy sheen. Remove the polishing powder with a damp cloth. If you’re satisfied with the shine, finish the job by applying a penetrating sealer. If not, buff remaining scratches or etching with polishing powder again.
Due to marble’s tendency to etch and stain easily, it’s important to avoid spilling anything with color on our marble countertops and wipe up spills right away. Even hard water can stain marble and should be wiped up with a soft cloth.
Although some stains are difficult or even impossible to remove, there are a few tricks you can try:
Rust stains are difficult to remove and may be permanent. For rust and other stubborn stains, try using a poultice designed for stone maintenance:
Most experts recommend sealing marble countertops. Even polished marble is still porous and able to stain. The sealant does not completely prevent stains. A wine spill left on a marble counter overnight will leave a stain even through the sealant.
Marble sealers give you extra time to clean up a spill before it can penetrate the barrier and stain the stone. Once properly sealed, your marble countertop will better resist everyday spills and dirt. Recommendations range from applying a spray sealant to your marble counters monthly to ensure a strong barrier to having your marble countertops professionally sealed every six to twelve months.
Marble is a naturally porous stone meaning it consists of tiny holes which allow liquids to penetrate. This penetration is likely to cause stains. In efforts to provide the best possible stain protection for your marble countertops, Granite Plus now uses InvisaBLOCK. InvisaBLOCK is a leading sealant and heavily utilized in the fabrication industry. The sealant creates an invisible barrier above and below the stone’s surface to provide maximum stain protection.
InvisaBLOCK does not change the appearance of your countertops and comes with a 15-year warranty. Don’t take any chances, have Granite Plus seal your newly installed stone with the best available protection. Inquire about InvisaBLOCK today.
Honed marble surfaces have a matte appearance and satiny texture. Polished marble surfaces are smoother and glossy.
Scratches and etching are less visible on a honed marble surface than a polished one, but spills soak into honed marble more easily and stain more quickly. Honed marble is a popular choice for flooring in high-traffic areas because it does not get as slippery as polished marble.
Polished marble countertops are more stain resistant. But scratches and etching are much more visible in polished marble’s reflective surface. Polished marble is not advised for flooring in high-traffic areas or bathrooms because everyday wear-and-tear becomes very obvious, and it’s dangerously slippery when wet. Polished marble is most often used for countertops and fireplace hearth surrounds.
Honing is not only a marble finish, but it is also a process used when restoring damaged stone surfaces.
Calacatta and Carrara marble are very similar looking types of Italian marble (white with gray vein patterns) with subtle differences. Calacatta has more contrast, with darker, bolder vein patterns on white. Carrara generally has less contrast: light gray with soft, fine veining in slightly darker gray. The two can be difficult to distinguish to the untrained eye since some Carrara marble has thick, dark veins.
All-natural stone countertops vary, so you’ll be able to choose a specific slab with the qualities you like best.
Here’s an example of Calacatta and Carrara marble:
Marble, granite and quartz each have different properties and strengths to consider when choosing stonework for your home. Marble, in particular, has unique qualities making it a favorite for prestige architecture and luxurious interior design.
Marble not only has striking natural vein patterns, it takes a high polish beautifully. Marble also has a degree of translucency giving it a luminous “glow.”
As natural, porous stones, both marble and granite are susceptible to chips and stains. Granite countertops are more durable and are often found in kitchens, while marble is more common for bathrooms and other areas. Marble requires more care and maintenance than granite.
Marble and granite are very different in appearance. Granite can be found in a variety of colors and has dark speckles. Marble is usually made up of more solid, lighter colors than granite and has veins running through it. The veins come from mineral impurities in the stone, so marble without impurities is solid white.
Quartz is a man-made stone composed of natural quartz, minerals, resins and pigments. Because pigment can be added during manufacturing, quartz is available in almost any color. Like granite, quartz usually contains dark speckles throughout. Quartz can also be manufactured with veining for a marble look.
Marble can be used outside for patio tables or outdoor kitchens provided it is sealed properly. Quartz countertops are not recommended for outdoor use since its pigments can change color under exposure to UV rays.
Whichever stone you select for your kitchen and bathroom countertops, backsplashes and other remodeling needs, contact our stonework fabricators for a free quote within 1 business day.
We make beautiful, custom granite pieces in a variety of colors to suit all rooms and purposes, including:
