Adding Marble Countertops to Your Home

Meghan: Marble countertops are stunning but most people stay away from them because they think they stain easily but you know what? That is not true and I am here today at the Vermont Marble Museum to discover how to keep those marble countertops looking brand new. I am hitting the road searching for answers and finding great design. It is a quest for beauty, function and of course, inspiration. If somebody comes to you and says “I want a marble countertop.” What do they need to know? Robert: I need to give them a bit of an education process. If they really want bullet proof, if they are, let us say in a home that will have lots of activity with children or if they are in a rental situation or a condo where they are having people in and out that do not necessarily want to care for it or if they themselves do not want to put the time and the care into it, they are probably better of with a Serpentine class marble or a granite just because it does require less maintenance. Meghan: What is a Serpentine class marble? Robert: A Serpentine class marble is one that form through a similar process as granite, it formed through an igneous process and again without it getting boring or technical about it, it does have a much harder surface and therefore able to withstand the wear and tear in the kitchen. Meghan: Basically it does not stain as much. Robert: Correct. Meghan: Because marble is known for staining really bad. Robert: It can be, yes and in fairness to everyone, you can generalize and say that when you break down marble into what is commonly though of the white marble group, that stone, unless it is treated properly and fabricated in certain fashion, it is subject to staining and wear and tear. Meghan: Now there is more marbles than just the white marble so does all of the marble stain? Robert: To a degree but again you have to take each one individually and I would urge anyone interested in a marble feature in their home to get with people that they trust and know and have a good background in stone to explain because there will be differences even in one quarry from layer to layer within the same geographic location. There will be differences in hardness and suitability so it is really a process they need to do some investigating about. Meghan: Could you basically say that the darker the marble, the less likely it is to stain and the lighter the marble, the more likely it is to stain? Robert: Yes. You can generalize and say that and that is absolutely true. Meghan: I have even heard that water can stain white marble. Robert: That is correct. Meghan: How do you keep that from happening. Robert: Well there—I have been always processes well as they always, there have been processes out for a long time called sealers and they are still recommended to be used and they are still very appropriate in some situations and basically a sealer, the analogy of a car wax would be appropriate and that your laying something on the surface of the stone that will protect by repelling what comes in contact but just as in your car wax, eventually it will wear away and need to be renewed. The newer process that has not really been around for very long but is gaining wide acceptance is a process called impregnation and basically rather than a layer that sets on the stone, you have a product that you apply that actually penetrates into the stone, becomes part of the stone and repels that way rather than by forming a mechanical barrier away from the stone and this is a very permanent process. Meghan: Is there anything you should avoid when you have a marble countertop? Robert: Yes. Basically, if properly fabricated, you need not worry about many things but some of the villains so to say would be citrus based products, specifically limes. Limes on the scale of other citrus, lime is definitely the worst and there probably are not very many people out there in today’s world that have a lot of rhubarb around their house but there are some. That is one thing you want to avoid. Meghan: Rhubarb? Robert: Rhubarb juice is very acidic and can