New countertops on the cabinets you have
What has to come out, what can stay, whether your cabinets can carry stone, who may disconnect the gas and water in Connecticut, and the steps that decide how long the kitchen is down.
Read the guide →Home / Blog
From the shop
Stone advice, without the sales pitch.
Buying guides, honest stone comparisons, and care advice from the family that has imported and fabricated stone in Hartford since 1978.
Soapstone countertops: what they do in a working kitchen
It never needs sealing and lemon juice leaves no mark. It also scratches, and it darkens. What that looks like after a few years, and how to tell if it is your stone.
Read the guide →Bathroom vanity tops: what changes when the slab is small
Remnants, the height you feel every morning, the sink and faucet holes that are drilled once, and which stones handle perfume and toothpaste. What to settle before we template.
Read the guide →Choose a countertop by how you use the kitchen
Sun, hot pans, lemon juice, and whether you want the counter to look the same in ten years. Five questions that narrow five materials down to one or two, with no ranking involved.
Read the guide →Quartz or quartzite: one letter, two different products
One is quarried, one is manufactured, and the difference decides whether it can sit in the sun, take a hot pan, or ever be matched twice. Plus the question to ask any fabricator.
Read the guide →Marble in a working kitchen: etching, patina, and who it suits
Etching is not staining, and no sealer prevents it. What actually marks marble, why honed hides it, and the honest test for whether you will love the patina or resent it.
Read the guide →Where to actually buy stone in Connecticut
Importer, fabricator, kitchen dealer, big box. What each one is, which yards let you walk in, and why first choice and commercial grade are not official terms.
Read the guide →Porcelain slabs: where they beat stone, and where they do not
Unbeatable outdoors, in a shower and against acid. Beatable on chipping, repair and edge profiles. The honest comparison, plus what to ask a porcelain fabricator.
Read the comparison →Quartzite vs. granite: cost, care, and which one to choose
Is quartzite more expensive than granite, and is it worth it? Hardness, heat, sealing, the mislabeled-slab problem, and how to decide in the yard.
Read the comparison →What happens between picking your slab and installing it
Templating, seam placement, edging and install. The middle of a countertop project, explained, and the questions worth asking before you sign.
See how it works →Granite vs. quartz: which is better for your Hartford kitchen?
The question we hear most in the showroom — durability, Connecticut pricing, looks, and an honest verdict.
Read the comparison →A marble buying guide for Hartford homeowners
Why marble, what to weigh before you buy, where it shines — and when we’ll honestly steer you to quartzite instead.
Read the guide →What to consider when shopping for kitchen countertops
Maintenance, budget, durability, heat, scratches, and your cabinets — the checklist we walk through with every customer.
Read the guide →Caring for your quartz countertops
Daily cleaning, what to avoid, the disinfecting-wipes question, and how to lift stubborn stains without harming the surface.
Read the care guide →Porcelain shower surrounds for modern bathrooms
Grout-free slab showers, marble looks without the maintenance, and what to know before choosing porcelain for a wet room.
Read the article →Questions the blog can’t answer?
Ask a Pistritto.
Call the shop or send an inquiry — you’ll get a straight answer from the family, and estimates are free.