Due to the variety and beauty of our selection, touring our showroom can seem daunting if you have never visited with us before. We suggest that you come prepared to stay for at least an hour…..or more. You may spend your time viewing on your own or you may request a DENTE representative to accompany and guide you through your visit. We encourage you to bring any samples you may have from your project, such as cabinetry, paint chips, tile or flooring.
Though it is not necessary, we recommend that you arrange an appointment in advance to make sure that we can give you the attention that you deserve. Because we receive new shipments of stone on a regular basis, you may want to allow for more than one visit.
We work closely with all stone fabricators and designers in our region to insure that each of our customers receives the professional attention to detail for which we are known. All pricing and installation is done by the stone fabricator or designer, who will be able to create a proposal for the cost of fabrication and installation based on the specific stone you select.
HELPFUL INFORMATION ABOUT STONE
GRANITE: Formed from igneous rocks as they cooled deep underground. The minerals in granite look like small flecks and are typically spread consistently throughout the stone. Some types of granite have veining, or linear waves, similar to marble. Granite is dense and very hard.
MARBLE/ONYX/SLATE: These are all metamorphic stones, formed at extremely high pressures and temperatures just below melting. A key characteristic of these stones is the presence of swirls, linear patterns or banding. Slate is a fine grained, metamorphic rock which cleaves in flat, almost smooth pieces. Marble is a metamorphic limestone that loses any fossils or other features during the recrystallization process.
TRAVERTINE/LIMESTONE/SOAPSTONE: These stones are formed through the compacting of grains or pieces of existing rock material. The existing rocks may have been weathered, transported, deposited and then cemented over millions of years by the movement of the earth’s tectonic plates. Often these stones contain fossils or other distinct features formed at the time of deposition.
MINERAL COMPOSITION: SILICATES
Silicates are made mostly of quartz-like particles called silica. They are very hard, durable and generally acid resistant. Examples of silicates include granite, sandstone, slate and quartzite.
MINERAL COMPOSITION: CALCIUM CARBONATES
Calcium carbonates contain minerals that were formed under pressure over millions of years from the bodies of tiny fossilized creatures. They are softer and less durable than silicates and are acid sensitive. Examples of calcium carbonates include limestone, marble and travertine.