What You Should Know About Natural Stone
When you choose natural stone products for your new home, Pride Mark will provide manufacturer's care and warranty information. However, before making your final selection, it's important that you understand the following:

Natural stone can be quarried marble, granite, limestone, travertine, or slate.

No two pieces of marble, granite, limestone, travertine or slate are alike. Natural stone will vary in color, shading, porosity, marking, texture, veining and pattern. This variation is part of the beauty of natural stone and is not considered a defect. Stone installed in your home will differ from Design Center samples.

All stone has "fissures" which appear as small hairline cracks. This is not a defect.

The width and depth of individual stone pieces may vary. Stones such as tumbled marble, limestone and travertine may not lay perfectly level. Grout joints can minimize the variation. Your Design Consultant will help you in the selection of grout color that will best match your stone.

With travertine, a non-sanded grout-like material is used to fill in the pores to produce an even surface. This filler will not polish to the same luster as the rest of the stone.

The surface of natural stone may scratch with normal foot traffic. This is normal. Polished stones (marbles) will show more scratches than those with a honed finish, such as limestone or travertine.

All stone requires ongoing maintenance designed by the Marble Institute of America. Only approved products should be used to clean your stone surfaces. Never use abrasive cleaners, or acidic substances like vinegar, muriatic, sulfuric or phosphoric acids, or citrus or ammonia products on your stone. Refer to "Care and Cleaning for Natural Stone Surfaces" provided by the Marble Institute.

Natural stone regularly goes out of stock. Your stone will be ordered from the supplier who currently has the stone in stock. If your stone is not available at the time of your order, your design professional will help you select a similar stone from the current stock.