We wanted to do a face lift to our 1990 circa kitchen. The kitchen counters and splash were ceramic tile and over time (we used to have a large extended family in the house), the grout keeps coming off, some tiles are a little scratched and the cabinets looked beat up. We considered various options - Granite transformation (which would lay a thin sheet of manufactured granite over the existing counter top which we thought was nuts), counter tops of Granite and quartz and we finally decided to go with a Cambria quartz because quartz requires very little maintenance and Cambria has some neat designs. Couple of granite shops we talked to would fabricate counter tops but they would not install. and also they would not do the back splash We wanted to have some one to do the whole thing - fabrication of counter top, installation, and back splash also. We did not know who to call but luckily one lady at Classic tile designs in Hermosa Beach gave us a few contractor names who would do all of the things we wanted and South Bay Stone happened to be the first one on the list.. We called Julio at South bay stone and he came over to our house in Manhattan Beach on the same day, looked at the project, and within a day or so sent us a quote. He also told us that they did work on several houses in our neighborhood and one of the houses happen to be almost across the street from our house. We checked with the owners and they said that South Bay stone did a good job in their kitchen and they are trustworthy. So we did not even bother to check with any other contractors on the list, and entered into a contract with South bay stone. Julio was very prompt, responds to phone calls, texts, emails right away and when we visited their shop, he made us feel very comfortable and assuring. As it happened we had to wait for 2 months for Cambria to make our block because the design we selected was very popular and out of stock and it takes several weeks for them to make the block. Luckily we were not in any kind of rush and it actually gave us time to shop around for the back splash because I and my wife have different tastes and we get into yelling matches about every thing. Also we had to order a stainless steel sink, and a fancy sink faucet. After visiting several tile shops in south bay and Anaheim, we agreed on some grey glass tiles for the back splash and some borders to match with the counter top design. Every time we would call Julio about his opinion, and he patiently discussed the good and bad of the materials and the aesthetic aspect of the combinations etc. After the block came and the fabrication was done, we have to wait for a few more weeks due to some family issues and finally the day came, and a whole contingent of workers descended on our house to do the counter top installation. I was a little apprehensive when I saw all those people to do a relatively modest kitchen but they knew what they were doing. In two days, they demolished the old tiles, plywood, back splash and laid the new counter top and back splash. And they did a super good job. They had to join the counter top and the joint was so perfect, you really had to see with a magnifying glass to find the joint. The back splash turned out really neat. the border was a difficult one because the design called for the border to be separated from the main splash by a thin strip of another border.
Julio was very easy to work with and Robbie was amazing. He came over prior to the fabrication, took the measurements again, discussed every small detail, expressed his concerns about the edges and we could not be happier with the way things turned out in the end. Ours is a modest old house among the multi million dollar mansions in Manhattan Beach, but our kitchen counter top is our pride now. We would show it off to our guests and most of them would say 'wow'. I highly recommend South Bay stone for your counter top work. Talk to Julio!! read more