Whether it’s the latest Marvel heroine or the villain you love to hate in your favorite novel, everyone loves a good origin story.
Just ask the team at Granite Transformations, where the foundation for their innovative counter installation process is firmly in “hero” territory!
Our story reaches all the way back to the mid-1990s. Colin McKenzie and Bob Smith had recently introduced Granite Transformations to Australia and engaged friend Danny Hanlon to do the installation. A few weeks into the job – removing old counters before fitting the gorgeous, eco- and family-friendly new counters into people’s kitchens and bathrooms – he realized there had to be a better way.
Because the Granite Transformations counters are much thinner than their granite, marble or quartz counterparts, Hanlon realized they could slip right over the existing counters. Rather than ripping out existing counters and installing a new plywood base, why not simply use the existing counter as the substrate?
Not only are you reducing the waste going to the local landfill unnecessarily, you’re also reducing the amount of new materials needed to create a new kitchen or bathroom!
The epiphany was just one of many the product has produced over its history. Created initially in Italy as a beautiful, hard-wearing flooring option for busy commercial destinations like airports – where you’ll still see it in use today – McKenzie and Smith, with their Italian counterpart from Trend, Pino Bizzazza, realized its possibilities as a thinner, lighter counter material.
From those initial installations in Australia, the company expanded to the UK, Canada and right here in the United States.
Using quartz, granite and recycled glass engineered surfaces, Granite Transformations’ etherium by E-Stone surfaces are heat, stain, scratch, mold and mildew resistant. Photo courtesy Granite Transformations
Using quartz, granite and recycled glass engineered surfaces, Granite Transformations’ etherium by E-Stone surfaces are made with a proprietary polymer resin that ensures the surfaces are heat, stain, scratch, mold and mildew resistant – definitely a hero move for busy families!
The polymer resin also ensures all surfaces are nonporous and never need to be sealed – unlike traditional granite, quartzite and marble countertops, all of which require regular sealing, costing both time and money.
In addition to the environmental benefits that already make the counters the star of this story, what else do customers love about Hanlon’s discovery? “People really love how quickly we can install them, because you don’t have to wait for messy demolition, removal and building a new substrate,” says April Peterson, Marketing Manager for Granite Transformations here in Everett.
That’s really added up over the years, she notes: “Because of the way we do the installation, we’ve saved 260,000 tons of old countertops from going to landfills.”
And, for those who value customer service, Granite Transformations is locally owned and operated, and doesn’t sub-contract installation. If you have any questions or concerns, you’ll be talking directly to your local team.
Contact Granite Transformations to learn more, or stop by their showroom at or stop by their showroom at suite 11524 Mukilteo Speedway #101.
READ MORE: ‘Mom knows best’: Meet the Mukilteo family transforming local home
READ MORE: 5 steps to a new kitchen? it really is that easy!
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