Real, cultured stone are solid choices in homes

The look and feel of cultured marble or natural stone isn't as expensive as one might think and may fit solidly within a remodeling budget.

"People are really surprised that cultured marble is as affordable as it is," said Kevin Scheer, president of Taylor Marble Co.

Denny Hush, owner of Ozark Mountain Granite Co., which deals in both natural and imitation stone, has similar comments about natural stone, specifically granite.

"Because more and more people are coming to use stone, the cost of stone is coming down," Hush said. He said the cost of stone $50 to $150 a square foot is due to differences such as type of stone selected, edge detail and labor involved.

Hush is finding owners in $100,000 to $150,000 houses using stone. He said that about 10 years ago most would have been in homes in the $500,000-plus range.

Cultured marble is typically used for such things as jetted bathtubs, tubs, bathroom vanity tops and showers.

Depending on the installer, materials and size of the project, cultured marble showers can be installed for about $750 and up. A cultured marble jetted tub would be about $1,500 to install, and a typical kitchen countertop would start about $2,500.

"We don't tear anything out. We work hand-in-hand with the remodeler where they do the demolition and they work with us on the installation," Scheer said.

Hush said typical use for the natural stone is countertops, fireplaces and bathroom areas.

"There are several benefits as far as granite goes," Hush said. "It's one of the hardest materials and is scratch-resistant. With proper maintenance and sealing it remains stain resistant. It has a natural look only stones will have and thousands of kinds of stones are available. That makes it appealing to designers and architects."

Cultured marble

Man-made stone has some advantages over products like ceramic tile; since cultured marble is cast in molds it allows for customization of size, shape and color. Cultured marble is a cast polymer made from ground marble, said Marvin Prosser, president of Ozarks Cultured Marble.

Taylor Marble offers 50 different colors of cultured marble.

"The biscuit color is very popular right now, along with the standard white. We can also do white with colored swirls," Scheer said.

Said Hush: "The advantage of the man-made stone is the colors are very consistent. That's one reason why architects like to use it in commercial use. Natural stone varies from slab to slab."

Scheer and Prosser list ease of cleaning as a major benefit of cultured marble, as is the ability to create the product to suit needs and wants.

Prosser said versatility is a key to cultured marble designs.

"The fact that we can work in a customizing situation and make a product to fit almost any size, and make a product to fill handicapped needs, probably is our true usefulness to the remodeling industry," Prosser said.

Trends

One trend in the business is bigger showers, Scheer said. Taylor Marble manufactures a 5-by-6-foot shower. "A lot of people (also) are going to a shower area and a drying area with no door," Scheer said.

In the kitchen, Hush said many customers are opting to change out just their countertops.

"One of the major things people are opting to do is change out countertops not cabinets, putting in granite countertops when making a kitchen remodel."

Another trend is cutting 3-centimeter stone instead of 2-centimeter stone.

"It costs less to do the 3-centimeter stone because with the 2-centimeter, we have to laminate the edge to make it appear thicker," Hush said.

While most people opt for a standard use of stone and man-made stone, the uses can be quite varied.

"We've done fountains and waterfalls. I don't think there's anything I haven't seen," Hush said. One of those is a 22-foot waterfall in a newly constructed home.