Introducing Richlite

Countertop Specialists is proud to announce that we will have joined the network of companies fabricating and installing Richlite. Countertop Specialists has already been premiere provider of the Richlite competitor Paperstone. The addition of Richlite to our companies product offering will help to assure that Countertop Specialists customers have access to the greatest choices of countertop materials.

Here is some more information regarding Richlite:

Richlite FSC has a matte finish that brings a warm soft ambience to a room that's rarely
achieved through stone or solid surfaces. The versatile material is dense and durable, heat
resistant up to 350 degrees, and stain resistant. Beyond countertops, Richlite is a popular
surface material for wall caps, stair treads, work surfaces and related architectural applications.

Richlite FSC comes in seven colors with names that reflect natural and historic landmarks near
Richlite's headquarters in Tacoma, Washington: Yellow Island, Blue Canyon, Redstone, Black
Diamond, Chocolate Glacier, Browns Point and Green Mountain.

In addition to FSC certification, Richlite products are GREENGUARD certified for indoor use in
residential, school and institutional environments, as well as contribute to LEED points.

Richlite Benefits:
Dense and durable nonporous construction
Stain resistant
Heat resistant
Able to accommodate long spans and cantilevers without additional support

Richlite has also recently begun to offer 2 colors R50 and R100 that contain 50 and 100 percent post consumer recycled paper respectively.

RJ Walter Homes acknowleged for Greenest house

It appears that more people are catching on to the significance of the achivement of RJ Walter Homes who was recently awarded "Green House of the Year" by Green Builder Magazine. We had mentioned this here previously. Yesterday KCRA interviewed Gai Kirkegaard at the site of the home which was recently sold after a series of events hosted by SMUD.

The Mormon Street project was only the second home built in the state to achive the Platinum Certification from the USGBC. The project was a partnership between RJ Walter Homes, SMUD, and a variety of participating manufacturers and contractors, in order to build a home that was effienet as well as provided for mdern conveneince and aestetic. Countertop Specialists was proud to be amongts the many partners on the project. Countertop Specialists was able to garner the interest of manufacturers Paperstone and Vetrazzo to contribute steeply discounted materials for the project. Paperstone was utilized in the kitchen, laundry, and master bath areas while the Vetrazzo product was used on the island in the kitchen as well as the fireplace surround. The Vetrazzo island was repeatedly identified as on of the more stunning design features of the home.

The RJ Walter Homes Project featured a myriad of innovative products and construction methods that soon likely find their way into other homes seeking to achive similar energy costs savings and decreased impace on the environment.

a HOT ITALIAN in Sacramento

Countertop Specialists is excited to have the opportunity to work on the highly anticipated HOT ITALIAN restaurant located at the old Youngs Fireside building at 16th and O streets in Sacramento. Our portion of the project is nearly completed. Countertop Specialists is fabricating and installing all of the Paperstone used in the restaurant. Paperstone is being utilized throughout the restaruant as wall bars, seating, tables, fixtures, and countertops.

The restaurant has not yet opened and has been the subject of much press and industry attention. With posts on regional blogs and Sacramento area papers, the restaurant has also already hosted a myrid of events for area associations: the The Sacramento Branch of the Northern California Chapter of the United States Green Building Councel (USGBC-NCC), the Central Valley American Institute of Architects (AIA), and the BIA of Central California. All of these orginizations regarded as the the captians of their industries have turned their collective attention towards this project.

So why has this restaruant garnered such attention? HOT ITALIAN will be the first resaturant in the Greater Sacramento area to receive a LEED certification from the USGBC. The restaurant is also a participant in a pilot program for the USGBC. That means that not only is the restaurant being built to the highest of environmental standards, but is also participating in establishing the benchmark that future resaurants will be measured. However, it does not stop there. The restauranteurs have already begun installing equipment for food composting, a program not promoted by the LEED program.

It should also be said that in my personal attendance to the events hosted at HOT ITALIAN, their pizza lives up to its name well. While I am not a food critic, the pizza served up by Fabrizio, the chef imported from the Italian Riviera, is unmatched by any pizza I have ever tasted. Look for more infomation in the press and our website as the restaurant opens shortly.

Caesastone Joins in on Recycled Materials

Recently we posted about the new products available from Zodiaq by Dupont. It would appear that when we stated that Zodiaq was the only company providing quartz products with recycled content. We now stand corrected. On January the 19th Ceasarstone announced their collection of 6 different colors offering recyled content. Consumers and commercial designers will now have these colors to choose from:

Carbone, Marrone, Ruby Reflections, Quartz Reflections, Smoky Ash and Chocolate Truffle.

As stated in the Caesarstone Press Release:

Ruby and Quartz Reflections have been two of CaesarStone’s colors for the past several years. The colors contain post-consumer recycled glass.

Carbone and Marrone colors both contain recycled CaesarStone material. These wondrous colors are created by taking remnants from fabricators after production and mixing in new CaesarStone material. These two shades are only available in New York, the Northwest or by special order.

The two new additions in 2009 to the Recycled Collection are Chocolate Truffle and Smoky Ash. They are both comprised of post-consumer recycled glass.

We will look forward to further details from Caesarstone regarding the quantities of recycled content and how the material will help organizations meet their LEED objectives.