Morningstar Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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How do your prices compare with other custom stone interior providers?
Pricing has many variables. Included are timing, job complexity, rarity of stone, attention to the utmost fit and finish, among others. Morningstar Marble & Granite is not the low price leader in our market category, and we are proud of that. Why? Morningstar’s sole focus is on quality, the highest quality, from design to fabrication to installation. It is why we are viewed by peers, by contractors, and by homeowners as the quality leader, devoted to craftsmanship, and superlative work. If you are looking for the most inexpensive approach to your job, and if lowest cost is far more important than quality to you, then Morningstar will probably not be your best fit. That’s ok! We think it is important for customers to know who we are, but also who we are not.
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All the providers pretty much carry the same stone and samples, right?
No. We are proud to say that there are some stones that Morningstar carries on hand at our facility in Topsham as well as some stones that we have access to, that only we can provide in the state of Maine. Here is one good example. Morningstar is the exclusive Maine distributor of the African stone series in collaboration with G and L of Atlanta, Georgia. The African series includes some of the rarest, most stunningly unique and beautiful stones that man has ever seen.
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What is your guarantee? What does it and does it not cover?
Morningstar has the most complete and highest quality service guarantee in the industry. We support our work 100% and are consistently told by contractors and customers how amazed they are at how far we will go to assure their complete satisfaction. Simply, we stand behind any service aspect, let us repeat please, ANY service aspect, that was a result of human hands or machine. Notice that we say human hands or machine. For example, if there is a slight anomaly in your stone, caused by the earth’s creation, a natural blemish that human hands or machine did not create just time and geological energies – that is not part of our guarantee. Part of owning natural stone is the potential of a slight, perceived imperfection or small pattern in the rock. In short, it is the nature of nature and a telling difference between fake stone and real stone.
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Where would one really notice this quality difference that you speak of?
Fit and finish are two great places to start. How do seams fit together? How smooth is the finish? How do the edges feel when you run fingers across all angles? From design to fabrication to installation, has the process and service attention been of the utmost quality and satisfaction? Is the resulting work capable of appearing in national magazines and publications as many of Morningstar’s case studies have? What do your friends say? Morningstar countertops and vanities look and feel of higher quality because they are. Our contractors often tell us they can tell the difference between a Morningstar job and one of our volume-quantity oriented peers. We also have been amazed at the number of re-installs we have performed of other companies work. Some customers unfortunately realize halfway through a job or later, that the quality difference was much more noticeable than they had anticipated.
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What is your primary service area? How far will you travel for a job?
Morningstar’s primary service area is the state of Maine. Depending on the job and the need, we do work sporadically outside the state, especially coastal New Hampshire and Northeastern Massachusetts. We are always happy to review your unique situation and recommend an approach best for you, even if it does not involve us.
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How do we go about visiting your showroom and taking a facility tour?
We welcome scheduled appointments to the showroom and our production facility in Topsham. Because so much of the work that we do is unique, specialized, highly custom and premier, it is often difficult for us to spend the time we want to with our customers without advance notice. If an unannounced visit is unavoidable, we will do our very best to serve you, but we might have to schedule another time for a full tour and consultation.
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Do you recommend a contractor to be involved in the job or can we work direct with you?
For the sake of the most successful job and work experience, we do recommend a contractor to be involved in every project. There are many reasons for this that we would be happy to review. If you do not have a contractor, we can help refer one. That said, Morningstar will take on some limited work where a contractor is not involved. This however will necessitate an even deeper collaborative relationship between each other as well as a degree of learning and understanding that you may wish to avoid. We can talk about it and see what is best for you.
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There are so many man-made stone surfaces out there that are available, why natural stone?
The timeless beauty, incredible look, feel, inspiring detail, durability, and sheer history of natural stone is unmatched by anything man has come up with to date. There is certainly a place for fake stone in some people’s homes and in some budgets, but it can never be compared with the real thing. For many, having something in their home so old, so beautiful, so natural, forged by centuries of earth’s evolutionary process, is simply, breathtaking. After your first dinner party with the new countertop, jot down some of the comments, many of our customers have.
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Are natural stone countertops and vanities all that you do?
We specialize in highest custom quality countertops and vanities, along with other stone interiors like fireplace surrounds, window treatments, and entryways. We refer on most if not all exterior work. Morningstar believes in focus and the position that we have maintained in the industry as the utmost custom quality provider of natural stone interiors, particularly countertops and vanities. We have a laser vision on this premier quality approach, from design to fabrication to installation, including customer service, education, support and after-care. We feel our industry has become too vertical, trying to sell and service a number of stone interiors, exteriors, and products. It has diluted in our opinion the ability to be the absolute best in the area that launched the industry. We don’t do it all, we just want to do what we do the best, and have the case studies and customer testimonials to support it.
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