Category Archives: Uncategorized

New sealer on the market!

Now you can have polished marble kitchen countertops without worring about it staining or etching!
This is a demonstration of a new sealer, called Vitremela™ UV cured coating for countertops – with hydrochloric acid, a blowtorch, and food dye. This new hybrid coating technology is super tough, beautifully clear and thin, and provides total protection from staining and from acid etching. Unlike other coatings, Vitremela™ is also highly heat resistant and is exposed to both full strength hydrochloric acid and a blowtorch in this video. This demonstration was done on a Calacatta marble slab. This product is similar to one called Clearstone, who has a 15 year warranty. With Vitremela, you never have to apply again!!
!“Previous to this breakthrough, the choice of marble (including polished marble) was often seen as risky due to the stone’s vulnerability to acid etching and staining — despite it being the preferred choice for many homeowners and designers,” the company stated. 


Dry-Treat has launched its latest innovation in sealing technology. VitremelaTM has been engineered to revolutionize the market for kitchen and bathroom marble usage. This pioneering technology has been formulated to not change the look of the marble, and it is totally stain- and acid-proof as well as highly scratch- and heat-resistant.

Vitremela is a clear, protective coating of approximately 50 microns thick that is suitable for all countertop materials, including all natural and engineered stone, tile and polished concrete.
Vitremela has been designed to retain the beauty of a countertop — in the kitchen or bathroom — by resisting acid spills (cola, vinegar, milk, lemon juice, etc.). Marble, limestone, travertine and concrete surfaces are also easier to clean once Vitremela has been professionally applied to the surface.
Vitremela is an inorganic hybrid, which means it resists fire, unlike many other sealants; and its chemical solution is so thin that the presentation of the surface is not altered, but rather enhanced.
According to Dry-Treat some of the latest UV (ultraviolet) cured epoxies and urethanes use nano particles for extra durability but can be very thick, scratch easily, have less than perfect clarity or a yellowish tinge. They may also need to be stripped before they can be re-applied, deteriorate quickly outdoors and may not be 100% acid proof. Vitremela is a unique hybrid technology with a greater number of stronger crosslinks between the molecules, so the cured coating is significantly thinner, with better clarity, harder, more scratch resistant, more heat resistant, 100% acid resistant and is easily repaired or recoated without stripping.  Vitremela is also an environmentally responsible zero-VOC product that is LEED and REACH compliant.
More information on Vitremela is on the Dry Treat Web site: www.drytreat.com.

Crocodile Rocks Update

As you all know we are open on Saturdays from 10:00am -5:00pm. On Saturdays we don’t generally move slabs (for selection or pick up). However from now on, the Owner of Crocodile Rocks, Mike Homchick will be working the first Saturday of the month. So this will give you a chance to meet him, ask questions and choose your exact slab! Mike has been in the stone industry for 38 years! So he knows all the In’s & outs of what you can do with stone, and of course what you can’t. You’ll know within the first 5 minutes of talking to him, that this is his passion! He loves to share all his tips & tricks that he’s learn from trial and error over the years. So come on down and experience what mother nature has to offer!

WE LOVE HOUZZ.COM! And here we are sharing another happy customer ;-)

Relationship: Client
Project Date: April 2013
Project Price: $1,000-$9,999

Very excited for ANOTHER 5 STAR!!

Relationship: Client
Project Date: July 2012
Project Price: $10,000-$49,999

5 star review on HOUZZ for Soapstone!

Relationship: Client
Project Date: September 2012
Project Price: $1,000-$9,999
We visited every major stone supplier in the Seattle area – some more than once – over the course of many months, looking for soapstone for our kitchen remodel. We finally found the stone we wanted at Crocodile Rocks and got a bid for installation from Michael Homchick, owner, and owner of related Homchick Stoneworks. Online reviews indicated they were not the least expensive folks around, but that their work was first-rate. We thought the total package was quite reasonable.

At the point we started our contractor was still doing construction, following which I had to build and install the kitchen cabinetry, so it was a rather extended process with an indeterminate timeline. Crocodile Rocks and Homchick Stoneworks were wonderfully patient and very clear about cabinetry details for successful stone installation.

Templating and installation went smoothly, including the very tricky and precise placement of cutouts in the backsplash for horizontal electrical outlets. We are very pleased with the results and the entire experience.