TopStone Granite cuts, installs and repairs stone countertops for Baltimore City homeowners, landlords and restaurant owners. Our shop is in Northeast Baltimore on Moravia Park Drive, wedged between I-95 and Pulaski Highway, so we are a city business working in city houses.
We bring 15+ years in the trade and more than 650 finished jobs to every kitchen we take on. TopStone is licensed and insured under MHIC #145977, and you can check that number on the state's MHIC license lookup.
City jobs come with conditions the suburbs rarely throw at us: steep interior stairs, kitchens as narrow as a hallway, and floors that settled a century ago. Below is how we handle them, what Baltimore City DHCD expects on permits, and which neighborhoods we cover.
Most of the countertop calls we get from inside the city line fall into a handful of groups. Each one shapes how we measure, which material we suggest, and how we schedule the install.
A 3 cm granite top weighs roughly 18 to 20 pounds per square foot, so a single 10-foot section is a heavy, rigid piece that cannot bend around a corner. In a rowhome, the route from the curb to the kitchen decides the layout as much as the cabinets do.
At the template visit we walk the whole route: front steps, front door, vestibule, hallway and any stair turn. Many rowhome kitchens sit at the back of the first floor, so the stone travels the full depth of the house.
Basement kitchens and second-floor units add a stair landing to the problem. If a piece cannot make a turn, we split it at a planned joint rather than finding out on install day.
A galley run of 12 feet or more often needs a seam for access alone. The question is where it lands.
We keep seams away from the sink and cooktop, set them over a cabinet joint where possible, and line up the pattern across the joint. Our countertop seam matching page shows how vein direction and color are carried across a seam.
Canton, Fells Point and Federal Hill sit inside residential permit parking areas, and many blocks are one-way with no driveway. Fells Point's Belgian block streets and back alleys add their own carry challenges.
For blocks with little curb space, Baltimore City DOT issues temporary reserved parking signs that must be posted days in advance. We talk through parking with you when we schedule the install.
Homeowners who want a full planning checklist can read our guide to installing countertops in a Baltimore rowhome.
Much of Baltimore's housing was built before World War II, and a house that old has moved. Joists sag toward the middle of the row, plaster walls bow, and corners are rarely a true 90 degrees.
Stone does not flex the way laminate does. If a long top rests on cabinets that dip in the middle, it can crack under its own weight months later, so we check the cabinet tops for level before we template.
Where cabinets are out, they get shimmed flat first. Where a plaster wall waves, we scribe the back edge of the stone to follow it, so the gap behind the top stays tight and even.
Permits in the city run through the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), Permits and Inspections. DHCD's general rule is that you need a permit when you change, install or replace electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing systems, while minor repairs usually do not.
In practice, that splits countertop jobs into two kinds:
Rules change, so check your project against Baltimore City DHCD's permit guidance before you finalize a new layout. Your written quote will spell out which parts of the job we handle and which need a licensed plumber or electrician.
From the shop, we typically reach most city neighborhoods in about 10 to 25 minutes, using I-95, I-895, Moravia Road, Harford Road or Pulaski Highway depending on the side of town.
Canton, Fells Point, Federal Hill and Locust Point. Narrow brick rowhomes, permit parking and long carries from the curb are the norm here.
Patterson Park and Highlandtown. Two and three-story rowhomes, many with formstone fronts, and long kitchens at the rear of the house.
Hampden, Remington, Charles Village, Mount Vernon and Bolton Hill. Mill-era rows, large three-story townhouses near Johns Hopkins, and 19th-century homes split into condos.
Roland Park and Homeland. Early planned neighborhoods of detached houses from the late 1800s through the 1920s, with larger kitchens and plaster walls throughout.
Lauraville, Hamilton and Belair-Edison. Detached houses, bungalows and rowhomes along Harford Road and Belair Road, a few minutes from Moravia Park Drive.
Harbor East, Fells Point and Canton have some of the densest restaurant and bar strips in the region. Commercial stone has to handle spills, cleaning chemicals and constant use, and the install has to fit around service.
Food service renovations in the city often move on a schedule set by the general contractor and the Baltimore City Health Department's plan review. We fit templating, fabrication and setting into that schedule, and you can ask us about working around your service hours.
Our restaurant countertops page covers bar tops, service counters and material choices for commercial kitchens.
Older housing creates its own failure patterns, and knowing them helps you decide whether to repair or replace.
You can read what customers say about us on our Google Business Profile, or email photos of a damaged top to info@topstonegranite.com so we can tell you what we see.
Usually, yes, but the stair decides the size of each piece. We check the stairwell width, ceiling height and landing turns at the template visit and split the top at a planned seam if needed. That way the seam is placed for looks, not forced on install day.
Replacing tops on existing cabinets with the sink in the same spot is generally treated as finish work in Baltimore City. Moving the sink, adding plumbing or relocating gas or electrical usually needs permits through DHCD. Check your plan with DHCD before you commit to a new layout.
Yes. The shop is at 5921 Moravia Park Dr b6 in Northeast Baltimore, near I-95 and Pulaski Highway. We are open Monday to Saturday from 7:00am to 9:30pm and Sunday from 9:00am to 9:00pm.
Yes. Send us your building's contractor requirements, such as insurance certificates, elevator booking and work hours, when you request a quote. We plan delivery and install around them.
Perimeter runs, islands and peninsulas planned around how you cook, with seams placed before cutting.
New and replacement countertops templated, fabricated and set on your cabinets, with old tops removed.
Seams placed away from sinks and stress points, then tinted, leveled and pulled tight.
Chips, cracks, worn edges and split seams repaired on granite, quartz and marble.
Bar tops and service counters built for spills and scheduled around your opening date.
Our crews travel from the shop on Moravia Park Drive in Northeast Baltimore to homes and businesses across Baltimore City.
TopStone Granite
5921 Moravia Park Dr b6, Baltimore, MD 21206
(667) 400-3297
Most city addresses are a short drive from our Moravia Park Drive shop, so tell us your neighborhood, your layout and what is going in. We will set up a measure and send a written quote.
Call (667) 400-3297