TopStone Granite fabricates, installs and repairs stone countertops for homeowners across Howard County, from Columbia's villages to old Ellicott City and the newer neighborhoods around them. We drive in from our shop on Moravia Park Drive in Northeast Baltimore.
TopStone has 15+ years in the countertop trade and more than 650 completed jobs. We are licensed and insured under MHIC #145977, which you can confirm on the state MHIC license search.
Howard County homes split into two very different jobs. Columbia's planned villages are full of 1970s and 1980s townhomes still wearing their first kitchens, while Ellicott City runs from a 1772 mill town to subdivisions built in the last 20 years.
From our shop, we typically reach Columbia in about 35 to 45 minutes, taking I-895 or I-95 south to Elkridge and then MD-100 or MD-175 west. Ellicott City is typically 30 to 40 minutes, via the Beltway's west side to US-40, or I-95 south to MD-100 and US-29.
Most Howard County requests fall into these groups:
Columbia was founded by developer James Rouse, and its first village, Wilde Lake, was dedicated in 1967. The city grew village by village around Lake Kittamaqundi and Town Center, with River Hill, the newest village, filling in during the 1990s.
Wilde Lake, Harper's Choice and Oakland Mills hold many of Columbia's oldest townhomes and condos. Kitchens are often galley or L-shaped, with a short peninsula and cabinet boxes that have been refaced more than once.
New stone on a 40 to 50-year-old cabinet base works only if the boxes are square and solid. We check every base before templating and flag any that will not carry stone.
These villages mix townhome courts with single-family streets. Many kitchens here have already had one update, often a 1990s laminate or tile top that is now ready to go.
Small kitchens make a single-slab layout possible more often, which avoids a seam entirely. Quartz suits these rooms well, since a consistent pattern makes a small kitchen look larger.
The later villages have more detached homes and larger kitchens with islands. Many still have the builder-grade granite they were sold with in the 1990s and 2000s.
Owners who want to keep an existing top that is in good shape but dull or worn can look at countertop resurfacing before committing to a full replacement.
Town Center is Columbia's downtown, around Lake Kittamaqundi, The Mall in Columbia and Merriweather Post Pavilion. Its condos and newer apartment buildings usually have management rules for deliveries, elevators and work hours.
We ask for those rules when we schedule, so the stone arrives when the building expects it. Condo kitchens here are often compact enough for a single slab with no seam.
Ellicott City was founded in 1772 as a mill town on the Patapsco River. Buildings on the north side of Main Street are set against a steep granite hillside, and some use the bedrock as part of their back walls.
Homes in and around the historic district have thick stone or plaster walls that are rarely flat, stairs that turn tightly, and very little parking on Main Street's steep side streets. After the 2016 and 2018 floods, many buildings in the lower town have been rebuilt or renovated, so newer kitchens can sit behind old facades.
The Howard County Historic Preservation Commission requires a Certificate of Approval for exterior changes in the Ellicott City Historic District. Interior work, such as new kitchen countertops, does not go through that review.
West and north of the old town, newer subdivisions such as those around Turf Valley have open plans and islands of 8 feet or more. Those islands raise questions about seam placement and overhang support that we answer at the template visit.
Most homes in Columbia are on Columbia Association assessed property and covered by village covenants. Exterior alterations need approval from your village's Resident Architectural Committee before work starts.
For a built-in grill island or outdoor counter, villages typically ask for a site plan, a description of materials, color samples and dimensioned drawings. Your village office can tell you its deadlines and whether your project qualifies for faster staff processing.
Outside Columbia, many Ellicott City, Elkridge and Clarksville neighborhoods have their own HOA review instead. In both cases, get approval before you order stone, since the committee may ask for changes to size or color.
Our outdoor kitchen countertops page covers stone choices and base construction for exterior counters.
Building permits in Howard County come from the Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits (DILP), at 3430 Courthouse Drive in Ellicott City. The county requires permits for kitchen work that moves plumbing, changes electrical or alters structure.
Check your plans with Howard County DILP before you change a layout. Your written quote lists what we do and what needs a licensed plumber or electrician.
We cover all ten Columbia villages and the communities around them.
Generally, no. Village architectural review covers exterior alterations, and new countertops inside your home are interior work. An outdoor kitchen, patio counter or anything visible from outside usually does need approval first.
Both work well. Quartz needs no sealing and gives a consistent pattern that suits small kitchens, while granite handles heat better and each slab is unique. Many townhome owners choose quartz for a rental or a busy household and granite for a long-term home.
Interior work such as countertops does not go to the Historic Preservation Commission. A Certificate of Approval is needed for exterior changes. Plumbing or electrical changes still need Howard County DILP permits.
It depends on the comparable homes in your village and your timeline. Stone tops are common in updated listings, so a dated laminate kitchen can stand out next to them. Your real estate agent can tell you what recent sales nearby included, and we can quote the work so you can weigh it.
Usually, if the boxes are level, square and solid. Older village cabinets sometimes need repair or shimming before they can carry stone, and we point that out at the measure. It costs far less to fix a cabinet first than to repair a cracked top later.
Perimeter runs, islands and peninsulas planned around how you cook, with seams placed before cutting.
Low-maintenance engineered quartz in consistent colors and veined patterns.
Natural granite slabs chosen with you, then fabricated and installed for heat-heavy, busy kitchens.
Worn, scratched or hazy stone ground, honed and polished back to an even finish.
Grill island and patio bar tops in stone chosen to handle summer sun and winter freeze-thaw.
Our crews travel from the shop on Moravia Park Drive in Northeast Baltimore to homes and businesses across Columbia and Ellicott City.
TopStone Granite
5921 Moravia Park Dr b6, Baltimore, MD 21206
(667) 400-3297
Tell us your village or neighborhood, your cabinet layout and the look you want, and we will schedule a measure and send a written quote. If your project includes exterior work, ask us what to bring to your village architectural committee.
Call (667) 400-3297