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540 W Lunt Ave
Schaumburg, IL 60193
847.985.6000 |
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Stone
Works handles all the work |
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D
& D Natural Stone Works in Schaumburg has been providing
personalized service and quality products such as counter
tops since 1986.
According to Bill Giovacchini,
owner along with John DiMare, there were very few stone
businesses when the D & D Natural Stone Works first
opened.
"Now it seems as though there are hundreds
of stone companies," says Giovacchini. "Where
we have our advantage is that our customers get to deal
with the owners of the business."
D & D Natural Stone Works handles the
entire process of placing stone in the home or business
from the estimate to the installation.
"You
know who you're going to have measuring and you know who's
going to be installing the stone," says Giovacchini.
"You can buy stone at a lot of places, but here it's
a guarantee that the same people are going to work with
you from start to finish."
Giovacchini
says that they primarily deal with marble and granite
but will work with any natural stone such as limestone.
D & D Natural Stone Works completes many jobs for
homes and businesses D & D Natural Stone Works completes
many |
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jobs for homes and businesses including kitchen and bathrooms,
counter tops, bars, custom furniture such as din¬Ming
room tables, fireplace surrounds, and much more.
Giovacchini
says that the majority of the jobs use slab work which
involves measuring the space and cutting, edging, and
polishing slabs of stone. D & D Natural Stone Works
travels with much of the equipment allowing them to make
modifications on-site.
The stone slabs
are initially selected from a wholesaler. D & D Natural
Stone Works then works on the slabs with a variety tools
such as bridge saws, edge-working equipment, and several
other hand tools. The stone slabs are edge-polished and
sometimes shaped for pieces like a bathroom sink.
Giovacchini says that they also work with
groups such as country clubs, bars, and countertops for
businesses such as bakeries. For more information, please
call
847-985-6000.
As Published in:
Northwest Suburban Profiles 2003 |
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Stone
designer
turns slabs into
works of art |
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| John
DiMare, co-owner of Stone Works in Schaumburg, in the showroom
with slabs of stone from around the world |
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His
floors,counters
are hard to knock
By Leslie Mann
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| At
the rear of a non- descript building in a non-descript office
park in Schaumburg is what looks like Goliath’s rock collection-5
by 8 foot slabs of stone, several inches thick, from all over
the world. There’s onyx from Turkey, granite from India,
quartzite from Brazil, limestone from |
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France
and marble from Italy.
The slabs await the artistry
of John Dimare, stone designer and co-owner of Stone Works Inc.
He and his partner Bill Giovacchini, design stone countertops,
fireplace surrounds, hearths, shower and bathroom walls and
floors for homes in Illinois and southern Wisconsin.
Some homeowners buy directly from Stone Works. Others buy through
their architects, builders or designers. Homeowners need not
get past the lobby, though, to see a sampling of stone that
DiMare uses. Here, his crew created a 120-squarefoot mosaic
wall that showcases the range of colors and textures of natural
stone.
“Five years ago, most people didn't know what stone
they wanted,” says DiMare, a Buffalo Grove resident. “They
just knew they wanted something natural. But, now, they’ve
seen stone in homes and magazines |
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A slab of granite is cut with a diamond blade. Granite is a
popular choice for kitchen countertops. |
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| and they’re
more educated. They ask the right questions, like, ‘Is
it absorbent?’ or ‘Can it be scratched?’ |
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stone becomes more prevalent in homes, says DiMare, people are
more apt to choose colorful varieties. “At first, everyone
wanted black-granite countertops, for example,” he says.
“Now they’ll choose reds or greens.” DiMare
says he tries to steer homeowners toward stone that is suitable
for certain applications. Granite is better for countertops
than marble, for example, because it is less absorbent. |
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DiMare
recommends marble or slate for bathrooms walls. Most stones
are hard enough for residential floors, says DiMare, although
not all can take years of commercial traffic.
After
a customer chooses a type of stone, DiMare drafts a blueprint
of the application and estimates the cost of the project. He
learned drafting at the University of Illinois, where he studied
architecture after the customer ok’s the design, DiMare
turns the blueprint over to his team of “fabricators”
who shape the stone. Another, separate team handles installation.
For elaborate pieced jobs, such as mosaic floors, they number
each piece to correspond with the blueprint. Then, the installers
assemble them on the job like a jigsaw puzzle.
For
a piece such as a countertop, DiMare prepares a template before
his fabricators cut the raw material. Stone Works’ 1,000
or so orders each year range from $300 vanity tops to $750,000
whole house projects. The price of a stone piece depends on
the size and type of stone, surface type (polished, matte, etched)
and type of edging. |
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Imported
stone is not necessarily more expensive than domestic, say DiMare.
Nor is it more exotic. One of the more unusual stones in his
collection is fossil stone, with imprints of ancient sea creatures,
from Texas. Although most of Stone Works’ customers have
pricey homes, its client roster includes homeowners of modest
means who use stone to dress up Jane homes.
Off-duty,
Dimare plays soccer on a men’s team and coaches his daughter’s
and an adult/teen team. He and his wife, Nadine, a school social
worker, have traveled to some countries where the stone is mined.
Will his suppliers ever run out? Not hardly, says
DiMare. “They’re still taking stone from the quarry
in Italy where Michelangelo’s David came from,: he says.
“There’s so much there, they haven’t even
made a dent.” Call John Dimare at 847-985-6000 or
e-mail him at Juventus32@aol.com.
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