Riverside Custom Countertops has become the Inland Empire's leading specialist in marble slab countertops, specializing in honed Carrara marble, Calacatta marble islands, and marble wet bar tops. We offer polished marble perimeters, a kitchen island top in Calacatta and a full-height slab backsplash.
Our team provides vein layout on a digital template, delivering timeless kitchens for homes and elegant bar and reception tops for both residential and commercial projects. Twelve years in business, more than 1,870 projects and a 1-year workmanship warranty on seams, fit and sink mounting stand behind us, from an 18 sq ft wet bar to a full marble kitchen with a waterfall end.
From ogee and eased edge profiles to sealing the slab before the first glass of wine touches it, our team handles every detail. Serving Riverside and neighboring Villa Park, Yorba Linda and Corona, we set marble with honest advice on how it will age in a working kitchen.
Book a free estimate, and we will show you honed and polished samples of the same marble side by side.
What you can hold us to
Honed marble has a matte, satin finish that hides etch marks and fine scratches, while polished marble shows the deepest colour and veining but every dull ring from lemon or vinegar. Neither finish stops etching, because marble is calcite or dolomite and any acid reacts with it. Honed is slightly more porous, so it takes sealer more often; polished resists stains a little better and shows wear sooner.
| Finish | Looks | Etch marks | Est. sealing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polished | Glossy, deepest veining | Very visible dull spots | Typically every 3 to 6 months |
| Honed | Matte, soft and light | Blend into the surface | Typically every 3 to 6 months |
| Leathered | Textured, hides water spots | Partly hidden by texture | Typically every 3 to 6 months |
For a working family kitchen in Norco or Eastvale we usually suggest honed; for a powder bar or a showpiece island that sees little lemon juice, polished earns its shine.
Robert, smallest incorporated city in Orange County estate home, Villa Park
Den wet bar where the homeowner wanted real marble
Investment and duration figures are estimates. Your written quote sets the final price and schedule.
Robert, at an estate home in Villa Park, the smallest incorporated city in Orange County, wanted real marble on his den wet bar instead of a marble-look quartz. We recommended honed Carrara marble, which shows etching far less than polished, and sealed it at install. His 18 sq ft wet bar was an estimated $1,500 to $2,200 project and took an estimated 3 to 5 hours on site. The result was a soft matte bar top, and Robert got his care instructions in writing so the first cocktail spill did not become a surprise.
Marble belongs where its softness costs little: wet bars, baking stations, powder rooms, fireplace surrounds and low-traffic islands. It is a poor fit for the main prep run beside the sink in a busy kitchen, or for an outdoor kitchen in Inland Empire sun, where outdoor kitchen granite tops are the better buy. Many Yorba Linda and Woodcrest homeowners split the difference, with marble on the island and quartz or granite on the perimeter where the cutting happens.
Etching is a chemical change, not a stain: acids such as lemon, tomato, wine and vinegar dissolve the calcite surface and leave a dull mark that a sealer cannot block. A stain is something soaking in, which sealing does slow down. Marble also rates only 3 to 4 on the Mohs scale, so it scratches more easily than granite at 6 to 7.
Moving marble is its own risk: a 3cm slab is heavy and brittle across veins, and a crack during the carry is a lost slab. Our crews of 2 to 3 installers per kitchen, 3 to 4 for waterfall islands, carry each piece on an A-frame and set it on level cabinets, which is why marble is not a weekend project.
Marble countertop installation in Riverside is estimated at roughly $80 to $195 per sq ft installed, and the marble's origin, the finish and how much vein matching the layout needs move the price most. Carrara sits at the lower end of that band and Calacatta near the top, because Calacatta slabs are rarer and the bold veins waste more stone when they are matched across a seam.
Tear-out, laser template, new 3cm tops, undermount sink and eased edge
Standard 40 x 80 inch island, overhang support checked
Mitered vertical panel with the vein carried down the side
Slab from countertop to the upper cabinets or hood
Granite rated for sun and heat on a block or steel BBQ island
12 to 20 sq ft bar top with a bar sink cutout
Added to a replacement job; old tops removed and recycled
Investment and duration figures are estimates. Your written quote sets the final price and schedule.
| Job | Est. investment | Est. duration on site |
|---|---|---|
| Wet bar or home bar top | Est. $750 to $2,400 per bar top | Est. 3 to 5 hours |
| Kitchen island top | Est. $1,600 to $3,400 per island top | Est. 3 to 6 hours |
| Kitchen countertop replacement (30 to 45 sq ft) | Est. $2,100 to $4,800 per kitchen | Est. 1 to 2 days |
| Full-height slab backsplash | Est. $600 to $3,000 per backsplash | Est. 1 to 2 days |
A bar top is the most common marble job we set, and Robert's Villa Park bar landed inside that estimated $750 to $2,400 line. Old countertop tear-out and haul-away is typically estimated at $150 to $500 when marble replaces an existing top.
Marble figures here are estimates, and they may change with slab availability. Your written quote after the laser template sets the final price and the install schedule, and it depends on the marble you choose, the finish and how many seams need vein matching.
Marble gives the softest look and the most care, quartzite gives a similar look with far more hardness, and marble-look quartz gives the pattern with no sealing at all. The table compares them by estimated installed price and upkeep.
| Material | Est. installed price | Upkeep |
|---|---|---|
| Marble | Est. $80 to $195 per sq ft | Etches; resealed often |
| Natural quartzite | Est. $85 to $185 per sq ft | Sealed at install, resists etching |
| Engineered quartz | Est. $65 to $145 per sq ft | Never needs sealing |
A Calacatta-look quartz is what Elena chose for her Canyon Crest waterfall island, and it is the honest alternative when a busy kitchen wants the look without the etching.
If the etching risk worries you, compare etch-tested quartzite or marble-look quartz countertops, and for heat and outdoor use our granite slab installs, estimated at $55 to $135 per sq ft, are the tougher pick.
In 12 years of cutting stone, our owner has learned to walk the slab yard with marble buyers and turns down slabs with open fissures before they reach the saw. Every marble top leaves our Riverside shop with written care notes, and the 1-year workmanship warranty covers seams, fit and sink mounting.
Most of our marble work is in Villa Park estate homes and Yorba Linda kitchens, with marble bars and islands set across Riverside, Chino Hills, Corona, Norco, Eastvale, Woodcrest and Temescal Valley, all within a 35-mile radius on our full service area list.
Marble shows best on a full-height marble backsplash, a kitchen island in marble or a waterfall edge island where the vein runs down the side.
Marble is estimated at roughly $80 to $195 per sq ft installed, and your written quote sets the final price after the laser template.
Choose honed for a working kitchen because etch marks blend into the matte finish, and polished for a showpiece that sees little acid.
No, sealing slows stains but cannot stop acid etching, because the acid reacts with the stone itself.
Most kitchens typically need marble resealed every 3 to 6 months, and we seal it on install day.
We do not recommend it in Inland Empire sun; granite such as the leathered Absolute Black granite on Ray's Sierra Bella BBQ island is the outdoor stone we install instead.
Most bar tops take an estimated 3 to 5 hours on site, typically 1 to 3 weeks after the laser template.
Yes, Villa Park and Yorba Linda are where most of our marble goes, along with Riverside and Chino Hills.
Contact us for a free estimate, and we will bring honed and polished samples, laser template your space and write an itemized quote.
Start to finish
We check the cabinets for level and take a digital laser template before any slab is cut.
You pick the slab and approve where every seam and vein will fall.
The stone is cut wet, edged and polished in our Riverside shop, cutouts included.
A crew of 2 to 3 installers sets the tops, mounts the sink and walks the job with you.
Where we work
Call us or send the form, and we will book a site visit and a laser template.
Calls only, we do not receive text messages.
