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"People want a certain thing but they don't always realize how difficult it can be," Fontana said, "and many times we've had to come up with a new process."One such challenge that stands out clearly in his memory was an order for a kitchen countertop made of one solid piece of granite, so it wouldn't leak and never would have to be patched or repaired.
They did it, Fontana said. The finished 1-1/4-inch thick piece of granite fit over a stove island of about 6 by 6 feet and had a large, deep, three-sided indent for a cooktop stove, plus a small wet bar sink cut into the other side. The only breaks in the solid granite were the holes drilled for the pipes.Another job they don't see every day was an order for a solid granite fireplace, again with no breaks or separate pieces to let heat or ashes escape, Fontana recalled.The cost of this kind of work is around $60 to $80 a square foot, he said.Like cemetery memorials, stone signs and markers are being chosen by business and public entities for their durability, he said."Cities and counties are buying granite signs because they can't be vandalized," he said.Some of his local customers have included Skyline College in San Bruno, Burlingame High School and Chabot College in Hayward. One of the larges projects was a seven-ton office sign now at the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. offices at Bayhill Office Park in San Bruno.The Portola Discovery Site monument on Sweeney Ridge in Pacifica and the 50th anniversary monument at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco came from the Fontana shop.On the more esoteric side, Fontana's plant has been turning out dining table-sized round "service plates" of granite for Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, which requires very stable bases resistant to heat and other damage for some of its experimental work.Fontana noted that his company is the last "self-contained" manufacturer of granite products in the United States.
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