Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, marble is safe for your fireplace or fire box. Marble has been used for hundreds of years as a decorative surround facing around fire boxes. You can visit French Chateaus, Italian Palaces, temples, and English Castles that have had marble surrounds installed and they look great to this day. Marble is a natural stone and has qualities that make it naturally resistant to fire. We’ve found marble to be one of the superior products to install around a fire box. Other natural stones that are safe to install include but are not limited to limestone, travertine, sandstone, and granite.

Yes, our cast stone is fire rated and can be installed around a fire box. Cast stone or GFRC is an aggregate of limestone and other materials. We have been using it to install around fireplace mantels for several decades.

 For most fire boxes to get started we would need 2 simple measurements: the height and the width of the firebox. Then we would work with you to figure how tall and wide you would want you mantel surround facing. This measuring guide is applicable for all our marble, cast stone and limestone surrounds.

Yes, is the short answer. But why would you want to paint a real marble fireplace? The real stone is much more beautiful and more valuable. If you decide to go through with painting the marble make sure that the paint can with stand the heat. Also if you stone is ie limestone, travertine or marble is polished you would first need to thoroughly sand it until the glossy polish is removed. You would want to use a fine sandpaper so that it does not leave deep groves in the stone. Once the top layer is sanded it should have a matte or flat finish. Then use a paint that is designated for stone. Your local hardware store or paint supplier can direct you to the right paint.

We offer installation across the US. Please call us for pricing. This includes areas like Florida, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, California, New Jersey, Texas and other areas. You can call us with questions or email us.

Cast stone fireplace installation is offered by us. Please give us a call 888-652-0106 or email us with any questions. We install cast stone mantels in New York, Connecticut, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, California, Florida and other parts of the US. Give us a call with any questions you may have about installing a surround.

We use a variety of real stones and limestone cast. Some of the real stones include marble, limestone, sandstone, travertine and granite. Each of those comes in several different colors. We also offer GFRC or cast stone. Cast stone can be made in different textures and colors. Here is a link to better explain the different stone materials that we use.

Cast stone is a man made stone. Our cast stone is made from limestone giving it the best look and highest quality. Another name for it is GFRC. Precast is a lower quality faux stone. Our cast stone comes in various colors and textures. Follow those links for more information.

Artisan Kraft also has a large fireplace showroom in Chicago. We also have offices Los Angeles, California. You can view many great marble, limestone and travertine mantel options. We have cast stone overmantels and surrounds up as well. There you can also view our stone sinks and marble bathtubs. If you are out of state you can schedule an appointment to Skype or FaceTime to view the mantels.