Be sure to get the real thing!
Hi Tom,
I am just beginning my research on buying granite for my kitchen. Luckily I found your website! I had someone come to my house to measure my counter tops and give me an estimate. My question is this, How do I know if I am getting prefabricated granite? The owner of this establishment told me I can have any standard edge and a middle of the road granite counter top, 1 1/4 thick. He measured 47 1/2 square feet and gave me a price of $3,700 including a new sink and removal of old counter and installation of new counter. He told me to come to the showroom (a store front with a few kitchens displaying granite counters) and that I can choose my granite from slabs. He didn’t elaborate if these slabs would be mine or just samples of what I would be getting. I have also called Costco and they are coming with samples of granite and samples of kitchen sinks. Any thoughts on Costco granite? Another company I called asked me to come to their quarry (or something to that effect) to pick my granite and then he would come to my house and template my kitchen and then give me a price.
I do not want a prefab granite kitchen. Please tell me how I can make an educated purchase and be happy with my investment.
Thanks so much for your wonderful website. It was very timely for me!!! - Kerry in NJ
Hello Kerry,
You have already done great research and I am glad that The Rock Blog has been so helpful. Simply be sure that you follow the Homeowner’s Checklist and hand selected your slabs for the full size sheets of granite. That is it. The $3,700 price sounds about right for the project down without prefab granite tops.
Best wishes!
July 8th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Dear Tom,
We are having a difficult time picking out the right granite color for our countertops. The following link shows pictures of our kitchen cabinets, along with a sample of two different kinds of granite. FYI, we will be retaining our existing cabinets but will be redoing most everything else in our kitchen, including new black appliances, new flooring (tile), new cabinet hardware, and repainting the walls.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/18137574@N07/sets/72157606021729909/show/
We are seriously considering going with “Yukon” for our granite as it seems to contrast well with our cabinets. We live in the Dallas area and have found “Yukon” at only one of the seven granite places that we have visited. We have also considered “New Venetian Gold”, but not sure we like that as much. What do you think? Could you recommend any other granite that would look good with our color of cabinets and wouldn’t look dated in a few years? We don’t really care for the “Tropical Brown” that we see so often.
Also, would you have any suggestions on color for the floor tile? What color tile would go well with your granite suggestion? Should we go with a lighter or darker tile?
Thank you so much for your help.