Countertop square footage?

16 years ago

I have a question that I'm embarrassed I'm even asking! I am VERY interested in having soapstone installed in my new kitchen but I am also being scared off by the quote I received from a local stone fabricator in my area (and really the only game in town for soapstone locally in the mountains of western North Carolina!). She quoted me $10,845 for my entire kitchen (island and perimeter cabinets), but the way I calculate out the cost/sq. footage, it comes to $160/sq. ft! I know it's more expensive than quartz and most granite, but darn, I'm having a bit of sticker shock!! I can't figure out how to attach a PDF file of my cabinet/counter layout so I guess I just want someone to explain how the calculation of square footage of countertops is figured. I was adding up the length of countertops and multiplying x 2, plus adding the sq. ft. of my island and raised bar on my peninsula. I just want to make sure I'm doing things correctly and if I should start a search for sources further away, based on this over the top bid (at least it's over the top for our budget!)

Any guidance is much appreciated--I really want to be an owner of soapstone but not if it blows our entire countertop budget for the entire house!

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Comments (3)

rgillman
16 years ago
Seems as though you ought to get another quote. The highest price I've run into for super-duper rare soapstone is $110 installed at M.Tex. I think my Green Mountain is $90. Your quote sounds like highway robbery to me. Dorado Soapstone of Texas distributes in your area. If this isn't the place that gave that outrageous quote, you should contact them tomorrow. Let us know how you make out.

SOUTHEAST REGION:

(States Include: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, & Mississippi)

S.E. Fabricator Services LLC
1375 Pritchett Ind. Blvd.
Austell, GA 30168
(678)-398-2513 m
(678)-398-2515 f

Here is a link that might be useful: Dorado Soapstone's blog
User
16 years ago
Round up all numbers to whole numbers and use inches. Length times width (use 26", not 24", you have to account for overhang) and don't forget the overhang on the sides. Don't forget that backsplash is also square footage and needs to be figured in as well.

So, for a 10' section of cabinets that has the left side against a wall and the right side open to the room with a sink in the middle, you'd calculate:

(length of counter run plus overhang)
122 x 26=3172

(length of left side splash)
26 x 4=104

(length of backsplash behind counter)
122 x 4=488

Add up the square inches=3764. Divide by 144=26.14 and round up=27 square feet.

So, for a countertop that you figured 20 square feet, you'd actually have 7 more square feet.

Then there is the edging charge, which is figured on the linear feet that need to be machined.

122 (countertop length) +26(right side open to room)=148. Divide by 12=12.33, and round up to 13 linear feet of edging.

Then there is the charge to mount the undermount sink and polish the edge of the cutout. That charge varies with each fabricator and usually depends on the type of sink and maybe what reveal you want to have. Average is probably $250-$300.

So, if soapstone is $90 a square foot (about starting price in my area), and you want a bullnose edge that costs $10 a foot, and an standard 33" undermount sink, your 10" example countertop would be (27 x $90)+(13 x $10) + $250 = $2810. If you used your original figure of 20 square feet, and didn't figure in the extras, then it would appear that the stone cost around $140 a square foot.

Hope this helps. :~)
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Funny that you guys started to discuss this just when I am about to start this same project myself. Here are my findings. First off, if you plan of putting a counter on top of the new 3.8 cu ft FL, good luck, and have your pocket book ready. You see, the deepest "standard" counters are those for kitchens, at 25 1/8". Assuming that one leaves around 5" of clearance behind those newer FL machines for vents, air circulation, heat, etc, then you are looking at about 30"-35" of depth, depending on how flush you want the counter to come to the front of the machine. Having said that, there are 3 prices for laminate counters in the stores (like Home Depot). The counters you see in the store in stock are the cheapest, and will cost around $10 li ft. If you need to pick a finish that matches say the sink counter top in your bathroom where the machines are also located, then that is considered a custom order, even if it is a standard depth. This will easily double the price to $20 li ft. Now if you want to order a non-standard depth so that it goes from the back of the wall to the front of your new FL, then you are looking at $35-$50 li ft, depending on type of finish like rounded vs sqaure front edge, back ledge or no ledge, etc... Keep this in mind when shopping for a counter top. I would like my counter to cover the machines completely, so I might have to bite the bullet and order the more expensive counter top.... Again, I am talking about a laminate counter top, no fancy materials here.... I am from Canada, and here is what the local Home Depot quoted me in Canadian dollars for the 3 options.. 1) In-Store counter (limited finishes) 25 1/8" (standard depth) X 6 feet = $68 CAD Custom order counter (you choose the finish) 25 1/8" (standard depth) X 6 feet = $132 - $150 CAD 30 Csutom order counter (you choose the finish) 30-35" (non standard depth) X 6 feet = $222 CAD I believe the last option of non-standard depth only allows for a square front edge finish. If you want a rounder edge in front, like that found on your kitchen counter, the price jumps to $500 CAD, since the guy said that they have to charge for a full 4X8 sheet, and then cut the custom size from there, in order to get the rounded front edge... One other option you can do, which my brother did very nicely is lay down 2 sheets of plywood (for extra thickness), and tile the top and sides, looks really nice, but is a lot more work...
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These are my pics of my countertops placed Friday June 22, 2018. I cried looking at these seams. It looks so cheap. Fabricator explains that's the way it comes. I explained that I shouldn't be able to see the seams so clearly. It looks so unprofessional. They ended up taking them back to their warehouse. In hopes they say if it is quality control will try and fix it just to make it look better. Otherwise I will have to pay an additional fee for them to come out again to install. I just don't know what to do and if still looks the same. This is the first time I've replaced my counters in 24 years. I don't and can't live with it. looking at this for another 24 years. It looks so cheap and it really was not it's a lot of money to me. I hope fingers crossed that they will fix this problem. They never told me that there would be such seams. I thought the edges were done by a machine and it would be all one piece. I have read up on this and now understand there are seams. But now I do know that they should not look like this. If they are good fabricator you shouldn't be able to see them so clearly. I will find out next week what happens.
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Using counter depth of 25.5" I get 459 sq.inches for each of the cooktop counters/918sq.inches total. 1874.25 sq.inches for the peninsula (25.5 x 73.5) and 882 sq.inches for the overhang (12 x 73.5). 1071sq.in. for the counter right of the sink (25.5 x 42) 2448sq.in. for the counter left of the sink (25.5 x 96) 1071sq.in. for the counter right of the fridge (25.5 x 42) Please note that I treated the mitered cuts as if they are full 25.5" slabs--I don't know if that's how it's measured, but I'm thinking the triangle end pieces count as waste. 8264.25sq.in. total, divided by 144" (# of inches in a square foot) = 57.39 sq.ft. If the fabricator with the lower total added in 10% margin for error (5.74sq.ft.), the total would be 63.13 sq.ft. I don't know about the higher estimate--maybe they counted the pantries? FWIW, I'd make the peninsula counter overhang 15", which is the NKBA recommended minimum. Read #9--seating clearance, NKBA
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It’s no secret. It’s just math. Simple math at that. Length” x width”, divide by 144. Round up all dimensions 72”+ 1.5” W for overhang on 1 side = 74” 21”+1.5” D overhang =23” 74”x23” = 1703= 12 sf Now splashes. 74”+23”=97” x4”= 388=3sf 15 sf total. But that is only counting one side against a wall If that is different, then the numbers will change 15 sf of a $70 middle of the road stone, plus sink, and cut out, and under mounting, and a standard edging is $1500. Math. Then you can’t lay out a 13 sf counter and only use 10 sf. Physically impossible. You have to place the pieces on a slab for maximum yield and still have good looking seams. It’s like sewing. The direction of the pattern has to go the same way. The bigger the pattern, the more material you need for pattern matching. You have to cut the whole sleeve out of one piece. You will have waste. Different yards charge differently for materials. Some charge whole slabs and some charge just materials used. A 9K quote from a firm that has been in business 25 years and has great seams and happy customers is a much better value than a $7500 quote from a startup without the proper tools and ragged seams. You won’t miss that $1500 in a year, but you will cuss not spending it every time you snag your paper towel on that rough seam. You don’t get what you won’t pay for.
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nancy_east
Original Author
16 years ago
Wow, that is enlightening livewire oak. By using your calculations, I have roughly 75 sq. ft. of countertop space, including the island and then about 36 linear feet. So when I figure in the edging charge and the backsplash (which they did include), it's close to $135/sq. ft.

So folks post on this board that they paid, say, $110/sq. ft., are they just not accounting for all the extra stuff like edging and cutouts that increases the cost/sq.ft. so significantly? If so, I wish I had known sooner before I fell so head over heels in love with soapstone--I would have never looked if I had thought I'd have to pay that much in the end! Oh well, I can always dream!

The stone I was quoted for was Beleza from Dorado Soapstone (but through a local fabricator here in town who has slabs from Dorado on site). I'll probably check with some of these online sources, just to be sure I can't get it for a little less money. Is Beleza one of the pricier soapstones on the market?

Many thanks for your responses--I appreciate it immensely and if anyone has any knowledge of sources near western NC, I'd love to know about them :)

Countertop square footage?

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rgillman

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rgillman

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