Are you sure you have the square footage correct? 40 square feet is a really tiny kitchen. 50-60 is average. Counter depth isn't 24", it's 25.5, and that overhang adds up. 50 square feet in a top level quartz that we sell with the 3 undermount sinks and a free edge would be under 5K.

Do you have an itemized list of costs? (Maybe they're sneaking in exorbitant shipping costs?) I had to check my invoice for my granite (though it was 6 years ago). I know it was a good deal then (turns out it actually wasn't cuz installation was terrible), and checking my records they actually charged me $700 less for materials than they were going to according to my first invoice... Anyhow, my total for 66 sq ft was $3606.39. Just a basic granite- Butterfly Blue, but thought I'd throw it out there for you to compare. Nearly $8K seems outrageously high!

You're getting gouged. Last week we paid $85 a square foot installed for London Grey, one of the new colors. We were told there were still only four price groups. Sounds like the dealer added a couple more groups to fatten their pockets.

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one to find those numbers astounding. Our first choice is/was soapstone. For $85 square foot not accounting for tax. Back to square one. It's just that that darn Piatra Grey is so lovely!
GreenDesigns-alas, my kitchen IS tiny. 9x10ish tiny. Unfortunately that 40 square feet includes a 25.5" depth. I wish I had insisted on a 27" depth!
Raehelen-thank you for the breakdown! Sounds more along the lines I was thinking.
Tmunson-gouged is a very nice way to put it. I haven't asked for anything itemized yet, I'm still reeling.
Gooster- I will contact Costco to see what's going on locally-thank you. I was expecting maybe $100/sq ft new color and all that, not $145 pre-tax!

@GreenDesigns - 40 SF is the typical average kitchen counter SF. I worked for a fabricator once and the overall average of 20 countertops a day (yes per DAY) was just a bit over 40. This is industry wide, not just that one shop.

But then again, size is relative.

That price seems unbelievably high to me. You can get some killer granite for $100 sf and under. $150 sf and you are getting some elite granite.

A caesarstone slab is 120"x54", i.e. 45 sqft. You have 5 sqft more than a single slab size so your quote is based on the cost of a second slab. Try getting a quote for just the kitchen and, assuming the cuts can be made from one slab if you don't have any special seaming requirements that cause the second slab, then your quote should come down dramatically.

tmunson - When is your London Grey being installed? I would love to see a picture.

It "should" be installed at the end of April. I will post pictures when it is all done.

Kent, perhaps location has to do with your average counter space that you're used to. I can see that if you are located in the NE where small homes and apartments are crowded into urban spaces that your average would be lower. I'm located in the South, where real estate is fairly cheap, and even very modest homes are around 2000 square feet. It's the very rare older home close to the city center that would be 1200 square feet or smaller. Thus, in the 30 years that I've been doing this, the average counter space in my location very very rarely falls under 50 sq feet. If a customer adds in a 4" backsplash, the average is around 62-65. Counter only, 50-60. I once did a condo kitchen that was 26 square feet, and I once did an "entertaining kitchen" that was 110. But, on a daily basis, the highest point of the bell curve is from 54-56 square feet.

Thanks taggie, I will ask the shop about using only one slab. If it's as large a difference as we think I'll update.

I'm also looking at redoing a kitchen in one of the new Ceaserstone colors. I live in Atlanta, but the home is in northern California. I've been working on getting quotes for various materials and am having a bit of sticker shock too. I looked at Costco's website the other evening, and it makes it very easy to see what the prices differences are across different locations. Just put the zip code in and voila. So, for 50 sq feet of Dreamy Marfil in Atlanta, I would pay $75 per square foot for 3cm. In northern CA the same material is $88 per square foot. I'm shopping different fabricators to see where I can get the best value...

My neighbor (in Wisconsin) just got a quote of $5,500 for 40 square feet of London Gray.

Clearly these prices vary a LOT. I'm paying $88/sq. ft. installed for Eggshell which is on the least expensive tier for Caesarstone. I can't believe someone found one of the new colors for $85/foot.

triple

This post was edited by live_wire_oak on Mon, Apr 1, 13 at 13:00

wi-sailorgirl: My quotes are coming in at roughly $72 per sq foot for 2 cm material, with a laminated edge for 83 sq ft. This is via my KD, through one of their usual fabricators. My high quote was $89 sq ft.

My current design actually uses 3 slabs. By swapping out one of the areas to cheaper real Carrara marble, I'll save more, as I think the slab cost is about 1/2. I'm just a little over two slabs right now. I'll use the balance of the slab to have them craft a custom table.

I am having Piatra Grey installed in my kitchen. I live in the NE and the quote came to $76 per sq ft. I was a little disappointed with the quote because the price was advertised (costco/supplymycounter) as $70 per sq ft. I called Costco who advised me to deal directly with the contractor/supplymycounter. I finally received an email from the supplymycounter to the effect that caesarstone restructured their color groups in March of this year. Most website have not updated theirs. So the actual price is $76. To remove the old counter top will cost $11 per sq ft extra. Once it is intalled I will need to have a plumber to put in the plumbering at an addtional cost.
Bottom line, I have 60sq ft of counter top and vanity between my kitchen and bathroom.
Price of materials $ 2771
Price of labor $2267
Removal of old counter top $660
Plumbering $300
2 undermount sink cut out came to $ 388 which in included in the labor.
I am going with the basic bevel edge which is included in the price. If I choose a different edge (bullnose or ogee) I will have to pay an extra of $700-900.

All said and done, I will be shelling roughly $6000 for 60 sq ft of counter and vanity top