Is it the exact same granite type?

Installation practices and experience do vary. Company references? Guarantees?

I would get more quotes if I were you! I know it is a headache but, it is worth it to save a chunk of $$$ (think of what other fun things you could buy with that "saved" money, lol!)

I don't know how to tell the quality per say, but see if you can get them to breakdown the price of the stone vs. the price of fabrication/installation.

While we did not go with a high end granite (and we are in So. FL for price comparison) we had a lot of the things listed in your quote included at no charge. We paid $7.50 per sq foot for the granite and $21 a sq ft for fabrication and install. Making our 54 sq ft space $1550!

-Countertop under polish (the bottom of the overhangs are sanded smooth and sealed) --This was done on ours, never seen this NOT done.

-Granite is sealed at our facility prior to fabrication and after with a high end penetrating sealer.--This was done on ours

-Sinks are mounted by us--This was done on ours.

-Core drill for faucets at our facility--They gave us the option and I asked for it to be done in home, I wanted the faucet exactly in the place where I wanted them. There was little to no dust, and the little that was there was cleaned by them. They also mounted the faucet, not hooking it up but making sure it was mounted correctly in the holes they drilled.

-Edges are polished where the stove, frig slides in and at all cabinet up-right panels to prevent appliance and cabinets from getting scratched.--This was done on ours

-Seams are assembled with a two part structural epoxy-- This was done on ours, I know cause it stunk to high heavens, but it is because of the chemical epoxy.

-Countertop is always scribed to the walls as our standard practice. (industry standard is within 1/4" of the wall and is what most follow)--This wasn't done but we have very thick backsplash tiles and we did most of the drywall ourselves so it might not have been 100% flat anyways. It certainly was within 1/4".

I think they are overstating their case, I think they are making it sound like they do more than others, when it sounds like they just do what everyone does.

Sorry to hijack but I am getting ready to order granite and am concerned with quality as well - alwayssunshine, I'm in south FL as well. Where did you get the granite and who was your fabricator?

My sister in St. Louis had the same slab and got quotes from 5+ fabricators - all within $50. Here in Boston I got 6 fabricator quotes for my 2 reserved slabs and the difference range from $5600 to $9500 - same stone, same layouts, same edges... the higher priced fabricator didn't give me anything extra from the others. I ended up with someone in the low end. Check references.

Will you have a seam in a prominent place? If so, you want to see examples of how well each fabricator does it and go with the better one. I only checked out 3 fabricators. They all did the same steps, on paper, but one was much better at it. I didn't even bother getting exact quotes from the other two though they were probably 20% cheaper. I also had 100 sq ft of counters-lots of chance for errors and another reason I went with the best fabricator.

alwayssunshine, wow you really got a good price on fabrication, I'm in Northern Palm Beach county and the cheapest fabrication/install price I could find in my area was $30 a sf. I have heard good things about my guy but I will save the raves until after the install.

Jterrilynn,

We are in Jupiter, so yeah Northern Palm Beach! I would get an estimate from Euler Duarte, Granite Countertops Floridas, then even if you don't go with him you could use the written estimate as a bargaining chip with your guy, see if he would match it, what could it hurt?

I shopped forever to find a great price, it was a mainly DIY kitchen and the granite was our biggest single purchase.

Who are you using?

Alwaysun, I'm using Jorge from argent stone, we are already in the works. He is the nicest man, but again I will save the raves until install. I'm using two diffent stones and one will be here in the morning. We heard good things about him so I hope and think it will all go well.

>>>> I think they are making it sound like they do more than others, when it sounds like they just do what everyone does. I agree.....definitely not worth $1500.

Years and years ago I had granite installed in my previous home. I used a small independent shop who did everything by hand. One of the things that they did was route out a grove in the bottom of the granite in front of the sink in which they epoxied in a steel rod. I thought that was a good idea, I had a very wide sink and that long thin piece of granite could be a weak point in the counter. This guy even went with me to the granite yard to help me pick out my slab.

I have been granite shopping for our up comming kitchen remodel and have been to several of the granite shops that seem to have popped up all over. When I asked about putting a rod in along the front of the sink (I am planning on an elkay drop in with built in drain board which is about 65 inches long), the sales folks all look at me like I am nuts.

So what is my point? Working with a small shop can have advantages, speaking with the person who actually knows what they are doing and and is not just a sales person made me feel more confident in what really needed to be done for my particular installation. Is it worth $1500 more? Doubt it. But you really need to understand the details of the fabrication and installation of your particular job.

I definitely agree that getting references you can talk to is important. One of the 3 contenders we were considering did not have good references (and they weren't even the cheapest).

One of the reasons we chose the fabricator we did is that they also provide the slabs. Then they only charger per foot overall. Since it isn't clear whether we'll need 2 or 3 slabs this worked for us because the price will be the same either way. They also do their templating on a computer so we can see how our slab will lay out and then make modifications to get it just how we want it - both on the computer and with a big clear piece of plastic they put on the slabs to show us.

I disagree that they are "doing what everyone else does". What they are describing is a top quality job, and there are way too many "Granite Hut" types of places that have sprung up over the last couple of years that don't do half of what they are describing. Most, in fact, don't do much of what they're describing without upcharges. My top quality place doesn't polish next to appliances or under the overhang without an upcharge. Any radius over 3" is an upcharge, as well. Now, they also don't do any cutouts on site, but there are plenty of even pretty good guys who can do faucet cutouts "in the yard" at your home with no mess in your kitchen, etc. So, I don't consider that an "advantage" necessarily.

The thing I'd want to do is to see actual examples of any place that you're considering. There have been all too many horror stories and pictures on this site and others showing what you get with the lowball bid---and some that were the highest bid as well! So, price doesn't always equal quality, but it most often correlates with quality and experience and good customer service. Places that lowball don't tend to survive in the long run and cut corners that you may not be knowledgable enough about to notice.

So, is a top quality job worth $1500 more than a poor quality one that drags on an on and you have to fight with the fabricator about? Absolutely in my book! But, you can also approach the higher priced guy and ask him if he'd consider dropping his price as you'd like to use him but his bid is higher than you're comfortable with. All he can do is say no. At that point, it's up to you to decide on the price/quality issue yourself--WITH all the facts.

Boy,I guess I had some good luck with my $30 a sf guy because I got all the under and appilance side polished and a perfect up to the wall fit. I don't have the sink peninsula counter yet because he is installing what I have finished first, they have the sink so hopefully in a few days. I'm pretty impressed so far though because I got things I didn't think or know to ask for.

jterrilynn, So glad you are happy and it is going well!!!

Thank you alwaysshine, they they came today and I finally have a countertop in one area and they did it all with no seam in the L section like I wanted and they left out the poo color on the corner of slab that I didn't want, plus a nice job on the meaty edge with a 1/4 and invisbile seam. So I am happy! Ours is a DIY as well...except countertops.

To answer your question, yes. There are two types of granite that we use. One being a commercial grade and the other being first pick. The $1500 difference is like comparing your standard pressed cabinets to that of a hand crafted one. In the granite industry, $1500 is not a high margin although I can understand your concern. If using a cnc that roughly takes a full day of fabrication out of the bid, but you won't have the "hand crafted" detail. Compare Walmart to your local stores. If it were me, ( and I use both a cnc and hand tools) I would go for the quality over cost. You get what you pay for.