We give prices without templates. Do these people not know how to use a ruler and calculator ? The templates are the last thing we do before we fabricate after the price is final.I think I would call another fabricator and get pricing from them. Sounds a little fishy to me.

Hmmm. Most places say they can't completely FINALIZE a price until template, but I've never heard of not getting a quote based on your drawings/ sqft needed.

Very odd and worrying. Get some other quotes - also sounds fishy to me.... unless they say that you can cancel your order with no penalty after they have templated if the price doesn't work for you.

Hi Forgottensong,

I have to ask this difficult question.
How much did you plan or budget to pay for your counters?
I ask this because it is not the price of the slab that is
the key factor in granite counters but the price of
installation. I know this is confusing.

It sounds to me like the CounterTop Solutions and Premier
Fabricating need to come to an agreement on who gets paid
what...And how much. They both need to make a fair profit
but how can they do this if you got such a great deal on the
slab. I am just giving you their perspective and this may
be why they are being reluctant, avoidant and not giving
you what you want.

This is a hard spot to be in. Slab prices are the area of
fluctuation for the installer/fabricator. This is how they
make their money. When you get a slab at a discount they
are making very little on their artistry.
The fabricators make money on the price of the slab, not on
their talent for making seams invisible, measureing
perfectly, adjusting heights of counters, support for the
heavy stone, backsplash edges to be alligned, creating
fantastic edges.....

It is easy to forget this is the hard work of granite
counters and often ignored. It is not valued because how
do you put a price on art? There is a real talent in
making a stone slab into a gorgeous counter for your
kitchen.

A good fabricator is worth his weight in gold.
Anyone who has seams of beauty can tell you that it was
their installer that made their counters beautiful.
If he comes recommended pay him what he asks because you
will NOT regret it. I have seen some scary looking seams,
horrific mistakes, granite that is cracked and ugly
counter woes on Garden Web because people wanted to save
money on their installation.

Your situation is very difficult. I wish I had a solution
except to say this may be one area you will have difficulty
getting a huge discount. My advice be honest with them.
Explain you got the stone at a discount because you can
not afford (lie if you need too) to go for the full price.
In this economy they may be understanding and helpful.

Thinking of you and hoping others like Kevin chime in.
They always have great advice.
~boxerpups

Thanks all. I am feeling a bit hesitant now about the Countertop Solutins company. He came to our house to look at the scope of the job, did some preliminary measuring and told me he would give us a rough quote. I gave him the exact measure page from the KD. He assumed we'd be using his stone. I called him up after we'd found other stone and he referred me to Premier fabricators so we could look at his slabs of the same kind of stone because we needed a bit more stone. He told me while on the phone with me he'd give us a general quote, yet again, knowing we'd bought a slab elsewhere, but now he won't. Premier told us we'd get a better deal going through Countertop Solutions than through just him. I find that really odd. To include another company seems superfluous. Would it not add money not subtract money?

I thik we're boxed in because of Premier having the exact same stone color. I've looked on the web and most Blue River has way too many blue occlusions in it. His stone matches ours really well. If we go with another fabricator, we will probably loose the second stone. But if the price is outrageous, we will have to tell them to get lost.

Is it PC to call other fabricators and tell them our stone is at Premier and he has more of the same color stone and ask them for a price on intallation?

I find it somewhat suspect that you can't get a rough estimate. I had no problem getting firm bids from three fabricators after I gave them a rough sketch and chose a granite type. One thing you can do is get a bid or two from other fabricators who carry this stone; even though it may not be the one you prefer, it will get you a better idea of how reasonable the Premier folks are when they give you a price. I'm not sure I would give other fabricators all the details of your situation to get a bid, as they may feel like they could get put in an uncomfortable position.

Boxerpups,

Regarding budget or a price plan: Unfortunately we didn't have one for this kitchen. We thought we'd go with what we really liked but not be excessively extravagant. It will be our last kitchen unless we move which isn't in our plans. The first kitchen was 31 years old and absolutely ugly. By the time we need a new one we'll be in our dottage and senile anyway. Is anyone else operating on this seat of the pants rule? We are making some good decisions like won't get the $2,000 bathroom sink or the $3,400 Baccarat crystal faucets for the bath :-)

I have been checking the forum for approximate prices for granite per sq.ft. but I know they vary with what is chosen. I wondered if anyone had a ball park price for installation of Labradorite Blue River. I will call some fabricators on the advice of Kudzu9. (Kudzu: the most amazingly invasive plant which is creeping north, probably grows 9 feet a season!)

Oh My, Forgottenson,
I am truly sorry you are going through this. It seems
they are taking advantage of you. They encourage you to
get a slab from a going out of business place and now
neither one will give you a quote. It is very sketchy.

You are wise to call a few other fabricators. If I were
you I would just get quotes without saying a WORD about
the slabs you already bought or plan to use.
Just send them your KD measurements and ask for a rough
estimate using some thing in the Labradorite family or
Ubatuba or Giallo...
Something simple just to see about what they charge.

Later negogiate. Tell them you have slabs you just need
a fabricator/installer. You might need the new fabricator
to go pick up the slabs but it might be worth it to get
away from these two sketchy business people.
What does your KD say about all of this?
Truly this is a terrible situation. Hang in there with
firmness you can get this solved.

Wishing you luck and hoping you can get the counters
you want.
~boxerpups

I think when fabricators import their own slabs, they can be looser in figuring labor costs because of money saved from middlemen markups. But to be competitive on pre-purchased slabs, they need to figure the labor costs tightly. I would think if you gave them a diagram with accurate dimensions, that would be enough for a close quote. But you'll also have to determine beforehand what happens if part of the slab breaks during fabrication.

This is really really late, but I wanted to see if this info helps. I am getting labradorite as well and the price is $200 per sq. ft. which includes cost of stone and installation.