sounds reasonable given your location. we're in NJ and for about 75 sq. ft of Pental Thassos we paid about $6k installed. But your area is way more expensive for these things. You bucked that with IKEA which is priced nationally (I think), but anything involving labor is going to look wonky in your neck of the woods.

Have you tried the box stores? My quartz countertop estimate from Home Depot was nearly 40% less than our local shops for the same product (we live in a high cost area). The Home Depot website has an easy countertop estimator and you can calculate yourself roughly how much it would be. I've asked around and I'm told that our local HD store subcontracts the work out to good installers. The drawback in our area is that there is a much larger lag time between measurement and install. HD also has a much smaller selection of quartz, and they don't carry PentalQuartz. Our HD quartz counters will be installed next month, and hopefully we have a good experience!

Thanks FreeOscar. OOOOHHH "Thassos"!! that's yummy too. Would you happen to remember what the slab costs where? or was it all included? 6k for 75sq.ft ($80/sq.ft) makes a bit more sense to me. that quote I got/gave was the low end at $115/sq.ft. and we're doing the demo-ing ourselves. we're definitely gonna get several bids.

I had the same counters done in an extra thick carrerra marble with a fancy edge and and only paid $2300 (materials AND labor) less than 10 years ago... I stumbled on the old workorder/receipt (bcuz the husband is a packrat, lol!) and it's making me sick!!!

I feel like If I can find a decent slab price, and fabrication price (running $800 for "standard" 30-40 sq.ft kitchen counter, and installation is included for some places here), then I can find someone to install them myself for less. I'm not a 'nickel and dime-er' so to speak, but I just cant seem to get my mind around this price.

My sis is in NJ too and they redid their kitchen in the fall last year and the material prices seemed similar.

thanks!

hey Wysel... thx. we did check out HD, and oh how I wish, but the selection just didn't/wouldn't work with our cabinets - most of their selections are along the warm beige-ey/brown tones, and we're doing gray/blues (our cabinets are gray and white). I don't have to have actual PENTALquartz, but do need something 'Carrera-like', due to our color scheme.

as a small biz owner myself (for 30 years with my dad) I try to use the local guys and am willing to pay a bit more for that, BUT!!!

I hope you have a great and smooth install Wysel!!

thx melodiya99... hey those are our cabinets (gray and off white bodbyn) too!! we're doing gray lowers and off white with glass doors for the uppers. Does that $75/sq ft includes installation?

I never seriously looked at ikea counters, I assumed they only did laminate and butcher block. I'm curious about them now thanks to your comment and pic, because I'm trying to mimmick the look of Carrera and am actually using it for my backspash. I went to my local ceasarstone showroom and saw a few that I could live with, but they most had a beige-ey hue which didn't seem to work very well with the silvery gray of the cabinets. but i'm gonna go look at ikea again!!!

The quartz pricing is not out of line at all. Ceasarstone or another name brand will be more. Ikea is on the way way lowest end of pricing for cabinets, which has skewed your perception as to real world costs.

No Ms. Sophie Wheeler, my perception of countertop costs are not skewed by IKEA. I am not an "IKEA Person" and knew very little about IKEA other than they do decent quality cabinets/kitchens for a decent price. Like you, I made an assumption about IKEA, thinking they didn't do anything other than laminates and butcher block for counter options til melodiya99 just told me in this thread.

So, no... IKEA is not the reason why I thought the quote I received (from just one place) was high. However, I am getting feedback from 3 different local counter top fabricators that the quote for "PENTALQUARTZ" specifically, actually is a bit high for our area. If it WERE for CeasarStone/SileStone/Cambria, then yes... the quote I got would be more in line.

thanks so much for chiming in, I appreciate all info and feedback - u guys really help me make informed decisions :)

I bought Pentalquartz five years ago, when they only had the Seattle and Portland markets, and my slabs were $800 each. Fabrication and installation was the same cost, so we paid $3200 total. One of their selling features was that they were a little less expensive than the other guys because labor costs in Thailand were lower. I think the fabrication is extremely high in your case, but it's the Bay area and who knows what else has influenced pricing in five years.

Pentalquartz is Vicostone. Pental only slaps their name on it. They don't have a manufacturing plant.

Oh thanks so much mayflowers! $800 per slab five years ago huh? I guess $1500 isn't SO bad then, lol!! Do you mind me asking how it's holding up?

i actually found a quartz thats an almost exact dead on carrera mable match - Vadera 'Athena' - and its BEAUTIFUL!! but I'm almost afraid to find out how much it is, lololol!!

The price isn't out of line. Love costs money.

Put your checkbook on top of your second choice and see which one you'd like to look at for the next 20 years or so.

LOLOLOL... LOVE IT Joseph Corlett!!! so true, true!!! AGAIN... i'm not saying the price is out of line - I HAVE NO IDEA! which is why i posted... I just wanted to see what others like yourself had to say (after I recovered from the gut punch of sticker shock, lol!!), and any experiences/recommendations for my area. That's all.

As a business owner - financial, tax, and biz consulting for other small-medium sized businesses with my father for 30 years, as well as helping my step dad manage/run his construction company for 20 years - I get the 'you get what you pay for', and have no problem with that. i just needed a gut check, so to speak.

checkbook is out..... sigh (LOL!!)

It's holding up fine and I love it. It's made with the same Breton technology as Cambria, Caesarstone, etc. so there's no difference. Just follow the manufacturer's use and care instructions.

I find myself frequently administering "sticker shock" to potential customers. Some people are dumbfounded when that "little crack by the sink" is going to cost nearly $1,000.00 or more to fix or an undermount tub deck replacement with splash is nearly $6,000.00.

@joseph corlett..... eeeeeeyyyoooowwwch! lol! yeah, ok... I'm sucking it up. now I just have to tell the husband. the good thing is he ascribes to the "happy wife, happy life" school of husbandry.