typeandrun, did the high dollar fabricator tell you he had that fancy machine? I'm with you, my counters don't need any fancy cuts, so I want to find the best priced fabricator who know how to cut Taj without causing any later issues. After reading some threads that Grateful4Advice gave me earlier, I want to really do my due diligence and make sure I hire someone who is a PRO with Taj. Thanks for letting me know how the fabricators work their bid process.

CNC machines and lasers actually lower, not raise, the cost of countertops. Sure, you'll find a talented low-tech craftsman now and again, but these guys are dying out. Literally.

Too bad the high tech fabricator didn't invest as much in his sales force as he did in his equipment.

The company with the high tech machine, is the company that a home remodeler we know uses. We were familiar with the mapping and measuring process. While amazing on the precision, in our case we did not need that technology for our kitchen. Walls are plumb (trust me they are as my H is the GC), no turns. The only cutout was or the sink and faucet. We are very happy with the results.

When we got bids for the fabrication, we provided them with a simple drawing showing dimensions and layout of the counters. Then they will need to know the edge detail, lineal feet of edges needing polishing, and the finish of the stone. Our marble was honed already so they didn’t need to do anything in that regard. Lastly, if I’m remembering everything, they asked about the sink cutouts. Nobody came out to measure until we selected the vendor.

Wolfgang80, thank you for this tidbit of information. I think I will call the 3 fabricators I have in mind and ask them what their preferred procedure is. Seems like everybody has a different way of doing things.

Joseph Corlett, if I want to do an undermount sink on the Taj, do you have any recommendation on how the sink cut out is done? I read on a thread about a cracked quartzite counter and you had commented that the pencil edge cutout for the sink is a chip factory which I take to mean that a pencil edge cutout is bad. What edge would you do for a quartzite slab and an undermount Blanco Diamond sink?

poohla19:

Get at least a 3/8" round over edge on your sink cut out, please. No mechanical fasteners into stone either. Have them strap the sink in place with a Hercules Universal Sink Harness or a Sink Strap or two.

Thank you Joseph Corlett, I have written down your suggestions and will do this when the time comes to cut the stone. I appreciate your knowledge and willingness to share.

I have been searching for Taj Mahal and finally found the creamy colored slab that I wanted. However, it has a shard like look under the polish and at certain angles I can see white stripes that I was told was resin. The sales person said that’s normal in Taj Mahal. I don’t want to make a costly mistake, please tell me if I should purchase the Slabs or move on..

I've heard great things about it. It didn't fit my color scheme but otherwise I would have seriously considered it!

It’s real stone. I have had Taj Mahal and would definitely choose it again. It beautiful and goes almost anywhere well. Just get fabricator and stone supplier to stand behind the slab. Shouldn’t be big problem.

We've had Taj Mahal Extra in our kitchen for over 2 years now with no problems. Have not put anything super hot on it, but haven't babied it, either. Also left a piece from stovetop cutout outside for over a year and it looks like new (survived two Chicago winters & summers).

There you go!

Has anyone had issues with their Taj countertops etching because of acidic foods like tomato sauce?

Have had our polished Taj for two years and have had no etching issues but the sealer is not as sleek and shiny as it was when newly installed. Probably because I have used various cleaners to ’sterilize’ because of Covid. I love our taj and don’t treat it particularly carefully. When I cook I always have a dish towel over my shoulder ready to wipe up spills. good luck!

I am hearing that currently fabricators do not want to work with Taj because the vain they are getting the slabs from are coming up with variations of pink and the stone is unstable. Its Breaking during fabrication. I would love information on this because I want it for my new kitchen and am being discouraged from buying it.

Keep looking. The good fabricators are getting good slabs. They are a bit darker than previous, but they are out there. It does take some hunting though. Good luck. Great choice and I had no etching problems with it whatsoever.

You

we just selected 3 slabs of Taj Mahal for our new kitchen. the people at the stone yard did point out to us that there was some filler used along one of the veins due to cracking. i guess that is not altogether uncommon. we know it's there and decided we're ok with it, as i don't think anyone would notice unless you pointed it out. but i pray it maintains its integrity while being cut for our kitchen because i can't stomach the idea of going back to choosing a new countertop again!!!

Good luck!

thank you! did you decide what you do for your kitchen?

I’m going to loot at Nacai quartzite. The fabricator here still won’t work with honed Taj. They said last time they fabricated it it turned to dust 😳
The Nacai is supposed to look similar to Taj Mahal.

Can I ask what area of the country you’re in?

My stone supplier said don't use it in the kitchen; in fact she won't sell it if that is its intended use. She said it scratches easily. I bought it for a powder room. TM is too pretty not to find a place in your house for it.

we are in western PA

as far as scratches---i thought it was a super hard stone and assumed thst menat it wouldn't scratch. either way it has so many different things going on in it i feel like it would be hard to see scratches anyway. at least i hope so because there's no turning back for us now! i visited the stone yard this week, here is one of our slabs

Gorgeous. Really pretty slab. It will make up beautifully. Hard to get this light a slab. Congratulations.

Did it all work out? Post photos please.

Hoping your fabrication goes well. And install is fabulous.

thank you i will update after install, we're about 8 weeks out

So is $2500 for a piece of slab good for the Taj Mahal. we need around 4 pieces to do our kitchen. That does not count labor

Depends on size. But for normal size, great price.

I paid around $3K per slab 4 years ago in CA and needed 3 slabs. Labor was the same as the price of all the slabs, so $18k total. I just put TM in my new house too and didn't pay any less!

Super jealous Jordan! It is really a beautiful slab. Unfortunately here in northwest Ohio I have not been able to find any pretty Taj Mahal and the stone yards all say it’s very hard to get right now.
I think I may choose to go with Michelangelo marble instead. Any opinions out there on the marble? Michelangelo I’m told by the fabricator is a very hard marble similar to Quartzite . Here is a photo of the slab I’m considering.

i think marble is always gorgeous and i love thst slab. if we could have gotten away with a "hard" marble i would have considered it but with 5 kids i don't think any marble sounds like a good idea.

i know i talked to a stone yard in Pittsburgh that had plenty of Taj. maybe call them and see if they have an fabricators in Ohio? i'm sure they do, jsut not sure how far west they go.....https://www.montsurfaces.com/

as for price, we needed to get 3 slabs for our project and the quote for everything, including install and 2 undermount sinks, was $15,000

Jordan, Thank you so much for your help. I’ll look that up!

Need help. Purchased 2cm Taj Mahal. Using OG to Square edge. Fabricator says he must extend out 1 1/2” from cabinet drawer (not face frame) for stability of edge. This means 2 1/2” projection from face frame. Is this really necessary?

@birdhorvath I too am in NW Ohio. I have Taj Mahal in my master bathroom that we got the The Countertop Shop. Have you tried there?

Called them in the beginning of January. They didn’t. Sadly the problem is the Taj Mahal the fabricators are getting is quite different from the Taj Mahal I fell in love with. It’s now more greenish/gray tone not whites, creams and gold. It’s still beautiful just not working with my decorating.
I was also interested In honed Taj and the fabricators here will not work with it.
Happy you found some for your master!

AD~ Ffor your master bath Wwhat did you use for your shower walls and shower floor pan? I'm having a hard time finding something I'd like to coordinate with it.

@cindykittleson Our shower needs to be retiled. The Taj blends with it for now. To be transparent, we were lucky to find a remnant just big enough for our vanity for a good price. Someday I will be in the same predicament as you - looking for my shower to match my counters. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I used leather finish Taj Mahal quartzite for out kitchen reno and love the organic texture and look. It’s like there are layers you can see into!
I Used it for our island as well as perimeter countertop and backsplash.
Occasionally my kids will complain it’s a little bumpy when doing their homework on it if it’s just a worksheet they are writing on, but otherwise it’s fantastic, and our kitchen gets used in a hard way.
Our fabricator did say because it’s so extremely hard it is also hard on the saws used to cut it, maybe that is why some won’t work with it?

yes our fabricators refused to mitre the edges even though i really wanted it. oh well. we live in a small area so i couldn't really go to the competition so i had to accept it and move on

Couldn’t add a photo to my previous comment but here is our leather finish Taj Mahal kitchen, used it for the island, perimeter, and also slab backsplash.

Absolutely LOVE it. I have had it and loved it. Wish I could have it again!

Love it. Very durable and so much prettier than many other options. Can’t be replicated with quartz

Gorgeous! I love that you brought it up the wall instead of a tile backsplash. Enjoy your new kitchen.

@Cat absolutely gorgeous kitchen! Enjoy!

@Cat, that is beyond beautiful. That is what I am going to get for my next kitchen redo.

Is it holding up well? Leathered is gorgeous, but worry about the staining. Thoughts?

We also have Taj Mahal leathered. It has been over a year and still in love. Holding up like the day it was installed. No stains, no issues!