The place we ordered the slabs from had an installer. He wasn't an employee, but a contractor that they knew and recommended. It definitely is tricky to find an installer with pre-fab because most granite fab shops will only fab/install granite that THEY sell, but if you search the phonebook and call around, you can find people to install prefabs.

Tweety48- You are asking some really good questions, and I'll try to answer them from my perspective. Yes, there is a smaller color range available to consumers at this time, and depending on the producer of the tops, you may find a cost savings. This will depend on a few factors like where you are in the country, how many pre-fab distributors there are in your locale, how many Fabricators there are that are willing to work with "blanks" (as we in the "biz" call 'em) how busy they are, and the level of complexity that your project is. As a Fabricator of 23 years, I can tell you that blanks have been around for a long time, but not until the last few years has it been really accepted by not only the consumers, but also by Fabricators. This is due to the wide variety of quality that is found from the (now many) producers of pre-fabs that are popping up daily all over the world - (China...I'm looking in your general direction...) In my opinion, there are many levels of quality, and the old addage of "you get what you pay for" comes in to play here more than ever. The pre-fab market is dominated by the Chinese, and their market philosophy is based on who ever has the lowest price - regardless of quality-wins...... As a Fabricator - I see this every day.... The shame of it all is that many consumers are clueless to what good quality in stone work is, and that they are only concerned with the bottom line of - "how little will it cost me to get Granite in my home?" Here in Phoenix, there are 3 companies that I know of that sell pre-fabbed blanks. The qualities of the products are varied, but most people don't care - they want "cheap". "Will the seams be crude?" - the glue lines of the laminations in the 2CM laminated edges are for the most part - OK - in some cases, the glue lines leave a lot to be desired, but for the most part, they are...well.... just OK - not great - not invisible...just .... ok.... The one thing the blanks are able to do, is that many people are able to now install these kinds of tops in homes that otherwise would have not been able to in the past (many guys are popping up all over the country that install blanks and work out of their trucks). This is having an impact on many shops that are loosing business to these new pre-fab installers - the rouble is - many of the pre-fab installers don't know what they are doing, or are "learning as they go" with their customers being the guinea pigs in the process. Blanks are able to be fabricated into some custom applications but in most cases, you'll be limited to doing "standard" sized applications. IMHO - If you want to "wow" people with a custom application - blanks are not for you you'll need to find a qualified Fabricator that works with full size slabs, and can deliver a product that has the higher level of quality that blanks can't do..... I am developing a website that is going to have a consumer forum specifically for Natural Stone and Engineered Stone related questions and consumer education, so people will know what they are getting - before it arrives.... It's going to be called "Stone-101" and it should be up on January 1st of 2008... In the mean time - take your time, keep asking questions and do your research.... hope that helps kevin Kevin M. Padden MIA SFA Fabricator, Trainer & Consultant to the Natural Stone Industry www.azschoolofrock.com Here is a link that might be useful: AZ School of Rock

That's certainly true. However, the prefab piece does need to be cut and installed, adding to its cost. Any idea what it would cost to install a tile backsplash? Say, a 6" high tile at $6/sq foot?

Endless choices. Go to a local stoneyard or two or five and pick out something you like. Take a cabinet door with you.