OK, you have decided to purchase new counter tops--how exciting this venture can be--IF you select the right counter top company to help you in your endeavor.....
REMEMBER the saying "you get what you pay for!!!"
There are so many factors besides just price that you want to consider!
-First of all, you should never let a counter top salesperson talk you into giving them a deposit on their 1st visit. ALWAYS get at least a couple of quotes, and make certain you "get to know" these folks by referrals from jobs that have been done for a while--after the counter top's "newness" wears off
-Make sure the counter top company is properly insured!!! And, I mean, not only General Liability for everyone you contract with, but ALSO Worker's Comp for the guys templating and installing! If they don't have the proper insurance and something happens while they are in your home, the liability shifts to you......
-Have they been in business long enough to know how to "work with/craft" the material you have selected? (if they know how to "work with" the material you have selected--they are worth their weight in gold)
-If this is a warrantied material, are the fabricators and installers certified so you can get the warranty the material manufacturer offers?
-If you have selected a man-made (solid surface) or partly man-made (engineered stone or quartz) material, remember, just like tile, dye lots can differ from the sample you selected, variations could be slight shading to major differences so if you are adamant that the color be exactly like your sample you picked from, go view your actual slabs/sheets prior to cutting.
-So many of the "production" type counter top companies these days are trying to afford those "deals" themselves and cut corners on your counter tops--you may end up with gaps if they don't have the proper experience to make your counter tops "fit like a glove"; using Chinese blanks (pre-cut "runs" of Chinese material that are 2cm with a laminated bullnose edge); or they may not know how to finish a vein or fissure and it may end up "letting go" upon installation. Most likely if this is the situation you are experiencing, they will not be able to repair same!
-Does the material blend where the seams do have to be placed, how will they blend the movement, you can ask to be part of the template placement (there is sometimes a fee for this if they use a CNC to cut) to find out before they cut and you can also ask where the seams will be before they cut to get a good idea of what this project will look like. Optimally, your blend will try to accentuate the side to side movement on runs of any length. Sometimes a shorter return will have the material front to back or corner to corner.
-Select your own slabs, select your own slabs, select your own slabs--and have your counter top expert come with you to help with visualization and and help you with Quality Control!!!!
-Natural stone 3cm is suggested for kitchens and 2cm or 3cm for baths. However, for budget's sake, some folks go with 2cm for the kitchen. Be leery of the counter top installer that wants you to take pre-cut "runs" of 2cm counter top with a 4cm stacked laminated edge (it just simply means you are getting a stacked/laminated edge that runs approximately 1-4” in from the outer edge underneath) lamination does not make the interior 2cm material stronger. We call these pre-cut runs blanks, they are straight pieces, material from China, granite “runs” (watch out for excessive "puck" marks and brittleness) that are pre-cut lengths of counter top commonly a full bullnose edge profile which can be detrimental to your cabinetry as any drip will follow the curve of the full bullnose and run down the cabinets. You will find this type of material will have to have seams at every turn and the corners will have to be cut sharp in the corners—on a Raised Bar high traffic area this can be dangerous as normally an outside corner, particularly on a Bar overhang, requires a heavy radius at around 2"-3” or more, for safety reasons. Keep in mind stone needs to "breath" and does not require a substrate underneath, a substrate will NOT make the stone any stronger, MIA standards dictate that stone has 4 sides of cabinet wall top inside of each seam, for security, and not any more than 6" of overhang without a support of some kind.
-Make sure the grain direction on the slabs will not become an eyesore as this mistake is commonly made by inexperienced saw operators.
-Ask how long your counter top business has been in business under the same name and how long the personnel have been in the industry?
-BEWARE of the deal that seems "too good to be true" and the company that bases everything about your quote strictly on price--the company that does the best workmanship is not going to have to offer pricing tricks and gimmicks!!!
-And last but not least, if something does go wrong (as it sometimes will in construction), will they be there to help and support you?!?!?
PICTURES FROM THE INTERNET OF POOR STONE COUNTER TOP JOBS (just google “bad granite counter tops”)
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