How much was your granite or quartz/sq ft?

[SarahLovesJS]

How much did your granite or quartz cost per square foot? I''ve seen prices all over the place. I looked in the store at Lowes and Home Depot and of course the ones I liked were like $70-$90/per square foot. I was just hoping there might be some more reasonable prices out there?

 

[Steel]

Sorry I am of no use to you. But if you are interested I bought a magazine called 'beautiful kitchens' and was boggled that they quoted anything from £350-500 (UK) per linear m for granite. Ha.

I bought my oak countertop at IKEA for €245 per length 2040mm x 620mm and couldn't be happier. (again sorry for the useless info)

I would have loved granite though...

 

[ponder]

Our granite was $35 a sq ft for Ubatuba. Do NOT get your countertops through Home Depot or Lowes. They are simply a middle man who add an outrageous fee to contract a granite company to fabricate and install your countertops. You need to find someone imports and fabricates their own granite. If you are anywhere near a major city this should not be a big deal.

We were able to see samples in their show room and then pick the actual slabs that they then fabricated into our countertops. We needed two whole slabs because we had approximately 100 sq ft of countertops. Ubatuba is not one of the most expensive granites out there, but I dont think that the more expensive granites were over $55.

You just need to shop around.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Just wanted to say thank you to both of you! Steal I am really into the IKEA butcher block..I want to do it, but the realtor said it would actually probably decrease our value in our house because it is just not in vogue at all in the area and people see it as outdated from what he''s seen. That makes me nervous..but I do love it, so I am not sure what to do.

 

[ponder]

Butcher block is really cool IMHO. Especially if its used as an accent, like on an island. Unfortunately, it gets a bad rap for being dated because of all of the faux butcher block formica that was used in the 70''s and 80''s that is still hanging around in unupdated kitchens.

 

[Steel]

Well, if those in the ''know'' have said to keep away then do just that. Granite over here is very expensive so it was not an option for me. I did discuss with DH about putting it just on the island but he didn''t like that idea. But I''m with you Ponder, I think it looks great as an accent.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Well maybe I should just go with the butcher block for a few years at least if it''s what I really want. I think I could do the whole kitchen for like under $500 from IKEA..whereas Granite is going to be a lot more! I guess we could always switch it out for Granite or Quartz when we try to sell?

This is getting overwhelming, lol.

 

[ponder]

The cost of your granite may also be reflected in what area of the US you are located in. The labor for fabrication is are large part of the cost of granite. If you live in an area where labor costs are high or if their is union labor you may have no choice but to pay more for your granite. I live in TX where labor costs are minimal compared to other areas of the country.

IF your kitchen is relatively small or if you only have straight runs of counters (no angles, bar overhangs or islands) you may also be able to significantly reduce the cost of your granite by finding granite counters that are prefabricated in the country where the granite was mined. It is shipped to the US in countertop form and can be much cheaper.

 

[Steel]

Date: 4/22/2010 8:01:57 PM
Author: SarahLovesJS
Well maybe I should just go with the butcher block for a few years at least if it''s what I really want. I think I could do the whole kitchen for like under $500 from IKEA..whereas Granite is going to be a lot more! I guess we could always switch it out for Granite or Quartz when we try to sell?

This is getting overwhelming, lol.

Ohhh. If that is an option then go for it. It can be said that the more $$$ you sink into a property in advance/anticipation of a sale, the more you expect in return.

So if it is going to cost you say 3k for the granite, do you think your realtor can get you 2.5k more for the house than if you showed it for sale with the oak IKEA butcher block or not? * The only other consideration is if the granite would make the house more sale-able.

If it were me I would go for the IKEA oak; oh, yeah. I did

.


* just in case you have no idea what I am wittering on about. Say your sale price is 500,000 and the granite costs 3,000 you would expect a resale of 503,000, but if you only spend 500 at IKEA then you could deal at an offer of 500,500. Do you think a buyer will pay the extra (say) 2.5k for the granite?

 

[poshpepper]

I live in So Cal and our granite was around $35 per sqft.

I say if you really want the butcher block just get that, you can always change it to something later, or change it to granite or other solid surface when the time comes to sell the house.

 

[pennquaker09]

Date: 4/22/2010 7:40:32 PM
Author: SarahLovesJS
Just wanted to say thank you to both of you! Steal I am really into the IKEA butcher block..I want to do it, but the realtor said it would actually probably decrease our value in our house because it is just not in vogue at all in the area and people see it as outdated from what he''s seen. That makes me nervous..but I do love it, so I am not sure what to do.

Your Realtor isn''t completely correct. The value won''t just be limited to the counter tops, but the entire kitchen, and if there is an overall dated look, yes it will negatively effect the value.

I think butcher block looks amazing on an island, but I don''t know if I would do the entire kitchen in it. However, one of the advantages is that the cost is relatively minimal compared to stone or quartz. With that said, I probably wouldn''t get it from IKEA. I''m not going to bad talk the brand, but I will say this, you get what you pay for.

Granite doesn''t cost as much as used to. It can be as low as $29.00 a square foot to $80.00+ a square foot, it depends on the variety and the vendor. I highly recommend going to a fabricator yard and picking your granite because that''s going to be the absolute cheapest route. The only caveat is that some of the cheaper granites are so overused.

But, butcher block won''t necessarily decrease value. Not if they look like these:

 

[pennquaker09]

Maple

 

[pennquaker09]

Walnut and Maple

 

[pennquaker09]

Zebra and Walnut

 

[pennquaker09]

Teak - Which is the best wood species to use as a counter top. It''s extremely water resistant.

 

[VegasAngel]

Oh I think those look great especially the teak.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

The last house we put it in was $35/sq ft installed with a free sink cut-out.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Granite: $80.00 sq/ft.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Morgie44]

Ours was also 35/sq ft. This included installation and sales tax.

 

[emeraldlover1]

We got quartz (cesearstone) for $65 a sq ft. The granite cost was a little cheaper but we only needed a 10ft counter. Also, we purchased from kitchen wholesalers in NJ. They include a free sink if you have over 30sq ft.

 

[crystalheart1]

Sarah - Ours was around $55.00 per square foot - but it was Typhoon Bordeaux - which is usually a more expensive granite.

Granite can run approx $35 -to over $100 sq ft. Plus possible extras such as fancy edges, cut outs,,etc

You can try Garden Web''s Kitchen forum or Yelp to find a good fabricator in your area.

Be careful of New business,,, we lost a $1,000.00 deposit because one went out of business before our slab was installed.

What area of the US are you in ?