If you are a new homeowner or a homeowner that has never replaced their kitchen countertops before, you may be wondering- what does the process look like for buying granite countertops? Historically, granite countertops were only available for purchase through a fabricator or installer. Other companies that fabricate the stone in-house usually tack on extra fees for this that the customer isn’t aware of. When buying wholesale granite at places such as Granite Liquidators, you are only buying the stone- not anything else.Thankfully, through our quarry direct relationships and unique position in the Denver granite countertop market- we are able to offer a better, more customer friendly buying experience. So let’s get started on what this looks like for you.
What to do When Buying Granite Counterotps
Pick your stone
Many granite countertop suppliers only offer samples of their stones, rather than having the full slab available to view. At Granite Liquidators, we not only have a full slab for viewing, it is the actual slab that you can reserve to be installed in your home. This means that you see every line, every color change and variation and any imperfections if there are any. By having full slabs available on-site, we are able to help the customer truly imagine that specific stone as part of their new kitchen. If you are unable to come down to our slab yard to view the stones, we also offer an online gallery of all of our stones currently available.
Put a slab on hold (aka, Buying Granite Countertops)
Once you have chosen the perfect granite countertop for your kitchen, it’s time to reserve that slab with either a 50% deposit or full payment. This will ensure that your specific stone will not be sold to any other customer- it is yours! Putting a slab on hold is beneficial because it not only allows you to stake a claim to your favorite stone, but it can help ease the burden of the financial investment of granite countertops. You’re able to spread the payment out over a short period of time, which helps with your personal cash flow.
Find a Fabricator
Since we operate as a wholesale granite countertop supplier, we only sell the material and do not perform any fabrication or installation. This allows us to provide our slabs at a competitive price with the flexibility to use any fabricator of your choosing. Many of our customers do not have a connection to a fabricator, so we happily refer our customers to many of our Preferred Partners. Usually you can expect to pay anywhere from $40-$60 per square foot for fabrication and installation, whereas our Preferred Partners offer our customers a competitive rate of $25 per square foot. This allows you shop around for granite, purchase it separately and at a better price, and then have it fabricated.
Template and Measure
Once your stone and fabricator are chosen, it is time to template and measure. For this part of the process, the fabricator will come to the home and perform the precise measurements needed to accurately cut the stone to fit your space. They will account for every corner, edge, turn, sinks and cabinets to make sure it’s a perfect fit. At this point, they will be able to give you an exact cost for the fabrication and installation of your granite countertops.
Pick up your Stone
Once the fabrication has been arranged and agreed upon between you and your fabricator, you give permission for the fabricator to pick up the slab from our location. The slab will be released when it is paid in full and with your permission. The fabricator will take the slab to their shop and start the work. The timeline for this part varies based on the specific fabricator, their schedule and the agreed upon timing between you both.
Installing Granite Countertops in your Home
Once the cuts and polishes have been completed, along with any custom edges- the fabricator will come to your home to install the granite countertops. They will securely fasten the countertops and complete all of the necessary steps to ensure a flawless installation.
Enjoy your kitchen!
At this point, all the hard work is over. You’ve chosen your stone, worked with a fabricator and now have a beautiful new kitchen to enjoy with your family. The only thing left to do is tell your friends and neighbors about the great experience you had working with Granite Liquidators!
If you want to experience this form of buying granite countertops first hand, don’t hesitate to reach out! We can truly offer wholesale to public pricing. It will be difficult to find prices like this anywhere else!