How To Have Granite Counters Installed Without Busting Your Budget
Posted on: 16 October 2020
If you ask people to describe granite counters in one word, a good number of people will choose the word "expensive." These counters, although beautiful and impressively durable, are known for coming with a high price tag. But this does not necessarily have to be the case. If you're on a budget but really want to incorporate granite into your kitchen, here are some ways to keep costs down.
Choose a less colorful stone with smaller details.
The more dramatic and colorful the granite, the more it will cost. You will pay a lot less for a simple, standard granite with gray and black tones and without any big splashes of color or sparkle. Costs vary by region, but you can expect to pay around $40-$60 a square foot for this standard granite, whereas the most colorful, exotic granite can cost upwards of $200 a square foot. Your standard granite won't win you a centerfold photo in a design magazine, but it is still beautiful, and it is just as durable and long-lasting as the higher-priced granite.
Look for cut-off pieces.
When homeowners buy granite, they generally pay by the sheet, regardless of whether the whole sheet needs to be used to make their counter or not. For example, if someone needs a 3-foot piece of granite for a counter, they may have to buy the whole 9-foot slab. Sometimes people keep the cut-off from the granite they buy, and sometimes they let the granite company keep it because they really don't have a use for it. You can therefore find these cut-offs for sale at deep discounts. You could have the granite company use a cheap cutoff for any smaller counter in your kitchen so they don't have to cut into a new, more expensive granite slab for a small counter.
When possible, make your counters shorter than 9 feet.
As mentioned above, the slabs used to make granite counters are usually 9 feet long. So you can save money by designing your counters with this in mind. Don't include a 10-foot counter in your design, or you'll be paying a lot for that extra foot! Nine feet of granite is plenty long for a counter along your wall.
If you keep the tips above in mind when working with your designer and adding granite counters to your kitchen, the whole experience should cost you a lot less.
To learn more, contact a granite countertop supplier.
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