Countertop square footage?

18 years ago

I have a question that I'm embarrassed I'm even asking! I am VERY interested in having soapstone installed in my new kitchen but I am also being scared off by the quote I received from a local stone fabricator in my area (and really the only game in town for soapstone locally in the mountains of western North Carolina!). She quoted me $10,845 for my entire kitchen (island and perimeter cabinets), but the way I calculate out the cost/sq. footage, it comes to $160/sq. ft! I know it's more expensive than quartz and most granite, but darn, I'm having a bit of sticker shock!! I can't figure out how to attach a PDF file of my cabinet/counter layout so I guess I just want someone to explain how the calculation of square footage of countertops is figured. I was adding up the length of countertops and multiplying x 2, plus adding the sq. ft. of my island and raised bar on my peninsula. I just want to make sure I'm doing things correctly and if I should start a search for sources further away, based on this over the top bid (at least it's over the top for our budget!)

Any guidance is much appreciated--I really want to be an owner of soapstone but not if it blows our entire countertop budget for the entire house!

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Comments (3)

rgillman
18 years ago
Seems as though you ought to get another quote. The highest price I've run into for super-duper rare soapstone is $110 installed at M.Tex. I think my Green Mountain is $90. Your quote sounds like highway robbery to me. Dorado Soapstone of Texas distributes in your area. If this isn't the place that gave that outrageous quote, you should contact them tomorrow. Let us know how you make out.

SOUTHEAST REGION:

(States Include: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, & Mississippi)

S.E. Fabricator Services LLC
1375 Pritchett Ind. Blvd.
Austell, GA 30168
(678)-398-2513 m
(678)-398-2515 f

Here is a link that might be useful: Dorado Soapstone's blog
User
18 years ago
Round up all numbers to whole numbers and use inches. Length times width (use 26", not 24", you have to account for overhang) and don't forget the overhang on the sides. Don't forget that backsplash is also square footage and needs to be figured in as well.

So, for a 10' section of cabinets that has the left side against a wall and the right side open to the room with a sink in the middle, you'd calculate:

(length of counter run plus overhang)
122 x 26=3172

(length of left side splash)
26 x 4=104

(length of backsplash behind counter)
122 x 4=488

Add up the square inches=3764. Divide by 144=26.14 and round up=27 square feet.

So, for a countertop that you figured 20 square feet, you'd actually have 7 more square feet.

Then there is the edging charge, which is figured on the linear feet that need to be machined.

122 (countertop length) +26(right side open to room)=148. Divide by 12=12.33, and round up to 13 linear feet of edging.

Then there is the charge to mount the undermount sink and polish the edge of the cutout. That charge varies with each fabricator and usually depends on the type of sink and maybe what reveal you want to have. Average is probably $250-$300.

So, if soapstone is $90 a square foot (about starting price in my area), and you want a bullnose edge that costs $10 a foot, and an standard 33" undermount sink, your 10" example countertop would be (27 x $90)+(13 x $10) + $250 = $2810. If you used your original figure of 20 square feet, and didn't figure in the extras, then it would appear that the stone cost around $140 a square foot.

Hope this helps. :~)
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nancy_east
Original Author
18 years ago
Wow, that is enlightening livewire oak. By using your calculations, I have roughly 75 sq. ft. of countertop space, including the island and then about 36 linear feet. So when I figure in the edging charge and the backsplash (which they did include), it's close to $135/sq. ft.

So folks post on this board that they paid, say, $110/sq. ft., are they just not accounting for all the extra stuff like edging and cutouts that increases the cost/sq.ft. so significantly? If so, I wish I had known sooner before I fell so head over heels in love with soapstone--I would have never looked if I had thought I'd have to pay that much in the end! Oh well, I can always dream!

The stone I was quoted for was Beleza from Dorado Soapstone (but through a local fabricator here in town who has slabs from Dorado on site). I'll probably check with some of these online sources, just to be sure I can't get it for a little less money. Is Beleza one of the pricier soapstones on the market?

Many thanks for your responses--I appreciate it immensely and if anyone has any knowledge of sources near western NC, I'd love to know about them :)