More research.... google the company names of the cheaper places. Make sure you have your estimates including cutouts, edge details, etc...
Paying more does not guarantee anything. Having references is nice, but we have gotten more screwed by places that were referred to us, because we trusted them more.

Can you ask the more expensive place to match or discount according to the other offer? If I were you, I would tell them that their price seemed a little high so you got other bids to make sure they were in line and that you were surprised to learn that others beat them in price. See what they can do?

My KD (where the higher price countertop is) asked me 'do these places offer the same services and quality?" I did ask her if she was willing to requote and give me a better price.

Everything is the same -same edge, cutting out etc

Thanks! I really appreciate the feedback!

My answer (regardless of the truth) to her question would be "yes and I'm not already spending thousands of dollars on cabinets with either of them" followed by a fake smile, raised eyerbrows and silence. It's a BS answer from her, definitely investigate the other two but put the pressure on the company your working with (nothing heavy handed - even telling them you want to do it with them but can't pay the quote is a an OK technique).

I had the same situation and I went to my KD and said would love to buy from you but here's the quote I got - same thickness, same edge, same everything (Cambria). If you can match it, I'd like to give you my business. If you can't, I'm sure you understand that that's too big a price different to ignore. They matched it.

You are gonna have to do your research in order to get the best "value" for your investment.

Dianalo said "Paying more does not guarantee anything" - I would agree that this is (IMHO) 99% accurate, however, it all boils down to actually LOOKING at some finished work, actually talking to past customers of the guy you most want to go with, and really being sure of what you are doing - BEFORE you stroke a big fat deposit check to a guy you've only really "known" for a grand total of around 60 minutes..

IMHO - the THREE THINGS that "drive" a sale are: Service, Quality & Price - you'll very rarely get all three in the same deal. I typically tell people - "CHOOSE TWO OF THE ABOVE"

I bid on lots of work, but get only about 45% of what I bid - don't get me started on the "cheapest price scenario"....

Remember that Zodiaq (made by DuPont) is ONLY sold to Licensed, Trained and CERTIFIED DuPont Fabricators - most of the small hand shops that offer below average prices can't buy Zodiaq since they can't afford to (or DuPont WON'T do business with them) and they may be using a "knock off" material in place of the Zodiaq

Another thing that the guys bidding on your project may or may not be dialed in to - is that ES (Engineered Stone) aka Zodiaq, Caesarstone, etc - polishes differently than Granite, and this can be a problem for an inexperienced guy trying to break in to doing ES.....

Think about ALL of this BEFORE you commit to any guy who is a Fabricator....

HTH

kevin

I went to the Dupont website to find dealers to price out the zodiaq. I just called Dupont and they assured me that each of these dealers have qualified and certified fabricators. Also that their Zodiaq is all from the same manufacturer in Canada.

What I need to do now is go back to my KD and see if she can come down in price.

Price per square foot of countertops is not as useful as price for completed plan fully installed.

A fabricator can have a good square foot price and pad this with overpriced sink cutout, charge per hole drilled, charges for extra polished edges, high priced non standard edges, extra charge per steps to the kitchen, etc.

you can also compare where the fabricators are willing to put your seams, and how large a piece they are willing to deal with, and whether or not they are willing to do L shapes (if this pertains to your job).

hi Detroit Burb,

I just want to clarify that I shopped the same laid out plan to all 4 places.

For me right now, I need to get references and go on from there.

I appreciate your feedback.

Braque17 -

Sounds like you are on the right track - Detroit Burb has some golden advice too for you to consider

good luck finding the best deal !!!

I agree with kevin.

But before you even think about the stone, what about
installation? Who is installing the stone? Do they do a
good job? Have you seen their work? Their seams, edges,
design?

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions. Slow
down if you need to. Anytime you feel rushed to make a
choice there could be issues involved. Make sure you are
happy with what YOU want.

~boxer

One thing to watch out for - "Design Fees."

I ended up doing most of my kitchen DIY - except the countertops. My first quote seemed cheaper than the second before did some digging. Turns out the first quote was for the countertop including install but did not include shipping or "design fees." They weren't trying to be sneaky, but I did have to do some digging to get to the real price.

Braque17, I understand that you "shopped the same laid out plan to all 4 places" BUT did you see the actual quote from each of them with everything detailed? What should be detailed, along with the cost for each...

• Number of cutouts and which ones will be polished

• Number of holes for faucet(s) and, if you have them, soap dispenser(s), instant hot/cold, air switch(es), etc.

• Edge...including the linear feet/inches of edging

• Radius cuts...not just regular cabinet edges/corners, but also...

  • Curves on seating overhangs like 6" radius corners

  • A full-curve seating overhang

  • Diagonal and/or 90-degree cuts for corner cabinets

• Deeper counters...including window wells

• Backsplash height, if any, and the edging on the backsplash. Also, including the linear feet/inches

• And...what the others have said above!

Why do I stress all of this? Because our fabricator also had a layout of our entire kitchen as well as worked w/our KD who also knew all the details of our kitchen...but they still only gave us an estimate for a "basic" fabrication & install...the 6" radius corners for my peninsula seating overhang were NOT in the estimate, nor were the deeper counter in the window well, the angled cuts for the window well, the 90-degree cuts in the two corners, and the "extra" overhang on the peninsula that had no seating (they had quoted it as if it were against a wall w/no overhang or polishing). I was pretty innocent at that time and trusted that they had taken my plans and given me a supposedly good faith estimate...I ended up having to pay an additional 4K for my counters than what I was originally told!!

Thank you all! all very good questions that I need to find out.

Much appreciated!