What's the name of the granite? Yes, it's likely a reasonable price - exotic granites often start at $100 and go way up from there.

Difficult to advise you without knowing the stone's name. And it would be great if you had a pic of the granite too. You should also be considering whether this granite is one of the stain-proof granites, or one of the stain-prone granites. There's a big variation in that among granites.

You mentioned that the fabricator will include the sink. This is rarely a good idea. They will give you a cheap stainless steel sink that you can find online for $100. Don't you want to choose the material? Many people dislike stainless steel sinks cause they scratch and have water marks, so they choose Silgranit, or enameled cast iron, or fireclay instead. Even if you love stainless steel, don't you want a good quality, heavy-gauge stainless? Don't you want to choose the size? One bowl or two bowls? D-shape or rectangular? Maybe you want an apron front instead of an undermount. There are lots of choices in sinks, and you can read many threads here about sinks. My advice is to opt out of the fabricator's "free" sink.

This post was edited by Sahmmy on Tue, Oct 28, 14 at 8:22

There are lots of "granite" colors that are $100 per sq. ft. or more installed. Some of them cost the fabricator that much or more just for the raw material. Typically, the most expensive stones are also more work (and more risk of breakage) for the fabricator.

Note there are also shops that price based on "whatever the traffic will bear" so it's a good idea to get two or three bids just to make sure the number you are getting is reasonable.

The name of the granite is taupe treasure. I wish I had a picture but unfortunately I don't. When I called around to different suppliers, they told me that it may be called something else to them so I couldn't compare prices. The free sink that was offered is stainless steel but I didn't know that there were different gauges for a sink. Thanks for enlightening me on that one. I will try to get a picture. So Sahmmy, I should ask if this granite is stain proof or stain prone? I thought granite was stain proof? This is a wonderful website to learn. So much valuable info. Thanks to all of you!!

Get a photo and a large sample. I would forget about the cheap free sink.

Get a sample and TRY to stain it. Try to etch it. See what it looks like after you drop your keys on it.

And splurge on your own sink. I know sinks sound boring, but if you explore the options out there, you'll end up with something much better than a mere sink.

Good idea about the sample. That way I can see for myself how durable it really is. I guess I never really thought much about a sink. So if I tell them I don't want their sink, do you think I can negotiate the price any more?

I found this on Google Images by typing "taupe treasure". Is this what yours looked like? I would say it will probably need to be sealed. It's no big deal. I wouldn't let that keep me from buying it if I loved it. My granite was $85/sf and that included a porcelain sink. I declined it and bought my own.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Have you gotten prices at other places? I would. I doubt they will lower the price if you pass on the sink but you can ask.

It sounds like you are a bit of a granite newbie. (Forgive me if I'm wrong. I didn't know anything until this site!) I want to make sure that you've seen the slab. With a stone with that much movement, etc (well really any stone, but IMO some more than others) there is going to be a lot of variability. Also, I found that some things I loved in smaller samples, I didn't take love as counters.

If you like the slab, bring the sample into your home. Make sure you like it there. And then abuse it. If you search, you'll see lots of tests people perform.

I'm a believer in spending more to get a granite you love. I started with the level 1 granites, and ended up with Bross Blue Leathered at $65/sq ft. installed. I spend a ton of time looking at it (and if I'm honest, petting it Lol). And I love that I don't see my granite wherever I go. Silly, but it matters to me.

I had a free sink on my old kitchen. It made me think stainless sinks were awful. It was so loud. I got a kraus sink for my remodel. (I liked the look of stainless for me kitchen.). It is REMARKABLY quieter. I did get the fabricator to reduce my cost by $200 for foregoing the sink. But even if I hadn't, the sink was a small part of the overall budget, and I got exactly what I wanted.

Thanks monicakm for that link. The slab I am looking at does not have that much rust color in it. Much more tans and greens. I have been searching for months but nothing really caught my eye until I stumbled across this slab. I found it at a tiny granite place not the big big dealers that I have been traveling all over the pittsburgh area for. I really like this one but I guess I'm feeling guilty for spending so much money on this one. I don't have a big budget but since the island will be 9' long, I don't want to settle on something because it is cheaper. I will be staring at this for the rest of my life! I am grateful for all the input.thank you.

Joygreenwald, you said that your granite was $65 installed (yes I am a granite newbie)- this one is $100 sq/ft installed. That is quite a difference. I don't know what level taupe treasure is but I wouldn't think it would be any higher than yours? Why the huge price gap?

Granite levels are not set in stone (pun intended) and can vary widely from place to place. There are no standards. They're basically groupings of similarly priced stones at a particular stoneyard. . Exotic stones are often priced well above the highest level based on rareness of the stone, difficulty in working with it, and what the traffic will bear.

Granite is supply and demand economics. If it's rare, or has more unusual coloring and movement, the price goes up. Way up in some cases. If it comes from a difficult to access area of the world that involves tricky transportation, the price goes up. If the importer only brings in 5 slabs instead of someone else's 50, their price goes up. If the stone is delicate and difficult to transport and fabricate, the price goes up.

And it's not all about the stone. It's also about the labor. Do they have a decent, safe, shop where you can visit to lay out the template instead of fabricating out of their garage in a sketchy neighborhood with their felon BIL lending a hand to heave the stone around during delivery? (True story) The price has to go up. If someone is buying a CNC machine to (much more accurately) cut their stone in house, the price goes up. If someone is buying the best and latest technology for computer matching up seams and veining on screen before the stone is ever cut (20K) then the price goes up. Good quality work is more expenive than hack work for a reason.

I tried to find 'taupe treasure,' but I can't find it on any of the granite websites I use. Could it be this one (link below)? If it is, from the one site I know that lists slab prices, it is almost double the price they list for bros blue. So $100 sounds about right. It is quite pricey though. Have you visited the large warehouses? You might find something you like that isn't an exotic. Most places have some sort of sorting or labeling system. At mine, I generally stuck to the green tags, though I ended up at a different place and my leathered bros blue took me into the bottom of yellow tags. (I saw polished bros blue in a sample kitchen and was drawn to soapstone, so I went looking all over for leathered bros blue. Each lot I found took the price higher. Lol. But I knew what I wanted.)

If you can get a photo of the slab, maybe we can make suggestions of something similar but cheaper.

Here is a link that might be useful: Taupe Granite

skob123:

If I were your granite fabricator and saw your post, I would die of embarrassment. It shows that I was unsuccessful in clearly articulating my unique value proposition. If you are a qualified prospect and I had done my sales job properly, you wouldn't be asking this question here.

you can't judge how much a granite should be by what someone else paid. case in point, look on the hd website for granite. i am in albany ny area. one day i accidentally had Atlanta ga as my location. the granites that were selling for $100 per sq ft near me were in the $60s. the cost is very much controlled by your location. i wanted bianco antico badly but everywhere i went it was over $100 per sq ft however someone on this site said they paid $80!
you have to look around your area to decide if this granite is priced well.