sallyd:

I smell huge builder markup in the air right now.

It's hard to know what X thousand dollars of upgrade means without knowing the size of the kitchen -- i.e., is it double the cost of the granite allowance, or do you have 100sf of counter? Really, what's comparable around the country is the per-square-foot cost of different stones.

Of course, a builder upgrade charge includes the inconvenience of having to do anything different that what They Always Do, so that's a built-in mark-up that's separate from the actual price differential of the materials.

In my region standard level engineered quartz runs at about the same price per sq.ft as a mid grade granite. This however is not related to the newer engineered quartz marble looking products. These are being priced according to high quality natural marbles. It's my understanding that Cambria has just recently moved away from their all product one price policy for their marble knock-offs.

Graham

I made a lot of money in the late 90s by Corian defending their brand. That's exactly what Cambria and others are doing.

The designs you see on this site are huge. Way outside the norm. How many square feet of counters are we talking here for yours?

You have a single slab as the island, so yeah, a larger than average kitchen here. Add two slabs for the perimeter, and you're about right. Plan to use any remnants for vanities if you want to maximize yield. But realize that fabrication labor alone is going to run you $60 a square range with most quartz. Plus materials. Which are another $60-70 per square.

We are clean, but don't want to have to constantly worry about stains on the counters, life is too short . . .

I think you've answered your own question. Most granites are durable, but some are not, and marble and quartzite are definitely prone to damage. But quartz will be worry-free. If you can afford the upgrade fee (or to have them leave the countertop off and have it done yourself), you'll probably be glad you did.

In my area quartz counters start around a level 2 granite, roughly $55 sf for a basic color without any movement. I have had some priced as high as $125 sf, these usually being quartz with high movement and variation.
Any counter top with high movement will hide a lot when it comes to stains, granite or quartz. If you like the simple clean look, quartz would be your route. If you like movement and color, granite.

I have Ella and Britannica in my kitchen.

We used Ella for our island which is 9'x4' so that's what? 32 sq ft?

We paid about $74 per sq which is about 2,400 for Ella (just for the island.) I read that the price has recently increased 20% so add that and total would be about $2,900. When we we looked, prices ran up to just over $100 per sq ft for Cambria. But I still think your builders price is a bit too high.

eta: these prices include fabrication.

Also, we did not pay per slab, even though we needed 3, one for the island, 2 for the perim. cabs. We paid per square foot. But we also didn't get the remnants.

One thing I realized when I was shopping for quartz was that some places included the installation price and some did not. I am not sure how that works with a new build, but when you are given a sq. ft. price, find out if that includes the measuring, template and instillation.

@Sophie Wheeler Are you saying that the total price is going to run about $130-140 per sq total for materials and fabrication? If so, where? In what market?

I'm in NY state and NYC (Manhattan.) When we were looking, in both areas, Cambria was nowhere near those price. The most expensive was just a bit over 100 a sq ft with installation.

So I'm very curious to know where it's so expensive.

We were quoted $38/sq ft for the "builder basic" granites like Baltic Brown, Giallo Ornamental, one of the black ones, dalmatian looking color, etc which were included in our home base price. Quartz in something like Lyra, Rococo, etc was $84/sq ft (we would get $38/sq ft credit to apply towards the upgrade). In the end we chose an upgraded granite, Glacier White and we're happy with it. We saved around $2,000 (possibly more) by choosing this one vs the quartz we liked...we have between 74-80sq ft of counter. I was overly cautious of our counters at first but now I feel less worried about damaging them. The only thing I panicked about was maraschino cherry juice over thanksgiving when my MIL was making something but luckily I saw it right away and it didn't stain. So, for us, it wasn't worth the upgrade price but for others it may be worth it.

Cambria recently had a large price increase on the marble looks. It is around $100-$120 per square foot from the local fabricators here. The other colors remain around $75-$85, depending on fabricator.

As far as quartz being "worth" it, that is purely personal. Is a Mercedes "worth" the price increase over a Chevrolet? Depends on what you value. If you value buying 2 cars for the price of one, then no. If you value the luxury experience, and German engineering, then, maybe. Or, maybe you choose BMW instead!

Quartz and granite are not your only choices for counters. There is butcher block, stainless, copper, Corian, recycled glass, laminate, concrete, paperstone, soapstone, and the list can go on. Your designer should be working with you so that you know the + and - of each of those. There is no perfect never shows wear and always looks like the day it was made countertop! But, there is one that fits most of what you need it to be.

Hello,

We would be happy to clarify some of the questions and concerns that have been
surfaced in this thread.

This September, Cambria announced a new premium classification for five of
our designs: Brittanicca™ and Ella™ in
the Marble Collection™, Roxwell™ and Oakmoor™ in
the Oceanic Collection™, and Whitecliff™ in
the Desert Collection™. The five designs are now part of a new, premium
series, called the Luxury Series.

This new classification is not due to popularity, but rather it
is due to Cambria’s significant investment in the designs, requiring
new proprietary technology to create an exceptional product and a
superlative design. Cambria has carefully reviewed industry pricing, and
even with the adjustment for the premium product, all Cambria designs, including our Luxury Series, remains competitive. The
new prices of the five designs are in line with top-tier pricing of other
competitors. The remaining 128 designs in our design palette remain the same
price, and it is our intention to keep them at uniform pricing. If
you have questions, and you are a dealer, please contact your local Cambria
Market Rep. If you are a customer with questions, please contact your
dealer or the Cambria Customer Care Team at 1-866-CAMBRIA 7am-7pm Monday
through Friday or 8am-1pm Saturdays.

For pricing out your potential product, we recommend calling
multiple dealers to receive a quote, as the market is competitively priced.
Pricing varies by dealer, and it can also vary depending on your chosen design,
countertop thickness, and edge profile.

In regards to the benefits of Cambria, we believe there are
many. The primary benefit of choosing Cambria is that our product is 93%
pure quartz, a natural stone. With Cambria, one receives the look and feel of
granite, but with the greater flexural strength and the benefits of a
non-porous and maintenance-free surface that comes along with possessing a
higher amount of quartz per ounce. The nonporous nature of our quartz
causes our countertops to be much more stain-resistant. Unlike granite, Cambria
never needs to be sealed or reconditioned. Cambria also comes with many certifications
and benefits that make it a great choice for commercial projects, or for
projects requiring a higher degree of product integrity. Cambria is Greenguard
certified due to our low VOC emissions, and is also certified by NSF
International for being a superlative surface for food prep. Cambria's
nonporous and nonabsorbent surface is resistant to staining and eliminates the
need for sealing, while also reducing the potential for bacterial growth within
the countertop. Cambria Quartz is also truly maintenance-free. Simply
wipe down with warm water, soap, and a soft cloth daily to keep them looking
clean and new.

Granite, on the other hand, is usually 40-60% quartz, along with
other softer minerals and impurities. Granite is also a porous surface
that usually requires regular re-sealing for optimal performance. Unlike
Cambria, granite can also absorb liquids and food, risking potential staining
and bacterial growth within the countertops. To learn more, we invite you
to navigate to the ‘Advantages’
and ‘FAQ’ section
of our website for a full list of benefits and features that come along with
choosing Cambria Quartz.

For those looking to begin the process of a potential project with Cambria
Quartz, we recommend navigating to the dealer locator tool on
our website to find a list of certified Cambria dealers near you. Simply type in
your city or zipcode and a full list of providers and professionals will
populate.

Thank you all for your interest and questions. We welcome your feedback and
thoughts and hope that this response has offered up relevant information
that will assist with your considerations.

Warmly,

Your Friends at Cambria

A lot of companies, Cambria included, have increased the price of the marble looking designs. Supply and demand I guess.

The price increase has to do with the difficulty of seaming the large patterns, and less with supply and demand. A lot more material is required for the jobs than a traditional tight Patten. It was costing fabrications money to have to use two slabs on a job where one slab used to do it. Consumers want perfection, and don't understand that it takes extra material to do that. So, they now just pay those costs up front with a price increase rather than the extra slab charge after template. Most people would rather pay 7K once than have a 5K estimate turn into 7K one after template because a good seam with their layout demanded extra material.

Sophie means "seaming," in case you're wondering what that's about. :)

Interesting. Is there any reason why some sell a full slab as opposed to the sq ft that's needed?

We needed 3 slabs, but paid for the sq ft of the project, not the slabs.

I don't remember anyone offering to even sell a full slab when we were looking, all estimates were done based on what we needed. I kinda wish they did - would have bought them and used for my guest bath.

Only the large busy fabrications can afford to absorb the loss of just ''material used'' vs factoring in the square footage of the entire slabs into the bottom line price.

Ellie RK - This usually depends on the type of material and the fabricators volume. My fabricator is one of the largest in my region so they often price by the square foot of consumption providing the off-cuts are not too significant. But let's be realistic, I'm certain they do actually calculate the scrap in on their square foot costing model. I think it just depends upon how you like to present or justify the numbers.

Graham

Thanks for answering.

It could be they build it into the price, absolutely. Still, based on the prices I'm seeing here for Ella and Britannica, we either got a very good deal, or just lucky. But this was the beginning of the year, before the price increase.

Cambria, and a few others, have increased the cost of their marble look-alike slabs. It's not just the fabricators. Yes, if it's hard to seam you might be getting charged for an additional slab, but if they don't, then you are dealing with the situation from last week where the woman wanted Cambria and the fabricator to pay for a new countertop, because the veins didn't line up perfectly. You can't get a perfect match if you don't have the flexibility to move the pieces around.