remodelstop:

You want something valuable, information, for free and wonder why someone isn't giving it to you. I suggest you make it more of a trade, in that you show that you've done research on the potential contractor, and that you are willing to share your budget and your seriousness as a potential customer.

The days of contractors throwing themselves at potentials to fill their always-get-three-bid mantra are over. The guys you want are busy. Flirt a little. It's more like dating now.

I run ads to get my phone to ring. They're expensive and effective. When my phone rings, I just set a hundred dollar bill on fire. When you contact me, I'm immediately going to qualify you as a prospect. If you don't make the cut, I'm not coming. I'll make 7 sales calls on Wednesday and will be disappointed if I don't close 5.

We have done all that and are still having a hard time getting responses from the people we are working with. A friend who is further along the remodel process is running into the same issues. Appointments and deliveries keep getting pushed back. A lot of this, in our case, has been due to staff shortages related to Covid-19 in the various companies.

I actually need this information before ordering. I want to order my cabinets this week or last week through them as they have an 8 week lead but I can’t until I get this information.

Maybe the counter companies (who do quotes) are short staffed but the designer is working full time regardless of Covid.

I know COVID and all, but it might be worth donning your mask and making an in person visit.

Countertops are measured after the cabinets go in. All they need to know is that you want some kind of stone so the cabinets are strong enough to bear the weight. Quartz is not quartz, just as stone is not stone. You want a reputable company. Be prepared to pay more for them. Instead of waiting for her to get you quotes on multiple things, do your research. Then go into her office, prepared to make decisions. This is the 1 or 2 companies I want to see. I have narrowed it down to this general look. Show me samples. Quote this 1 or 2 choices. I will see you in 3 days/ a week so we can give the go ahead. You need a ball park quote on countertops and it's easy enough to say you need 1 or 3 slabs. General price for square feet can be had. But you can also pick up the phone and call local stone yards for general info. The final slab choice can be made after the cabinet order is in. Bottom line, you do not need countertop price to order cabinets. Just do it.

Who is the she? Do you have an actul KD or some cabinet salesperson who has limited access to choices. The issues right are slow shipping , few staff and you just need to be patient many of my clients lived with plywood counters while we waited for counter top install. Get the cabinets and carry on. Get to stone yard get a N95 mask if you are really worried that is IMO the only way to get pricing for what you like . Have you even seen the cabinets you are oredering, this is not something to get without seeing them IMO.

The reason I’m waiting on pricing is due to cabinet colors. I’m waffling between walnut (more expensive) and white painted but it comes down to budget which includes the counters. The first quote was for $8k of counters but with an unknown branded, I’m concerned an established brand could be $10k, $13k, more I don’t know and 13k or more is pushing the budget. Therefore I need a good ballpark to determine which color I should go with since I’m having trouble deciding.

Both. She is an actual KD with a college degree in design but she also works for a company that sells cabinets.

I’ve been there once but until I get some answers there isn’t much point in going as I need to know numbers. I’ve picked out counters and everything in person depending on cabinet color which I’ve had a hard time deciding on. But ultimately if the walnut + counters exceed budget then I’m going with white.

But it sounds like this is normal so I will keep on. I have no issue going to the stone yard but I don’t have my design until I put my deposit down and will need to know how many slabs first.

Poking around for a minute or two... fairly easy to find Levantina. Their quartz has a registered mark of Quartzia, a manufactured quartz that seems to carry a 10 year warranty according to a few sites.

They are a company that distributes to Spain, UK, U.S., and has several different kinds of stone that they offer.

If you are concerned about the warranty or other questions about Levantina, you should contact Levantina and ask them your questions.

Thanks beesneeds. I didn’t type out the whole story because it’s a lot but of course I looked at the site. I’ve scoured it for info. However, any mention of quartz you find through google on their site is old. Even their pictures with links to a quartz shown will reroute you back to a different page. (if you are on mobile or it will show incomplete areas like "Product:" then an empty space instead of the name.)

If you go to their main page or view any updated marketing material they list granite, marble, quartzite, Techlam, limestone, sandstone. They no longer list quartz although you can find an old page or two old google that directs to their site. (Unless it’s the opposite and it’s new, and they haven’t finished building out the site-
Guess it’s possible)

Either way I can’t find a person online that actually owns the brands quartz that has reviewed it positively or negatively.

Well... here's reviews of the company.. https://www.houzz.com/pro/levantina-showrooms/levantina-usa

The Levantina USA Chicago Stone Center on FaceBook has lots of pics and comments about all their products, so you would need to look for the quartzite in the list.

Slab images of marble and quartzite off pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/levantinausa/marvelous-marble-quartzite/

This company carries a bunch of the stuff, you could try contacting them for more information on the product:https://www.granitefabricatordirect.net/quartzite-countertops-manufactures-guide/

This company also has Levantina quartzite listed: https://legacytops.com/products/quartzite/

It should be noted that Levantina is a Spain based company... and again, if you want to know more about the products they offer, particularly their Quartzia, contact Levantina directly.

You seem uncomfortable with off brand quartz, and I agree with you. I would only consider, Cambria, Caesarstone, Silestone, other Big brand. More expensive but I think you will have more piece of mind.

Private label stuff is generally not created with patented Breton technology. Instead, it’s created on machinery that has knocked off the intellectual copywrightedpatents to simulate Breton machines, with who knows what loss in resin curing or compaction. And, who knows what as resins or quartz as raw materials?

I remember the melamine in baby formula, and lead paint on children’s toys, and toxicdrywall, and the faked CARB compliance certificates, and all of the other cheap products that ended up being the most expensive choice possible in the end. I am not willing to take the chance on poorly documented food contact surfaces. Give me a well documented quality product that I only need to purchase once, even if it is the most expensive choice up front. Regrets never come from buying quality. Regrets come from not buying quality.

All quartz products are definitely not created equal, no matter what their warranty says.

When my sister was changing out the countertops during a remodel, she got samples of the various quartz(s?) that she was considering. There were entries from each major brand, plus some minors and some I've never heard of. Some of them didn't even pass basic mustard and wine stain tests.

She ended up getting a Cambria (NOT Brittanica because they are Really proud of that one: $$$) with an awesome matte finish. It was more expensive than the 'mystery brands', but she felt better about the purchase after doing the research.

We've found that almost all of the companies will send you pretty good size samples either for free or for very little. If you haven't already, you should seriously consider this before making your final decision.

Personally, I would send the layout to a place that only does counters and ask them to do you up an estimate for a middle-of-the-road for three big brands, then use that for for your countertop budget in relation to "what kind of cabinets can I afford".

If there is anyway to use another vendor I would. This salesperson is working for her company not for you. You should not have to beg for answers, pricing or brands you want. It's your kitchen. I'm a very busy designer but I never treat clients like they're disposable. Gl!

Home Depot also has an online countertop estimator. Requires a small amount of math, but should give you good idea of installed cost unless you have something odd in your layout.

Did her quote include a square footage? because if so, you should be able to price other brands yourself (unless there are very large patterning issues). Call a stone yard and ask for the price per square foot of some Caeserstone equivalent of whatever you're looking at, and then you'll know. You can order samples directly from those companies, to see the colors and patterns in person...

Thanks everyone. I will try to get square feet from her or at least the number of slabs for a rough estimate elsewhere. Maybe this will encourage movement otherwise I may have to start looking all over from scratch again.