I found some of the quartz I wanted through HD, but went to the source to purchase. Besides, my builder preferred to work with a more general sub contractor, especially as I did Corian in the bathrooms. IN this case a win win all around.

So by going to the source, do you mean I would order through Caesarstone directly? Is that possible?

As you mentioned Home Depot uses subcontractors not employees who actually work for them. I have had horrible experiences with every installation they have ever done for me and would avoid them if at all possible. Ask around for recommendations if that’s an option and also see if the local people are negotiable at all.

Thanks for sharing your experience! The 2 places I checked out are very highly recommended in the area. I will look for a few more though. Do you have any tips for negotiating? I didn't know that was an option with something like this.

Just come right out and ask 🙂. Tell them you’d really like to work with them but your budget is X. See what they say and do that with both places.

It's worth a shot, thank you!

Go onto Ceasarstone's website and find dealers that way. The pricing may be different if the fabricator you are using doesn't have regular accessibility to ceasartstone and is ordering 3rd party or slab at a time - that will be more expensive then someone who stocks it.

I do not have personal experience with Home Depots fabricators, but I have not heard alot of good stories.

That is a good point and I think that's why the local places were more expensive. I basically have to pay for 2 whole slabs (90 SF) through them even though I wouldn't be using all of it. Home Depot just charges by the square foot.

Google Caesarstone Empire White with your zip code and see what pops up in your neighborhood. When I am dog a kitchen with quartz, I just call around to local granite yards. Yes, they do marble and quartz. You may luck out and find there are slabs in the yard.

It can be so tempting to save money and go with a big box store to buy your countertop.

Don't!

No matter how much you feel the pull to buy a counter from them using their installers, the risk is to just too high. You could potentially wind up spending even more money in the long run if the installers damage your kitchen or damage the counters. If they do a shoddy job it will be a nightmare to get them to fix it or to get the big box store to correct it. If they do a good job, great but the risk of them doing a dreadful job far out weigh the good projects. Peruse Houzz on bad installations you will be sad to see. I really believe when it comes to countertops you get what you pay for. It is worth it in the big picture to hire the best quality installer familiar with the counter surface. It will look stunning and you won't regret going with a reputable installer. If you can search your city for the best installers you might find out where to go. Ask others on Houzz Wishing you lots of luck so your new counters will be beautiful!

CS contact us

I'm so frustrated! Quartz counter-top installation problems again

Quartz damaged on installation

Quartz Countertop damaged during install should I pay full price?

It is extremely tempting! Thanks for the warning. Sounds like the best idea is to shop around at the local fabricators.

Amy, dont use home depot. We used local distributor and found another third party to cut and install. I got several bids and went with the cheapest and was very happy.

Thanks for the advice! Do you happen to know how much you ended up paying relative to home depot? I don't mind paying more as it sounds like it will be worth it.

You may be able to find out which local fabricator HD uses and read their reviews.

You should also confirm how seam matching is done (if needed); HD may be less $$ by simply selling you the square footage you need. There can be a considerable amount of material waste in some applications in order to get matching seams. You pay extra for beautifully matched seams that don’t impact the functionality of the counter.

My understanding is that HD can get better pricing on material due to the volume they purchase.

While nowhere near the scale of a kitchen job and no seams to contend with, I had a basement bar and pass-thru sill done in HD granite at my other house and was completely satisfied with the fabrication and the material.

"... that you can usually get a better price from local shops."

This is false. Local shops don't buy Caesarstone by the train car load; the big boxes do and use that leverage to get prices from manufacturers that the local boys can't touch.

Makes sense, I'm trying to justify paying 20-25% more and I think I am seeing some good reasons here

People love to dump on all things Home Depot. But not all things about Home Depot are bad, including all of their installers. Maine Home Depot stores use one installer for the entire state of Maine. They are the fabricator for many other smaller companies, also. There are occasional problems, but the vast majority of installs go well. The fabricator has processes in place for slab selection and reviewing the layout. I would ask the kitchen designer who the fabricator is and read the reviews for them. The fabricators for Home Depot don’t just get the contract to do only Home Depot. They have to have an established business of a certain volume. But things do vary from store to store (or region in the case of Maine).

Interesting, so maybe I should not dismiss that option. I'm in Massachusetts and I'm not sure how it works here but I will ask. Thanks for this perspective!

Amy, the place the fabricator for Maine gets their granite is from a place in Canton, MA. (Can’t think of the name right now - haven’t worked at HD since before Covid.) I would think that a MA fabricator would be using the same place. Not sure how the ordering for quartz is though. The Maine fabricator had a Silestone/Cosentino facility they were affiliated with.

Oh okay! I live about a half hour from Canton so you are probably right. Thanks for the information

Norwood MA.

Caesarstone New England

675 Canton St. Norwood, MA 02062

781.769.0356

CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT

We used Ripano but this was for granite not Quartz. Ripano

Ah okay so all Caesarstone in the area must come from there. I'll have to get some quotes for it from other local places

Amy:

It doesn't matter from where the Caesarstone is coming. Only the leverage of the purchaser matters. Local guys have none. Trying to beat a big box on price is a fool's errand; it is never going to happen regularly.

Amy I live in Boston but most of my work is in the northwest suburbs as that is where I used to live and where my warehouse is. I’m in the process right now doing major renovations to my bathroom. Also working with a client who’s doing a kitchen and backsplash.
I have used several companies in the past and was not happy with their work. This go round, I decided to ask several builders that I do a lot of work with and trust who they used for their countertops. I was given 2 names-
Napolitano Marble and Granite - locations in Beverly and Lawrence (this location is bigger and has remnants)
RSK Granite and Stone- Peabody.
I went to several other smaller and bigger locations myself but ended up going with Napolitano in Beverly.
I am working with Tom and he is great! Fair, honest and not looking to rip you off. You can even tell him I sent you 🙂.
Another suggestion- Floor and Decor is a huge warehouse type store, very well organized. I have no idea about the quality of their installation but they have a very large selection and good prices. Might even want to go there just to see other styles. They have 2 locations in MA- Saugus and Avon.
Having to buy a whole slab is very costly. I originally picked a quartz top for my bathroom vanity that would have required I do this. Way too expensive. I ended up picking an in stock quartz which saved me a considerable amount of money.

Thank you for the recommendations! I see Floor and Decor every time I go to Ikea but never really knew what it was. I will have to go over there soon. I live Southwest of Boston but those other locations may be worth a trip some weekend.

So much about HD’s installers varies on a local level that I would ask around locally if you are able to - neighborhood email, facebook, subreddit, nextdoor, etc.

It really depends on the company that HD uses. When we redid our kitchen in 2013, we used HD for the granite. The installers laser measured everything, the counters were a perfect fit and the seams weren't noticeable. A few months later we had a house fire and it had to be rebuilt.

This time, because of time restrains, we went with a local granite place. We went to the stone yard and pick out our slab. They came to the house and hand measured everything. When they showed up for the install, they had the wrong granite. When they finally installed the right granite the workman ship was poor, the seams aren't even level. I wound never recommend them to anyone.

When we bought a house in a city about 2 hrs away, we found out that the HD there used the same installers as at our previous house, so we had them do our quarts countertop. Again, the installation was flawless.

I would try to find out who the HD in your area contracts to do their installs and check out their work before you just rule them out.

Good luck

Glad to hear you had a good experience with HD! I would love to be able to use them since the price is so much lower for a product we like better. I could ask in the local Facebook group for people's experiences with them specifically.

Amy, one thing I do is post my question to Nextdoor and local neighborhood FB groups. ask people if they ever used your area's Home Depot to install a countertop recently, and see if they have any feedback. it will give you a better idea of your local options.

That's a good idea! I have searched through the most popular local group and that is how I found one of the shops I contacted. It may be a better idea to ask specifically for experiences with Home Depot though.

I had a great experience with Floor & Decor when we had our quartz countertops installed about 3 years ago. I plan to use them again in our new kitchen in a few months.

When I get a lead from Nextdoor, I run it immediately. The jobs are half sold.