Talk to your builder.

Jessie - if you pick it out now, you’ll likely have to pay at least a deposit on it (if not the whole amount) to hold it for that long (probably 10-14 months)…. Lots can change between now and then (you may find another slab that you fall even harder for!). I’m not sure I’d pick it out this soon….

I went looking right when we broke ground and found the perfect slabs (Taj Mahal with a creamier color, which are harder to find). My builder paid for them and moved them to a fabricator near his office. They sat there for 10 months and were fabricated a few weeks ago.

But I was looking in Nov/Dec 2020 when most of the slab yards had not received any stock in months, so there wasn't much selection and I was happy to find the slabs I liked and they had 3 that I needed for the kitchen. At that time they had no idea what shipments they would get or when.

I think supply is better now, but I wouldn't wait till the last minute. There are many choices that also need to coordinate with the counter colors, so you might want to look to narrow your colors and/or stone types.

Ask your builder for approximate building timelines for your build.

We started looking early, and it took quite a while to find the exact slab in the stone we picked. It has a lot of variations - some very busy, some less movement, color range, etc. If you have a place to store it, great!

I think our house was typical...took nine months, just like a baby. Choices get hectic toward the end, but some things may strangely 'disappear' if left with the supplier. You don't want warranty clocks to start until you will be using the items -- and you want to know they are perfect when you get the products.

Check with builder.

Pick out slab for color and size but I wouldn't buy or pay a deposit at this point. Typically you'll need your cabinets finalized (design) to know the slab needs.

Be a great client and select everything else... plumbing, appliances, light fixtures, colors, roofing, doors and especially windows which can be 12-18 weeks out and leave you stalled.

This is still happening, some shortages and out of stocks:

"I was looking in Nov/Dec 2020 when most of the slab yards had not received any stock in months"

Thank you Jeffrey- this is the info I was after!