Few people actually know what questions to ask before buying a new granite countertop. A tradesperson would shop for new granite countertops with a different list of expectations. Most home owners only ask two questions. What types of stone could I receive from you, and how expensive is it? If that’s all you do to pick out your crafts people, then you’ll get what you pay for.

Do you stock slabs or do you buy them from somebody else? It doesn’t make a difference which way this is answered, but it should be on your list of questions. If it’s something that’s in the yard, you’re likely going to get a superior deal, because the fabricator got a quantity deal.

Does this type of natural stone stain readily? Once again, I would deal with whatever the answer might be. Be prepared for the average salesperson not to know the answer. Bring a container of water and wet the material. If it’s soaks up liquid in less than 5 minutes, it’s going to need a lot of sealer.

Does this stone etch with acid? If you’re salesperson in fact knows the answer of this, purchase from them! After you’ve gotten the types down to the top two or three, find out if they’ll whack samples off. Put some lemon juice on the samples. 99% or more of the stones sold for kitchens won’t be affected.

Is this really 1st caliber granite? Don’t ask, just inspect. Slabs of granite aren’t perfect, nor are they intended to be . Are you looking at a plethora of challenges or just a few? How much repair work was done to the slab overseas? Is the shop planning on just carving it to size, or are they planning to repair anything? Is this stone easy or difficult to work on?

Do they cut this type of stone a lot? Do they physically have scraps or samples to prove they have worked it?

What kind of tools are you going to use, and who’s going to handle them? You can get top quality work from two guys and some hand tools; if they know what they’re doing. Gadgets are good, but it’s the employees that use them that will determine how the job turns out. More expensive tools that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars make high quality work easier, but it’s still run by humans.

What kind of turn around time are they accustomed with? Some shops need 12 days from template, other need 3. Rushing through the job is never a good idea. Do you want it done right, or do you want it done right now?

What’s the warranty like: If it’s more than 12 months, what’s actually covered?

Can you get the crane and actually put the exact slabs you inspected away so they’re still here 3 weeks from now? It’s common for the stone shop to say that you’ll get some of the slabs from the same block or batch. It might be valuable for you to get the actual ones inspected.

How many mechanic teams are there? Maybe you should ask for one gang over of another.

Would they be open to ten percent in barter? Look around, everybody’s got something they can swap.

Who manages the problem installs: Meet them before the project starts. What’s their proposal for turn around time for service or tweaking?

Do you service customers who bought elsewhere and fix their shoddy installs? Who’s the best at restoration

Some of the quality granite fabricators in their never ending quest for superior quality have partnered with industry trade associations like the Marble Institute of America (MIA), and the Stone Fabricators Alliance (SFA). Family run shops like granite San Diego, granite Minneapolis , or granite counters Baltimore are frequently the ones that are leading the industry through innovation and higher quality standards, and deserve your consideration alongside the bigger players.

If other homeowners asked these types of questions, it would be a win-win for both the contractor and the homeowner. Expectations would be set more realistically, and homeowner satisfaction would take off. There’s also more than a few granite shops that would close down if they were asked all these questions up front.

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