If you are shopping for a new home in 2012, granite is a big
buzz word. The realtor ads may not
mention that the home has an outhouse but they will mention if it has granite
counter tops. Granite is claimed to be
the swing vote when comparing new homes.
Yea if it has it and nay if it doesn’t.
A family member who is a realtor states stoutly (she’s not)
that granite will help you get your asking price or help your house sell more
quickly. That is subjective and I can
not quantify it but there does seem to be a lot of substantiating
collaboration.
After a little research it is easy to say that there are no
easy answers in granite. One company
advertises that their granite is 95% granite and 5% polymer. They state that it is stronger than slab
granite and they can put it right over your old countertops. Since it is obviously made of left over
granite chunks ground up and glued together (think particle board) it should be
cheaper than slab granite. Wrong!
Try $1600.00 more than slab granite for the same number of
square feet and the same features.
The big box home improvement stores do granite. The sales man at one, said, “I’m not on
commission, so I don’t care what you buy but I wouldn’t buy what we have on
sale.”
The price differential between the same number of square
feet and the same features using the same type of material can be
significant.
The same admonishment I mentioned on replacement windows
holds true here as well. If possible
use a small business, check their work and compare prices. You may be shocked to discover that there are
many small firms wherever you are, doing quality work at better prices than the
national chains.
Don’t take granite for granted, shop locally and save some
money and aggravation.
If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.
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