Counter Tops!!!

[angiefox10]

I want to save some money and have the cheapest counter tops put in our new home and then have someone come out and put in Granite! Hubby wants to have the granite put in when it's built

Who had their counter tops put in after the home was built?

Did you feel that you saved enough money to make it worth it?

Did you have to paint when it was completed?

Were here any holes in the wall?

Was it a huge mess?

Would you do it that way again?

If you had granite put in when your home was built, would you have done if different now?

[mayBavillager]

So glad you asked these questions because we want to do the same.... put in granite after ...... main reason being we won't pay taxes on the granite when its done after you buy. If you put them in at the time you build you have to pay taxes on that forever. When we were there in April we sat with a salesman and the cost was $8000 for the granite.

[GTTPF]

We are having the granite done in the kitchen while the house is being built. After we will have the bathrooms done in the same granite. You will save on the job and the taxes. They wanted an extra $3000.00 to put granite in the bathrooms. We didn't want the hassel or mess in the kitchen. We want it move in ready. We had tile floors everywhere except the bedrooms. We will probably put hardwood flooring down after. Good luck they are big decisions.

[marybb]

My husband and I had granite installed after we moved in,we shopped around and got an excellent deal. The company we delt with was running a special both bathrooms also done for very little extra. They were very professional, and did a great job.

[Uptown Girl]

Angie,
I'll offer one suggestion... from past experience. If you decide to install after you close on the house, consider in advance wether you will want a backsplash or not.
if not, have them leave the formica backsplash off when they build.
It will save on damage to the walls during the change-out, as most backsplash material is glued on.

I have had 'after build out' granite installation done in previous homes... it was never a headache to go through..... and I've never regretted doing it that way.
I always got a better price/selection than what the builder offered.
Be advised though, you will probably have to change out your sink as well. The granite dealer often times will carry compatible products.
Hope you have a lot of fun choosing!

[faithfulfrank]

Another option you may want to consider is using Giani granite system. I think I posted some before and after pics on it here months ago....I can repost them if you want.

Basically, it is a high quality faux coating that you "paint" on your existing countertops to make them look like granite. We had yucky looking PINK countertops in our Florida home....plan on gutting the kitchen in a few years, but could not stand the PINK. We used the Giani and they look great!

Cost for the whole house....two baths and the kitchen as like $60.00. It was a fun project.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/faithfulFrank/100_7071.jpg

Hope it was ok to share this...it seems like you were looking for the cheapest upgrade to a granite look....this worked for us. YOu can find this product at www.gianigranite.com

No, I do not benefit in any way from this....just sharing what worked for us. I found the company very good to work with. This system is WAY better then some of the other systems you find at the "big box" stores.....

Frank

Before

After
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/faithfulFrank/100_7078.jpg

[Taj44]

We don't have granite, and haven't decided whether or not to put it in. I guess I'm put off by the maintenance - I've been told you're supposed to seal it each year. Friends have granite that was in the Villages house when they bought last year, and they feel its not as good quality as they could have purchased on their own. They tried to seal it, and it just kept sucking up the sealer, like it was never ending.

[faithfulfrank]

I plan on pouring some concrete countertops when I redo the kitchen....there are so many great looks now with concrete....

Frank

[angiefox10]

Another option you may want to consider is using Giani granite system. I think I posted some before and after pics on it here months ago....I can repost them if you want.

Basically, it is a high quality faux coating that you "paint" on your existing countertops to make them look like granite. We had yucky looking PINK countertops in our Florida home....plan on gutting the kitchen in a few years, but could not stand the PINK. We used the Giani and they look great!

Cost for the whole house....two baths and the kitchen as like $60.00. It was a fun project.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/faithfulFrank/100_7071.jpg

Hope it was ok to share this...it seems like you were looking for the cheapest upgrade to a granite look....this worked for us. YOu can find this product at www.gianigranite.com (http://www.gianigranite.com)

No, I do not benefit in any way from this....just sharing what worked for us. I found the company very good to work with. This system is WAY better then some of the other systems you find at the "big box" stores.....

Frank

Before

After
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/faithfulFrank/100_7078.jpg

That is beautiful.. Actually we are considering quartz and not granite. AND... I was considering getting the Formica and just living with it for awhile THEN getting the quartz. This would be a nice alternative while I'm trying to figure out what I want to do. I'm thinking more of the savings with the do it now or do it later.

One very good point made is that anything we do with the build, we will pay taxes on later!

[Oren L Miller]

Can someone give us a list of contractors that put in quartz after the fact and did a good job.

[LvmyPug2]

I've had granite in 2 houses and will be putting them in our house in TV after we move in. I love the look and you don't have to worry about putting hot pans directly on it. For one house we found a granite shop that prepared the granite in such a way, we didnt have to do annual seals. It was only a couple of hundred more and I felt well worth it. We lived in that house 6 yrs, never resealed the granite and they looked as nice as the day they were installed

[l2ridehd]

We did granite after the fact. Selection is way better then what TV offer. Price was reasonable and job quality was excellent. We used Duncan Stone who advertises on this site. We were the ones who told him about this site and two weeks later his ad was on here. Would highly recommend him.

If you search on granite you will find a thread where I posted pictures of the results.

[angiefox10]

We did granite after the fact. Selection is way better then what TV offer. Price was reasonable and job quality was excellent. We used Duncan Stone who advertises on this site. We were the ones who told him about this site and two weeks later his ad was on here. Would highly recommend him.

If you search on granite you will find a thread where I posted pictures of the results.


I remember seeing the pictures! Beautiful! How bad was the mess? Did you feel you save a lot of money, or just got a better quality? Did you have to paint after?

[l2ridehd]

Mess not bad at all, clean up took less then an hour. Very minor paint touch up, probably not required but I am fussy and already had the paint. That took less then 10 minutes. Cost, not really sure if I saved much. However I have granite in our home and Villages granite in one of the rental homes. There is no comparison as to quality of the finished product. Our home has only one seam for a much larger job. Rental home has three. Seam quality is much better in our home. Fit is better. I would suggest TV does a good job, Duncan Stone does an excellent job.

[debzaranti]

I want to save some money and have the cheapest counter tops put in our new home and then have someone come out and put in Granite! Hubby wants to have the granite put in when it's built

Who had their counter tops put in after the home was built?

Did you feel that you saved enough money to make it worth it?

Did you have to paint when it was completed?

Were here any holes in the wall?

Was it a huge mess?

Would you do it that way again?

If you had granite put in when your home was built, would you have done if different now?



In response to your specific questions:

We bought our Amarillo (ranch, now called Sunkissed Cottage I think) when the last boom of the housing market in TV was starting to come down. (July 2007). At that point in time, you took what you were offered and liked it (or not...LOL). We had 24 hours to decide if we wanted the house.

It came w/formica counters. I immediately had them replaced w/granite, including both bathrooms for a cost of $3500, unfortunately the company I used has gone out of business, but they did excellent work and I'm happy w/the quality of the granite.

Can't answer your second question since we had no opportunity to choose options on this house. We had to take it "as is".

I had not yet painted when the granite was installed, but I would have needed to touch up the blacksplash areas if I had already painted. Oh and when you have the granite installed, if the installer doesn't mention it, be sure to ask them to also replace the marble window sills w/matching granite when they do the job (if you have windows in the same room w/the granite and have the gray marble sills).

No "holes" in the wall, just some areas where the paper tore off the sheetrock when they removed the glued-on backsplashes.

Was it a huge mess? Well, by my standards, yes. (but I tend to be a neat-nik). My biggest complaint was that every surface was covered w/granite dust when they finished. Most of the fabrication was done outside the house, but, for obvious reasons, the holes for the sinks had to be cut after the slab was in place...hence the "mess" of granite dust.

If I had it to do all over, I would definitely choose to have it done while the home is being built....unless the cost was markedly higher or the builder didn't offer any granite I liked. Don't know if the builder would agree to this option of leaving the countertops/sinks OFF during the construction so you could sub-contract for a local granite company to come in and finish once the builder was out of the way (and before you move in).

Hope this helps. Good luck on your choices.

[JenAjd]

Anyone have, or considered Silestone (spelling might be wrong)?? I've thought it's attractive and don't think it needs sealing!

[GTTPF]

I wouldn't believe that you could leave the countertops and sink out. I don't think that you could get a CO to close. Maybe you can in FL but I would be surprised. Good Luck!:thumbup:

[angiefox10]

Anyone have, or considered Silestone (spelling might be wrong)?? I've thought it's attractive and don't think it needs sealing!

I think Silestone is quartz. Maybe not?

[renos]

I just had Duncan Stone who advertises on this site install granite counters and an under counter stainless sink in our kitchen. Price was reasonable and their work was very professional. They left the jobsite as clean as when they started. Would highly recommend them .

[NoSnow]

We just met with our design team in Sept. and chose granite in the kitchen and laundry.Now you actually go to wildwood and pick your slabs as to which level you prefer. It was actually quite a lot of fun. Said to my lovely bride that this was like picking out a wedding ring.:laugh: If possible take someone with you who knows something about granite. It is such a beautiful stone. Can't help you with your price question but we did enjoy choosing our own slabs.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Anyone have, or considered Silestone (spelling might be wrong)?? I've thought it's attractive and don't think it needs sealing!

I think Silestone is quartz. Maybe not?

Quartz-based countertops are manufactured under a variety of brand names: Caesarstone, HanStone, Silestone, and Zodiaq to name a few.

Bill :)

[swimdawg]

Quartz-based countertops are manufactured under a variety of brand names: Caesarstone, HanStone, Silestone, and Zodiaq to name a few.

Bill :)

I have Zodiaq quartz for my countertops up north. I had many choices of color....upwards of 50, I bet. They are easy to maintain but they don't have that "one of a kind, special" look of granite.

I opted to go for granite for my home in TV and I love the look.

Quartz countertops are mostly made of synthetic material....& they do have a bit of sparkly quartz pieces throughout. They are nice....but not as "interesting" as granite.

I am very happy with my granite countertops....and I like look better than the quartz countertops that I have up north.

Both are very nice.

[CaptJohn]

Time to renew this thread. I have ugly pink and white ceramic countertops that the previous owner did and will try this. Can't be uglier than what I have. Thanks for the link Frank.

[faithfulfrank]

Happy to help. I also did the vanity in our guest bath. I have more pics if any are interested. It might not be for everyone, but it was a great solution for us.

Not everyone loves or wants a $50,000 kitchen with granite or other materials. Like I said, I'll redo the kitchen down the road, but did not want to live with the pink until then.

I heard somewhere the average Villager buys 3 houses in TV and lives there 7 years. I also read somewhere the average lifespan of kitchens is like 12-15 years between major renovations. If that is true it might not be the wisest decision to do a $50,000 kitchen remodel.....

For the record, years ago I was in the kitchen business, selling those $50,000 kitchen remodels...

Respectfully, Frank.

[CFrance]

When we had granite installed in our condo in MI, the company came and made a template of the countertops. They took the new sink back to the factory with them and did all cutting and sink cutouts there instead of in our home. There was no granite dust mess in the house.

[MLBellis]

There was a story on the news about granite caused cancer.... you may want to google & research it!!!


Granite Countertops A Health Threat? - CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500165_162-4292754.html)

[bdabob]

My wife and I close on our new home this coming Friday and will have the laminate counter tops removed and replaced with granite on the following Monday (kitchen and 3 bathrooms).
Our decision was based on having more choices for the granite. The options available at our design team meeting didn't enthuse us.
It is slightly more expensive but worth getting the granite of our choice.
Not sure about the disruption but our installer claims he should have it complete in one day.

[graciegirl]

There are Formica choices that are awesome these days. It is the simplest replacement for countertop and very user friendly and not overly expensive.

We have granite here and had it in our old house in Cincinnati. All it really is is huge thin pieces of polished rock. Period. There is a lot of hype about Radon, and it being an easily contaminated surface, but I am guessing that that information is hyped by the competitors who sell other surfaces. Granite has become a status symbol and hugely popular.

We didn't ever have to have them redone in Ohio, and the safest and best way to keep them sparkling is to wipe them off with a clean cloth full of soapy water and dry them with another CLEAN CLOTH. We always use a cutting board or boards. We had Black Galaxy in old home and it was gorgeous but a LOT of work to keep looking nice, because it showed every touch of the hand and water spot because it was very DARK.

The new one is a lighter mix of brownish colors and you really have to remind yourself to check for crumbs.

I always liked to collect pretty rocks when I was a kid. I think most granite is just beautiful and it was hundreds of thousands of years in the making.;)

[jimbo2012]

If your worried about radon, just get an in home test kit.

Too many people have these, likely a myth, if the test is negative sell the kit to your neighbor.

[kgentile1010]

The choices they have for the Formica in the new designer houses is pretty nice. We also decided to do the granite later since I want to get the kitchen in first and then see what granite I like with it. My choices were from all different models, so don't know how it will look yet when it comes together. I picked Formica -- Butterrum Granite for my countertop. I think there are a lot of nice choices for Formica.

[goodgrief]

My suggestion...you kinda know how much it would cost for the villages to do it....so go to Lowes or Home Depot and have them price it out for you. Then you'll have price points to work with.