What Is Included in a Countertop Quote (and What Is Not)

What should be inside the number

On a full fabricate and install job, these six things belong in the price you are quoted. If any of them is missing from the page, ask where it went.

• The stone itself, at the slab you actually chose
• Templating, the on site measure that captures the real walls rather than the drawing
• Fabrication: cutting, the edge profile, and the cutouts for your sink, faucet and cooktop as scoped
• Delivery to the house
• Installation, including the seams, leveling and support
• Sealing, where the material needs it. Natural stone is sealed at install. Quartz is non porous and does not get sealed, so nobody should be charging you for it

That is what we mean by one all inclusive number. You get it in writing before anything is cut, and it does not move afterwards because we found something at the shop.

What sits outside it, and when you should hear about it

None of these are tricks. They are real work that many shops price separately, and the honest ones tell you before you commit rather than after.

• Tear out and disposal of your existing counters. We do it, and it is quoted as its own line so you can see exactly what it costs rather than having it folded into the total
• The sink and the faucet themselves, unless they are written into the quote as supplied
• Plumbing. We do not disconnect or reconnect plumbing. That is a licensed plumber, and it is worth booking before your install date
• Electrical, for anything that has to move because of a new backsplash or a cooktop change
• Tile backsplash, when the splash is tile rather than stone
• Wall repair and paint after a tear out, because removing old counters can take some of the wall with it

A stone backsplash is different. It can be part of the job, but only when it is written on the quote. If you want it and do not see it listed, it is not in the number.

Why two quotes for the same kitchen come back different

Five things move a countertop price, and they move it independently. Two shops can quote the same square footage and land far apart because they assumed different answers to these.

• The slab. Material category is only the start. Within marble, quartzite, quartz and granite there are ordinary slabs and there are rare ones, and that gap is often larger than the gap between materials
• Size, shape and seams. Square footage is a starting point, not the job. An L shaped run with two inside corners takes more layout and more seam work than a straight galley of the same area
• The edge. An eased edge is the standard. A mitered or laminated edge is built from two pieces of your stone and takes more material and more shop time
• Cutouts. Sink, cooktop, faucet holes and soap dispensers are each real work. An undermount sink also needs its opening polished, because you will see that cut edge every day. A drop in sink hides it under the rim
• Waterfalls and full height backsplash. Both need additional material, and a full height splash can mean reserving two slabs together so the veining runs continuously

Why price per square foot does not settle it

Square footage is how the trade talks, not how the job gets priced. A low rate per square foot can quietly exclude the tear out, assume the cheapest edge, assume a drop in sink, or be quoting a different tier of slab than the one you stood in front of.

The number that matters is the written total for your scope. Ask for that, and ask what it assumes. A shop that will not put the scope in writing is telling you something.

How to compare two written quotes

Before you pick the cheaper one, make both pages say the same thing about these eight items. If they do not, you are not comparing the same job.

• The same material, and a comparable slab, not just the same category name
• The same approximate square footage and the same layout
• The same edge profile
• The same sink type, undermount or drop in, and the same number of cutouts
• Waterfalls and backsplash included the same way, or excluded on both
• Tear out included or excluded on both, and priced where it is included
• Sealing, delivery and installation named explicitly rather than assumed
• Who fabricates and who installs, because on many quotes those are two different companies

Then read the warranty language. Ours is one year on workmanship, and it covers seams, level and support, the sink attachment, edge profiles, cutouts and the backsplash. A warranty you cannot read in under a minute is worth asking about.

Five things on a quote worth questioning

• A material allowance with no slab named. You are being quoted for a stone nobody has picked yet
• An install line that says crew to be determined. You want to know who is coming and whether they work for the shop
• No mention of tear out at all, when you have existing counters that have to come off
• No sealing note on a natural stone job
• Pressure to sign before you have the scope in writing. There is no version of this job that needs a decision today

How our number works

You get one written price that covers the stone, templating, fabrication, delivery, install and sealing. Tear out, if you need it, is its own line and you see it before you agree to anything. Nothing gets cut until you have approved your slab and the seam layout drawn on it.

Our online estimate gives a real closed number for one specific path: a kitchen, in quartz, with the full package. Everything else comes back as price on request, and that is deliberate. On a marble or quartzite job the slab you pick moves the number too much to pretend otherwise, so we quote it after you have seen the stone rather than guessing on a screen.

From the measure to the install is one to two weeks, and the install itself is a single day. Your old counters stay in place until the morning we arrive.