Are you talking about the location in CT? If so, I have a great suggestion for you. Arts of Stone on Rt. 7 in New Milford, CT. They have a stoneyard right there, and can also get whatever you want if they don't have it - granite, marble, soapstone... The prices are reasonable, and they are very friendly; a real pleasure to work with. The owner only accepts the best stones and takes pride in his work. I visited a larger slab yard where they get some of their stones, and they confirmed this. Affectionately saying that he can be a pain to deal with from their perspective because if there is anything even slightly wrong with any stone delivered, he always sends it right back, as he is very picky about which stones he will accept.

My friend used the yard in S. Plainfield, NJ and I plan to use them as well. They came in almost $1k cheaper than the other place I was checking out, but the other place didn't allow me to pick out my slab. The S Plainfield location can get crazy, and no kids allowed in the yard, but if you go on a weekday I think it's better. My friend was impressed with the selection, 3 day turnaround, and her counters look great! I probably won't have mine until late April.

I was at the S. Plainfield location yesterday. It was HUGE. The staff was friendly and helpful...and they really have a HUGE selection. I have not chosen my granite yet (of course what I like was a triple gold at Marble.com)...but soon.

I'm on long island, so their Deer Park location.

how do you tell their color coding online? I didn't see that.

Jsut for those who did the pricing online without getting the pricing yet for the premium stuff, gold level is much more expensive than the baseline about double.

No pricing online but this is what their levels are (and the granites online do not have the level). The stuff we liked was double and triple gold...didn't even give us pricing on it. For 42 sq. feet, the prices below are for the different levels. This included a free 18g stainless steel sink and either 1/4 bevel or straight edge.

I found their prices to be quite reasonable, but have only been to 2 granite yards, + 2 different soapstone estimates.

Cheapest to Most Expensive:

Blue 180 colors in group ($1951)
Double Blue 420 colors in group ($2165)
Single Silver 350 colors in group ($2380)
Double Silver 230 colors in group ($2808)
Single Gold 55 colors in group (3380)

Additional costs were:

Ogee edge (+$282)
1/4 round edge (+$13)
1/4 round top and bottom (+181)
Full bullnose (+$248)
Half bevel (+$114)
Half bullnose (+$147)

Thanks for that info, fivefootzero! I had the blue & double blue pricing from doing an on-line quote, so this helps to know how high I can afford to go!

Would you mind telling me where you got your 2 soapstone estimates from and what they came in at? Based on the prices you quoted above, we probably have about the same amount of counter space. We are on a tight budget, so I don't know if it's even worth it to try to convince DH to go with soapstone!!!

Thanks!

I got the soapstone estimates from Bucks County and from Garden State Soapstone...both were in the $3600 area. I am planning on going to M. Tex. in Hackensack hopefully next week to get a price there.

I've used them, the company is called All Granite. I've been to the Ridgefield Park, NJ location. They're reasonably priced, very fast, decent work. The only issue I have with them...the installers aren't very friendly. Otherwise, they're fine.

As a designer, personally, for my client's kitchen and bath remodels, I like to use Integrity Granite and Marble in Union, NJ.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Granite Countertops Advice

I'm actually going to be at my son's hockey game on Saturday and the rink is right behind IGM...so I'm going to see some slabs before his game...which is right next door!!! How convenient. Thanks for the info.

not to tread outside the purvue of the thread, but why do you use a different countertop place than you recommend to your clients? I would think you would get a little special treatment there since you give them business.

We shopped the South Plainfield location but didn't use them.

We went on a weekday and there were only a couple of other customers there.

The staff was helpful and they have a good selection.

We ended up going with a fabricator that had done a couple of jobs in our neighborhood and came highly recommended. Stone Surfaces of Central Jersey We had already chosen a slab before we went to South Plainfield and didn't find one we liked as much there.

We couldn't compare apples to apples on the pricing because All Granite (marble.com) didn't have the same slabs that we had gotten pricing on. Their pricing on an ogee edge was much cheaper than our fabricator would do it for, even when we presented All Granite's pricing. They may have different machinery that allows them to polish an ogee quicker - our guy said it was an all day job.

we used all marble in ridgefield park for our kitchen & bathrooms. it was who our builder told us to use. the guys aren't that friendly because they're all from some eastern european country and are all business. but they have the biggest selection, they do the fabricating there and they have a very fast turnaround. we had our whole kitchen & bathrooms done & installed w/in 3 days. and they did an excellent job. of course, i chose bianco antico which is double gold.

this was another stone there that i was in love with: