Hi Philip...

Wow, now I"m really confused. My friend was told that all prices were the same by whomever she spoke with after calling your NJ office. Perhaps there was a miscommunication. Regardless,she was quoted the above price ($108/per sq ft) which is significantly higher than I paid, even when factoring in my delivery charge. I was just really surprised at the price difference, considering it hasn't been that long since I purchased mine. I will forward her this correspondence and have her contact you.

I would be curious if others on the forum would have input regarding what they paid, at Teixeira or otherwise, recently for their soapstone.

We bought a slab from them last summer - Santa Rita Venata - and paid $30/sq ft. I do not recall if that was a sale price or not though. They were very helpful and easy to deal with. Shipping to Alaska on the other hand...not so great, but that's not the fault of M. Teixeira.

I used M. Teixeira in SF. Last year (2011) I paid $84/square foot installed for Barroca. There was an extra charges for the undermount farmhouse sink detail, the drainer board, the curved countertop overhang and routing out the bottom of the overhang and installing the steel bars for overhang support. I had gotten another estimate from another supplier and they were comparable. They were very professsional and I am very happy with my countertop and highly recommend them.

I bought DIY slabs from M. Teixeira. I bought Python, which were on their super-duper 50% off sale. (They still are.) Normally $30/sq ft., I paid $15 sq. ft + $500 shipping on ~48 sq. ft. to the midwest. (As best I can tell, shipping to my location adds about $9/sq. ft.)

I have linked to our recent thread on DIY soapstone counters, although I realize your friend is not likely to do that.

Here is a link that might be useful: DIY soapstone thread

I used M. Teixeira's MA/NH affiliate, Jewett Farms, last fall and ended up paying about $89/sqft for Barroca. IIRC, I was also told that it was the same price for all varieties. That included a 6ft long curve, sink cutout, runnels, delivery and installation. There was no tax unless it was included in the price and not itemized. They were very accommodating and great to work with.

The quote was originally a bit higher, but I got them closer to Dorado's $85/sqft quote for the same thing. Dorado was also quoting the same price for all varieties. They were also great to work with and I think they would have done a great job too.

I ended up choosing M. Teixeira because they were the first to have the slabs that best matched our taste in soapstone.

Well my friend just got off the phone with Michelle, whom she originally spoke with and who sent the quote of $108/per square foot. Michelle says that indeed ALL soapstone in their NJ location is the same price. When my friend asked why there was such a disparity in price compared to what I paid, she sort of got the run around.

Michelle said that maybe it was because my julia was on sale. (It was, but I am going by the non sale price, which was $79/per)

then she said maybe it was because I was local to NJ. (I was not. I live in the same town as my friend and paid a $500 delivery charge.)

She said that Philip (above) is the manager in San Francisco and that their pricing is different than their NJ office.

If you apply the formula used for my pricing ($500 delivery charge and price per square foot, fabricated and installed) the price of Julia from the NJ office is now $94.60 per square foot. Quite a significant change from just 3 years ago.

After her experience so far, I don't think my friend will be using Teixeira, unfortunately.

And I have been quoted $100-$130/sq.ft but that was preliminary. It looks like the prices have really gone up with popularity?

FWIW, I don't think $95 is outrageous. I think that was about where I started before negotiating. All the fabricators in my area were in the same ballpark, $80-$100. I can attest that demand is up, because when I started looking last spring, there wasn't a lot of stock and choices were relatively slim for soapstone. And this was at M. Teixeira and Dorado. Granted M. Teixeira was only an affiliate where NJ was their virtual stock yard, but Dorado was an actual importer. There seemed to be more slabs tagged as sold or on hold than available. The pickings were also slim at stone distributors in my area. Ultimately, I had to wait for a new shipment from Brazil and I ended up having to pick slabs from photos.

I also think there are two pricing models at play. They can price it based on the number of whole slabs, in which case the cost per sqft is less, but you're buying more stone than you need. Technically, any remaining should belong to you to do as you please. Then they add on fabrication which can be done by them or a fabricator of your choosing.

Or they price it by the job which means you only pay for what you use. If your job requires 2.5 slabs, then that's what you get. They keep the remainder and sell it as partial slabs or they use it for another client. I think that 2nd model is much more prevalent now which might also explain the jump in price.

jscout...I hear you. That's basically why I posted on here to begin with - to see if the market has changed in the 3 years I bought mine. Clearly Teixeira's NJ pricing policy has changed because it was not all the same price regardless of stone for me. It just seems like a big jump. Maybe she can wait for a sale...

We are going to a local fabricator today to get an idea of their selection and price.

Michelle is the person I dealt with when I ordered my soapstone. I'm happy overall, but did find her rather terse to deal with. When I asked about getting a picture she told me "it all looks about the same so you won't need a picture". Our correspondence was all email, but I did get the feeling that I was one of those "PITA customers that asks too many questions". Ok, so I am TKO, I admit that :)

I got mine a bit over a year ago, and it wasn't all the same price at that time. I think I paid about $55 sq foot for prefabricated slabs, shipping and installation not included. I do love my soapstone.

macybaby, seriously? She told you you didn't need to see even a picture before buying? Sheeeesh.

We went to a local counter top store that does a lot of soapstone. (In fact, Dorado is one of their suppliers.) Whether they can find something similar to Julia is a question, but their prices were more in line - he said he should be able to keep the types she said she was interested in at around $80/per sq ft fabricated and installed. That's a savings of $1k for my friend. She won't be ready for counters for 5 weeks so hopefully they'll find something she likes at that time. Shame about Teixeira, though.

We didn't end up picking soapstone for our kitchen.
But until the 11th hour we thought we were going to pick soapstone.
So, I can't comment of what it is like to actually purchase through Teixeira.

But, I can say that our experience with them the two times we visited their store in Hackensack, NJ was wonderful. The saleswomen we toured the yard with were very knowledgeable. And the crew you "lifted" four or five slabs for us and brought them with the forklift out into the sun so that we could see the veining were so patient with us. I was impressed by the service.

I bet in-store is a better experience. When I tried to go through the internet with them, I never got a comfortable feeling about what I was buying. After several different occasions, I finally got pictures, but the messages about each were mixed. I chickened out, and went with a local fabricator who uses Dorado. MT did have some good sale prices at the time, however, I just couldn't buy them sight unseen.

The one thing about them that turns me off is that they watch this forum like a hawk and have been known to get into fairly emotional exchanges with any hapless poster who relates a negative experience.

Teixiera's soapstone looks absolutely beautiful from the many photos shared here over the years.

I can pass on great things about the Maine Soapstone Company for anyone looking further north.

I bought mine in store - I was living outside of Philly at the time so a trip to Hackensack was no big deal. I dealt with a man. He was very helpful and it was a great experience, which is why I was so quick to recommend them.

With the thousands this stuff costs and the variations, I can't imagine buying without at least seeing a picture, if not going in person.

The place we went to yesterday was great. They said they'd send pictures. If the slab was too far away, he even said she could have final veto once they got it delivered here, but before fabrication. So she has no worries whatsoever.

Long time lurker (usually in Garden) but more recently as we are starting to renovate our kitchen (Finally!!). Just wanted to add my two cents to this thread as I am kind of surprised by some member's experience with Teixiera.

My husband and I drove down (from CT) a few weeks ago. We were shown around by Michelle who answered our dozens of questions, showed us tons of slabs, explained the different kinds, walked us through the sinks, discussed runnels and drainboards - even though we were just starting the process and she knew we were "just looking". At no time did we feel pressured or rushed. She explained pricing (discussed that pricing could increase if the distance a fabricator had to go was significant - which made sense to us) and left us feeling very positive about working with Teixiera.

We went home with tons of information and samples. I sent emails to Michelle with more questions which she graciously answered. Once we finalized our kitchen plans, our designer emailed her the plan - she promptly emailed me an estimate, which did not include any upcharge for our location.

I called to make an appointment for my husband and I to pick out our slabs for today. Michelle and I had a number of emails back and forth, as we added a sink, etc. to the estimate. On Friday she called me to tell me that she wouldn't be in today but didn't want me to be surprised that she wasn't there - and that Maria had all our information and would help us choose the right slabs. She told us she had let Maria know that we were interested in a particular kind of soapstone and the kind of veining we wanted.

When we got there today, Maria walked us through - showed us the slabs, tagged the ones we wanted and explained the whole process to us. We left a deposit and are thrilled about moving forward on this.

In fact, I had emailed Michelle yesterday telling her that it was her kindness and patience with us that was a large determining factor in our deciding to use Teixeira.

Hopefully we won't be disappointed - but for now we feel extremely comfortable with using Teixeira. The pricing has been very competitive and everyone we have spoken to at the Hackensack facility has been gracious and knowledgeable. Fingers crossed that this experience remains so positive. But it is our experience and a very recent one. Perhaps we've been lucky - but we listened to other people there today working with various people and all seemed to be getting excellent customer service.

I went with M. Tex for my Belvedere Soapstone last fall. The selection in Portland, OR is one or two varieties of the softer stones, and I wanted the harder variety, requiring me to go online to order.
My experience with their different offices were quite mixed. I found the NJ office very rude on multiple different phone calls, the San Francisco office basically said to call NJ because they didn't have stones from India, irregardless of the fact that I was on the west coast and I was hoping to have it shipped to them, and then to me.

I finally found someone at the Denver office who was accomodating, professional and had the Belvedere stone I wanted. I asked a ton of questions via email, and had to remind them to send me a photo of the slab. I ordered the prefabricated DIY slabs- they cut it to size and I think it was about $65 sq. foot on sale. Runnels (which are gorgeous!) were $290, and shipping from Denver to Portland was $380, They did miscut the piece behind the sink but sent a new one immediately, which broke in transit, and then sent a second one free of charge, even refunding some shipping. They completely stepped up to the plate with their mistake, and made it right, which in my opinion is how to keep customers happy. Overall, I cannot say how happy I am with my gorgeous stone. I would not hesitate to recommend this office based on the many emails, phone calls, and overall taking care of me in this very stressful process (not seeing the stone first, trusting it is what they say it is, etc.).

FWIW, I also contacted Dorado and was told one price on one phone call then it doubled when they sent the confirmation email, after I'd given them my credit card to order it. When I called back and left a message, AND emailed them, no one would respond back. At least they ended up not charging my card, but that totally soured me on them.

When you are limited by selection locally as I was, this was the only route for me to go in order to get exactly what I wanted. I know the demand is up, so perhaps the prices are as well? I do know that locally, more of the stone places are carrying soapstone, even if they are misinformed about it and how 'hard it is to take care of'!

What others said reinforces what I thought. I simply wasn't buying enough to be worth much effort. That I can live with. I only spent about $1,800 with them.

I'm in an area that has no local selection. I still love my soapstone.

Ultimately, I've decided to not use soapstone, so I can't say that I purchased a final slab from M. Teixeira. However, I was very happy with their answers to my questions and the little square samples I ordered from them. For someone who does want soapstone, I think they're at least worth a hard look based on my interaction with them.

Actually, I think it's very good that this company looks at GW posts on their firm. There was another thread for a different vendor and when a poster enthusiastically recommended that vendor, there were a least 3 comments saying that so&so MUST be a paid shill for that vendor. I suppose anything is possible, but when I searched for other posts by that same person, she had several helpful posts on unrelated topics, so if she were a paid shill she was goofing off on the job and posting on unrelated topics on GW.

Polie, I also have nothing against a vendor looking at posts; it's when the vendor actually signs up to begin rude and heated arguments about the quality of their product/service that it becomes extremely uncomfortable for everyone. (Not to mention shooting themselves in the foot PR-wise.)

This week, M. Teixeira NJ quoted me $89 a sq ft installed (50 miles from them), with 2 sink cut outs, any variety.

For the most part, I had good communications with Michelle. I think there may be a slight regional mismatch that is being reflected in some of the comments here. I am "bilingual": I grew up on the east coast and now live in the midwest. The personnel at M. Teix. are very east coast. (What, you got a problem with dat?) When I called them, I found it momentarily offputting, but I was quickly able to fall back to east coast mores. If you are not familiar with this mode of communication, you may easily find it terse or rude.

Recent satisfied customer.

We live in NYC.

For purchase, fabrication, and installation of approx 57 sq of counters with two cut outs and a backsplash, straight edges, and no dish drain, we had three quotes - $7300, $5700, and Tiexiera was under that, including a 'third man' charge due to the size/weight of slaps. An architect friend noted that $90-$120 per sq installed was the going rate in this area. All MT material was priced the same when I was there (they bid on the the design a week before we even chose the stone). Plus, they had all the varieties of SS right there. NYC has loads of stone providers but limited SS - mostly gray.

The staff could not have been more helpful from the sale, stone selection, template decisions, fabrication (I met with them to place the templates) and installation process. Even the billing was pleasant.

The sales process (NY show room) included a lot of education and Q&A regarding our issues, before they recommended a few types of the of stone (again, after they had bid). I visited theie Hackensack office and examined many slabs before making a decision. I note that MT had no issue with oiling the stone in order to make the choice (DUH!) where as the other suppliers would not allow that - just a cup of water. Chose the Black Brazilian for its hardness and darker color.

Understand, I really like my old fabricator , great marble install, and he had experience (with a friend of mine) with SS, but it was not his metier. And there was tension between him and the stone suppliers.

I feel that SS is a unique product where one stop shopping matters.

I recommend them

I find everyone at M. Texiera (Hackensack, NJ office/showroom) to be incredibly easy to talk to, work with and I appreciate their honesty and their expertise. They are very patient and accommodating and their pricing could not be better. They had no issue with oiling part of the stone in order to help make a choice and they will move around lots of slabs so that you can look at whatever you wish and they do it all with such a pleasant and customer-friendly attitude. My only trouble was in selecting a stone/pattern as I love so many of them - guess after the kitchen is completed, I will have to find another area in the house to use soapstone in so I can try one of the other patterns/stones!! That won't be difficult! I LOVE soapstone and we love the stone we finally chose - Santa Rita with the most beautiful and varied veining - some white, some brown and the most beautiful sea glass green!! Can't wait for the install!! Will post pics when it's all installed!!

In February of this year we bought a slab of Julia soapstone from texeira in San Francisco. The price was $46 per sq ft. That was just the price of the soapstone. The fabrication was done by my contractor as well as the delivery. The job was complete and it looks good. Not really sure what I paid for the fab and delivery since it was part of the project and wasn't itemized.