I like European in Farmingdale as the yard http://www.egmcorp.com/
and Darren at Refined Stone, www.refinedstone.com/, also in Farmingdale, as the fabricator.

Good luck!

DD saw her granite at the fabricator GT Marble...you deal directly with the owner Giuseppe. Not much of a website (www.gtmarble.inc) but it has directions, etc (Islandia). The stone was from HG Stones in Hauppague. DD was very pleased with the personal service she got from Giuseppe and his price for the stone, while not cheap, was the best of a few that priced it for her.

Thank you for those suggestions.....

May I ask how the process typically goes? Do we just go from yard to yard till we find a slab we like then meet w recommended fabricators? I somehow thought the pricing for the slab, edge work , cut outs would all be done by 1 company,no?

Thanks for the education

You meet with the fabricator who sends you to the yard. You discuss price and options with the fabricator.

I shopped around and found an AWESOME guy to work with. A woman with a home in Old Brookville that spent 20,000 on her counters in her kitchen as well as had 8 bathrooms done by this man recommended this guy to me. He was the only one that was honest about my unique situation and found me what I needed for the best price! He can help you find what you like and fabricate it. I wanted 2 inch thick marble ( standard is 1 1/4 inch) and the 2 inch slabs are standardly small about 120x60. I needed just a tad more then 1 slab.. but no one will sell you a partial slab. Everyone in every yard or shop insisted I had to get 2 slabs and live with the extra left over for my size and that it would be impossible to find a slab just a tad larger. When I got this referral... he had me wait and he kept looking and said it is possible with a bit of patience and all his contacts... so we waited and eventually at a warehouse in Astoria area we found a beautiful very white 2 inch slab that was a tad larger... this saved me thousands of dollars!!! my job ended up being 4000.00 even and I was sooo happy.. I used him directly and has great references.... if I went through my cabinet company it was always going to be atleast 2000 more no matter what for their commission... atastone.com. Ask for Levant and tell him Amanda referred you if you are interested. Tell him what you like and he will tell you what yards to go visit that may have things that you interested in and when you like a slab you tell him the code on it nad he will call the yard get the price and tell you how much it will be to do it for your space. Very happy with his customer service, honesty to help me not get ripped off and perfectionism in his work

we are using vance at marble techniques in college point, ny - easy to get to from long island. we happen to be using him for soapstone but we were very impressed with their granite also. they are doing the fabrication on our sstone ...not sure how they handle their granite - if you need your own fabricator or what. so far...we have been very happy. the counters are going in in 7-10 days and will know then. i called a few of his references and they just raved about them.

Vance Ebbecke
Field Manager
Marble Techniques Inc.
15-30 131 Street
College Point, NY 11356
P: 718.204.5001 ext 3036
F: 718.204.8018
M: 917.207.4988
vance@marbletechniques.net

I live in Queens and combed the granite yards in LI, Brooklyn and NJ until I found the perfect slab. The granite yards aren't supposed to recommend a fabricator to you (conflict of interest). But most of the fabricators can buy a slab from any of the local granite yards. So, find your slab and then pick a couple of reputable fabricators in that area and price it out with them to compare. To me it was most important to find my perfect piece of art first.

Thanks everyone,great insights so far.....

So do you negotiate the price with the fabricator who buys the slab from the yard? Seems like it would be better to go negotiate w the yard directly but it sound you all have done it thru the fabricator

Are edges, cut outs pricing all determined by the fabricator?

Thanks again & I'm still open to more suggestions

Thanks for all those wh responded thus far.....bumping in hopes of further insight, TIA

Hi Sportsrx. The slab yards I went to in NY & NJ do not negotiate the price. The fabricator negotiates the price with you for the square footage installed. The plainer edges are included in that price A fancier edge is usually a bit more money. They will tell you.

I used Renaissance Marble as a fabricator located in New Hyde Park, NY - they were awesome!!! I was very happy with them - ask for Joyce. They recommended a few places for granite which I visited. I liked granite at Walker Zanger and ended up using their granite.

Here is a link that might be useful: Renaissance Marble

Any thoughts on what standard pricing is? What is included w that w regards to edges, cut outs,bump outs etc..... & how much more should reasonably expect to pay for exotics?

Thanks for all the suggestions thus far!

Giuseppe from GT marble did my island and master vanity. There are two large yards near his store in Hauppauge(HG and Global). Between them, they likely will have whatever you need.

You can just go to the stone yards and look around. They are somewhat cagey about pricing if you do not have a fabricator picked, but you can tell them that you are buying.

2 votes for giussepe....any body have insights on ballpark pricing for exotics?

Ball park pricing is rather hard, as is defining "exotic." I was going to do an amazing piece of calacatta gold for my relatively modest island, until I was given a price north of $10K. For a large project, the edge work will not affect pricing materially, and sink cut outs are a few hundred dollars if not included in the price. If you are looking at higher priced granites, you are probably looking at $100 sq ft +/- 30%. If you have a large island and are looking for a single slab to cover the whole thing, that may cost more (and may be impossible for a very large island).

Really?? $100 sq ft?? 30% variability seems like a wide range too. 70-130 guess it's times to starting hitting some yards.....thanks for everyone's feedback

granite yards dont do pricing, something to do with wholesale and selling Business 2 Business and about raw slabs that cannot be picked up or delivered except to a fabricators shop/factory.

Start you search with a local fabricator, to get an idea of price ranges, and then hunt for your slabs, this way if you find something and like, you wont have to start from the beginning if the granite is out of your budget.

most yards have websites so you can do your research as to what is available. I particularly like HG stones website, it has pictures of actual slabs, I made a list and then visited them to see in person. Once you have picked out your granite, visit a reputable fabricator and negotaite. Good luck. hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: HG Stones

Millenium Granite and Stone in Port Chester. A small yard, but it is hassle free one stop shopping. They do it all and do a great job. I don't understand the fabricator? At Millenium, you go, choose, they template your kitchen and then install the granite.

Hey all,

So maybe we are going about this backwards, but we toured the yard at hg stone...Monique was very helpful & there was a wide selection. So now I am " interviewing" fabricators recommended here as well as friend recommendations......we haven't ordered yet so still open to suggestions from anyone

Thanks again to all!!

AJARD,

I have been dealing with levent via email & while his english is not that great he is sooooo much cheaper than all others Im almost scared....You know they call Brooklyn " Crooklyn" :) I wanted to email you directly but your page didnt allow it.

ALL OTHERS-

I am in the process of bidding out the job to Darren & Giusseppe, unfortunately Joyce in NHP was so much higher than others although a very pleaseant reputable operation....

Just that Granite is such a blind item & the process between the yard, the fabricator, do they charge by the slab or the sq foot its sooo secretive ive never seen a business operate like this it has me a little skeptical & scared to pull the trigger.....

sportsrx Levant came from a recommendation from a woman that lives in a 5 million dollar new home with 8 bathrooms and 2 laundry rooms in Old Brookville. I visited her home and he did all 8 bathrooms, kitchen and laundry rooms with various different natural stones. Fancy Fixtures in Port Washington , NY also refers him out . I also live in Old Brookville. You can email me directly at ajard@msn.com
He even came back and did some touching up for me recently.. he is a VERY stand up guy and gives good prices since he has no middleman to pay. If you get him through a cabinet guy or fancy fixtures then his price is likely higher since he has to pay them for the referral.. if you get him direct you save money!

sportsrx

How did it go?

We get counter top fabricated and installed with Ata Stone Works. The Measurement was not correct and there was not template made. As soon the installers arrive at our house they ware angry with attitude and answer rudely my questions. The counter top was not the perfect fit and the fabrications was not the way we wanted it. The stone was attached to the cabinets with silicone not with epoxy as i was told. They try to fix the corners that has to be done in the shop with hand tools and the edging was ruined . The sink opening was not cut out and installed correctly.The installers told me that I have to pay for the rest of my balance and they left the house. I try to contact them couple times but the boss Levent sad that my house is in inconvenient place and they could not stop by at this time, but they will call me and fix the problems. They never call back. Not recommended... Thank you

Going directly to a fabricator is an option but you will be limited to a smaller selection. While some fabrication yards look full, they are usually stocked with large quantities of smaller selections. In my opinion I suggest visiting the slab yards first. Selecting 3-4 different colors that you like will help the fabricator accurately quote the project. Where ever you decide to go, keep in mind that indoor slab yards will more accurately present the natural colors of the stone. Wet slab are misleading in terms of color and finish. Slabs left out in the rain can take up to a week to dry especially in the cooler months. From the few slab yards mentioned HG Stones has a great indoor showroom. Global as well, however, they look like they are more of a tile warehouse.
Best of luckâ¦

brooklynite i cant believe ata stone treated you like that.. I thought Levant was very customer service orientated.. he came back and did some fixing for me and I live far from his shop... sorry to hear that

Ajard...just re-reading these posts and noticed you live in Old Brookville.
I'm waving to you from the same zip code...in Glen Head.

Nice to know there's someone real close by on these boards!

darbuka here is my email if you want to chat about local kitchen vendors
ajard@msn.com

Thanks, ajard!

*** DO NOT USE ***

Innovative Marble & Tile Inc
150 Motor Pkwy # 210
Hauppauge New York 11788

*** DO NOT USE ***

I placed a 50% deposit on 2 pieces of granite for my kitchen and when it came time for the template they the stones were either sold or lost. I was told my original salesperson was "let go" in the company's restructuring. They have also filed for bankruptcy in 2009.

Totally unprofessional sales staff. Now they refuse to sell me my other stone I had on deposit because I politely questioned their business practices and how they are wasting precious time finding my stone.

Here is a link that might be useful: Innovative Stone Backruptcy