Hi Soibean,
I don't know how their prices compare but we are using Timeless Stoneworks in Carver, MA - (508) 866-8460. They come highly recommended and may be worth a phone call to determine pricing. A recent installation we inspected the seam was very tight and difficult to see. They also polish the underside of the stone, which many fabricators do not.

Best of luck.

We used RockTop Designs in Holliston, MA (508) 429-2315 they did an amazing job and they were the least expensive I found in both RI and MA.

We've used Majestic fabrication in Canton, MA, for all our bath and kitchen countertops (marble and quartz), as well as our dining room buffet (granite). They went with us to the stone yard to pick a stone that didn't have flaws, they use computer assisted templating and cutting, and they are very reasonable. It's a small family business. Highly recommended.

Here is a link that might be useful: Majestic

I adore BFR in Manchester NH
He works from the Cape to Canada.

It's can't hurt to e-mail Jesse and see if he will work with your people.

WAIT....Not sure if he does Quartzite... Oh I can't remember.

~boxerpups

http://www.bfrandassociates.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: A few photos of mine

I agree with "Sharonite" on Majestic in Canton, MA. We used them for both kitchens. Great work and kind people.

We used Stone One (www.stoneonecorp.com) in Methuen for both our kitchen and master bath. They were wonderful to work with.

Thanks for the suggestions, I will definitely check them out. I'm curious, has anyone had quartzite installed in Mass. for under $120/sq.ft.? It drives me crazy when I see people in other areas paying $85-90 for quartzite that I'm getting quoted at $150-$200+/sq.ft.

I have used KB Surfaces in RI many times, I normally deal with Marci...very helpful and good pricing

http://www.kbsurfaces.com/

Different wholesale stone places charge different prices for the same stone. It may all come from the same quarry, but that quarry sells it to many many different wholesale outfits. Some are national chains, and guarantee a certain number of slab purchases to get a lower price. Some are smaller single wholesale operations and don't have the bulk buying power. So the price can be vastly different, even on the same stone. Now, add in the supply and demand factor for stones with movement. Prettier stones cost more than "eh" stones. They are in higher demand. It can be as much as triple the wholesale cost for the same stone if it has a really attractive patterns.

Now add in the fabricator's costs. No fabricator that I know charges the exact same amount for every single stone that he fabricates. The more expensive or delicate the stone, the more expensive the fabrication labor becomes. If something happens to that expensive or delicate stone during the fabrication process, he'll have to buy you another slab. That "insurance" gets factored into the labor. One fabricator that I know has 4 tiered pricing from the most basic to the higher end exotics. The labor more than doubles from tier 1 to tier 4. He was working on an absolutely gorgeous and expensive silver metallic looking stone the other day when I was there. And it completely crumbled in his hand right where the seam needed to be done. He had to buy another slab to finish the job. Luckily, the slab yard had one.

So, those are the factors that can add up to $200 a square foot stone. And I really have to say, that "affordability" of the fabricator should be the least of your concerns. I'm not saying that you should have a price is no object mentality. Not at all. Just that if you want an exotic stone, you need to find a quality and experienced fabricator that has experience in fabricating that stone first of all. And see some of the jobs that he's done. Look at his shop. I've seen everything from a guy with a garden hose and an angle grinder trying to polish something in his back yard, to a million dollar CNC machine that did the most accurate and precise cuts possible.

While it's not always true that you get what you pay for, in stone, it's a very high correlation that you get what you pay for. Cheap fabricators don't have the tools and equipment and experience to handle exotic or delicate stone. And they certainly aren't charging enough to be able to buy you another slab if it shatters on them. Or, if they screw it up.

I understand that there is a lot of skill involved in fabrication, and I also learned about the "insurance" factor. I want a good fabricator, which is why I am asking for recommendations. I just felt like adding $132 sq. ft. above and beyond the cost of the slabs seemed excessive, especially given that others were being charged way less in other areas. That is easily 3x as much for fabrication as others are paying, which is hard to understand, even from a risk/skill perspective. And so far this has been borne out by my research. I now have estimates from three more fabricators. One was in the same ballpark as my original estimate, but the other two were significantly less (including the estimate from Majestic, recommended by two posters above). With these fabricators, I could pay for two extra slabs and still pay less than with my original fabricator.