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tweety48

Slab VS. Prefab Granite

tweety48
16 years ago

Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of prefabricated granite vs slab? I expect a smaller selection of colors with the prefab, but also a lower price. Is this correct? Is the quality of the stone the same or different? Regarding the on-site shaping of the prefab...is that a problem? Will the seams be crude? I need to know which way to turn. Thanks.

Comments (9)

  • roserx
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Good question.

    I am wrestling w/ the same dilemma, but since I am interested in a relatively oommon granite, Baltic Brown, I am leaning towards pre-fab, plus I like the thick bullnose edge it affords.

    I know a lot of the pre-fab granite hails from China, which
    lowers the cost and as long as it's not radioactive, I think I'll roll the dice.

  • karenyang
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    tweety48, Kevin's advice is, as always, right on point. I'll just add my own experience with pre-fab slabs. There are **tons** of importers of the slabs here in CA. They're on every corner (right next to Starbucks - haha), it seems. We installed a couple of slabs in a rental house, as the price of the materials was comparable with cheap laminate ($120 for an 8-ft slab), and installation was only slightly more than laminate installation (but was NOT done by a stone specialist...more of a general handyman type).

    For a rental house, we'd use pre-fab again in a heartbeat. I have friends that have done some updating of their kitchens (not big remodels, just refreshing) using the pre-fab slabs, and again, everyone is happy with it. As Kevin says, however, it's not the big "wow", for a couple of reasons: the stone selection seems limited to the most popular (and therefore, most common) colors, and shape is limited to the straight pieces that go against the wall (i.e. you can't do an island because the slabs are always unfinished on at least one side).

    For a relatively modest/simple kitchen, I'd say go for it - the stuff we call "granite" is more or less equivalent in quality, esp if you're going for one of the more common colors (I know this is a gross generality). If your kitchen has a number of other custom features, however, the simplicity and common-ness of the pre-fab selection may not be able to keep up with the rest of your kitchen!

    I think the quality of the seams has MUCH more to do with your installer than the stone itself, so I wouldn't worry about that when trying to decide if this material is right for you or not. If the slab you're choosing has laminated edges (as Kevin discusses), you'll be able to see those when you select your slab, so you can decide if they're ok for you or not. Ours didn't have a laminated edge, so the only seams we have are between slabs along the countertop. The seams look fine (even though we had a bone-headed installer, but that's another story....).

    Good luck!

  • tweety48
    Original Author
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for both replys. I was leaning toward Roserx's opinion, but reading Kevin's professional opinion gave me food for thought. The trouble is...how does one tell good from bad quality granite? Also complicating my decision was that I had custom fabrication of Silestone by a very expensive fabricator for my laundry and sewing room, and I was not so impressed. They did all the fancy electronic measurements, but ended up smashing it into the drywall to get it to fit. So much for "custom"! Anyway, I appreciate the input.

  • roserx
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Is the 3cm thick granite an absolute in a kitchen, as most of the pre-fab granite is 2cm thick w/ an either 3 or 4cm bullnose? My kitchen counter top does does not have any overhangs.

  • weissman
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    roserx - 3 cm granite is common on the East coast - 2 cm granite with/without a laminated edge is more common on the West coast (I think due to shipping costs). 2 cm granite requires plywood underneath - 3 cm doesn't.

    tweety48 - some damage to the drywall is fairly common even with a good fabricator - my GC told me to expect it and that he would fix it up if necessary.

  • redbazel
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Kevin, even though we did our kitchen in a mini remodel (pre-fab Tropical Brown, new appliances, and tile floors) in March of 2006, I will be looking forward to Stone-101. You never know when you will need good info and yours is very persuasive. Friends of ours own a granite and tile business and do mostly big remodels. Some of their stuff doesn't look as good as the seams on our two pre-fab slabs done by a contractor that we found by accident. And our kitchen fits your criteria to a 'T'. We only spent $6000 total, didn't replace good quality 20 year old cabinets, and only needed a straight shot of counter against the wall. My redo was done on a tight budget, because the thing my kitchen Really needs, is reconfiguration, and that's not in my immediate future.
    So far, my counters are wonderful. I hope that will continue so. I do think that educating yourself about the product makes a lot of sense before you spend the money. I didn't necessarily know much about quality, but I did look at the pre-fab slabs at 3 different places before I bought.

    Red

    Here is a link that might be useful:

  • azstoneconsulting
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank You all for your kind remarks...

    The things that I look for as far as a pre-fabbed blank
    goes, is...
    Consistancy in color throughout the entire piece:
    what I mean by this, is there's a tendency in SOME of the
    pre-fab producers to apply enhancers to deepen the color-
    in a NOT SO EVEN manner - I've seen this at one of the
    supplier's products here in PHX - kinda looks lame...
    So..... When you're looking at YOUR blanks - look at them
    from about 10 feet away, as well as close up - to see
    if there's any inconsistancies in the overall finish - IF
    it's not good, it'll look like some kind of "stain" was
    applued with a MOP - and NOT on all of the stone.

    Glue Lines: Let's face it - many of the shops over in
    China are in "Blow & Go" - "Turn & Burn" mode, and they just
    don't take the time to get their glue lines as tight
    as us "homeboys" here in the USA, so "more noticable" glue
    lines will more than likely be a fact of life you should
    be prepared for - IF you have little or no noticability
    on your glue lines of the blanks you're buying - consider it
    a "bonus"... :-)

    Polish Marks: Look for the polish on the slabs to be consistant
    and not having any permanent "swirl" marks on the slab that
    WON'T come off with a little water & a rag...

    I do pre-fab blanks - and i have a supplier here in PHX
    that's dialed in to what pro's like me want and need, and
    I make no bones about it - they are on their game as far as
    I'm concerned.

    One big plus (that I do not want to sound biased at all when
    I say this) is that it's a great asset if the supplier
    speaks and UNDERSTANDS ENGLISH... A few of the Chinese suppliers
    send their peeps over here with little training in American-isms
    and that is a WAY BIG NEGATIVE -
    Again... The supplier I work with is cognizant (sp?) of
    the English language and mannerisms/customs... They don't
    constantly say.."In MY Country.." to me... very refreshing!!
    IF I ever go to China to set up shop there - I'll learn Chinese.

    Any ways - Thanks again for all of your very kind remarks
    and keep an eye out for Stone-101 = coming in January (hey..
    that's next week already...duh..)

    kevin

    Kevin M. Padden MIA SFA
    Fabricator, Trainer & Consultant to the Natural Stone Industry
    www.azschoolofrock.com

    Here is a link that might be useful: AZ School of Rock

  • TracyHuang
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It seems that people here have some bad impressions on Chinese stone products, I would like to say not all the Made in China are bad qulaity. You will get what you pay.

    If you wanna try to import good quality nature stone from China, you can try us.

    Chinese Countertops Inc. is a leading supplier of nature stone including Countertops,Slabs and Tiles,Hardscaping products in China.

    Headquarted in Shuitou, Nan'an City, we can help you find whatever you want no matter it is granite, marble, limestone, sandstone,onyx,etc...

    Quality:

    A. Inspecting Manager: Jason Xu

    Jason has 10 years of tiles and countertops inspecting expirence for Home Depot.

    He knows your requirements and will gurantee you receive what you want.

    B. Owner: Tracy Huang

    Do you want to use the countertops suppliers of M S International, Inc. (MSI) and Bedrosians?

    Do you want to use the tiles suppliers of Daltile and Emser Tile?

    Do you want to use the hardscasping suppliers of Home Depot and Lowe's?

    If your answer is yes, by using his strong connections with the factories, Tracy can help you find the most suitable manufacturer.

    ​C. Refund Policy

    You can get at least 5% refund money of the contract if the products have quality problems caused by us.

    ​Service:

    A. The Third Party Inspection

    With an expirenced inspection team, if you are worried about the quality of your products in China, we provide The Third Party Inspection service.

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    With a lot of connections with Forwarding Company in China, we can provide you the best shipment service.

    C. Credit investigation and consultation Services

    If you wanna know whether your vendors in China are creditable, we are here to help.

    Tracy
    Chinese Countertops Inc.
    Add.: Stone Center, Shuitou Town, Nanan City, Fujian, China.
    Tel.: +86 18129817263
    Web:www.chinesecountertops.com

    Here is a link that might be useful: Chinese Countertops Inc.