Best deals on granite countertops?

Question

Hey, do you put granite countertops in your rentals? If so, how much do you pay per square foot? Can you recommend cheap granite suppliers? I'm replacing 36 sq ft of kitchen countertop in a relatively high-end rental. If there's a better deal on 40 or 50 sq ft, I could replace the countertop in another unit as well.

Bill B. · Answer

I always use granite. Is so friggin cheap. $30sf includes ripping out the old countertops, cutting and installing the new stuff and a free under mount sink, no other plumbing. $1500-$2500? $3500 is the most I’ve spent on a massive kitchen with 98 cabinets, a desk, an island and a bar.  Last house I paid $35 for quartz to brighten up a dark kitchen, it’s almost as cheap now

It pays for itself with faster rentals, and then pays again with less maintenance and damage, and then finally pays for itself again if you ever sell.

Jackie Cramer · Answer

My suggestion is to know your dimensions, have range of acceptable colors and look for remnants. We did so and great. Realize that their free sink offers are often not worth it. Get 300 series stainless steel...Google  it.

Luka Milicevic · Answer

Granite will last longer than laminate as I'm sure you are aware of. Since it's a rental you can go with the "standard" stuff from Lowes or HD. At least that would be my recommendation. I don't think there is a need to go too fancy. I have heard that quartz is better than granite because apparently granite can stain. (I have no experience with this, only heard).

Look around for options, but from what I last saw at my local Lowes and HD they had granite counters starting from $28/sq ft.

Russell Brazil · Answer

When factoring in installation costs as well, the cost of granite verse laminate is negligible in our market place. (which is quite close to you). When it is time to replace the counter tops I almost always use granite.  Home Depot and Lowes each have 4 cheap granites to choose from that are roughly $30 a square foot installed. Baltic Brown from Home Depot is the one I use the most often, though now that it is becoming increasingly common to see it in the market, I may start shifting away from it.

Lisa Montana · Answer

Thanks Susan!

Susan M. · Answer

We don't put granite in rentals because we can't justify the cost, but we do have granite in our home and just put granite on an outdoor kitchen counter and honestly we got a great deal on pre-fab granite counters at Menards.  Of course, this only works if you're ok with pretty standard colors and of course you have standard counter sizes, but it was a great option for us.  Our counters in our kitchen are also pre-fab, but we got them from a builder's supply place many years ago and they're out of business.  When we searched for pre-fab for outdoors, Menards was the best we found.