How much do you pay for granite countertops?

Rental Property Investor · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2016 · 48 posts · 20 votes

My partner and I are redoing 4 kitchens. We only have 15-25 ft of counter-top in each kitchen. We're not sure what a reasonable price for a granite top should be?

One of our contractors thinks it will only be $15 a ft. Everything I've seen online is way more than that.

Best,

Ben

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David RobertsonBusiness Member

Flipper/Rehabber · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2010 · 755 posts · 778 votes

I'm sure your contractor's price is material only or some kind of remnant piece, otherwise that is ridiculously cheap.

For furnished and installed prices, granite usually starts around $40/sf for basic Grade A and goes up from there as you get to more exotic stones.

I generally budget $45 to $55/sf.

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Andrew Johnson
Real Estate Investor · Encinitas, CA · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9y
@Ben Mizes Look at manufactured/engineered stone. Granite is porous, stains, requires resealing, etc. so if you're renting there are (small) dollar signs with each of those issues. Engineered stone will likely hold up better for you and (in most cases) costs less. And is your contractor quoting you a price for just the material? Honing/polishing the edges (or doing things like a bullnose) can add costs.
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Ben Mizes
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Rental Property Investor · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2016 · 48 posts · 20 votes
9y
@Andrew Johnson Do you mean like Quartz?
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Andrew Johnson
Real Estate Investor · Encinitas, CA · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9y
@Ben Mizes Yes.
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Ben Mizes
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Rental Property Investor · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2016 · 48 posts · 20 votes
9y
@Andrew Johnson How much do you usually pay for yours?
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Andrew Johnson
Real Estate Investor · Encinitas, CA · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9y
@Ben Mizes I haven't bought any for long time and I can't remember the cost. I mean, we're talking maybe 5 years ago. To be honest, I just went to Home Depot to double-check that the contractor bid was 'close enough' and it was. But, again, I did ask about honing and polishing the edges, cutout for the sink, etc. so I was able to ensure I was getting quotes for the same thing. Just calling the local stone/granite yard and asking for a price-per-square-foot or price-per-slab doesn't really give anything accurate.
There is a chance your contractor does have portions of extra slabs (basically, leftovers) that he can use and get you a discount on. I'm too lazy to wander around granite yards looking for those leftovers and measuring to see if they would work. I'm just trying to think of scenarios where your contractor could have access to (cheaper) materials. And if your contractor can figure out how to do __ units with one slab (and buy the whole slab) he's probably going to have a better cost structure than a Home Depot. No way for me to confirm that one, just a theory.
Sorry I can't be more detailed.
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David RobertsonBusiness Member
Flipper/Rehabber · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2010 · 755 posts · 778 votes
9y
I'm sure your contractor's price is material only or some kind of remnant piece, otherwise that is ridiculously cheap.
For furnished and installed prices, granite usually starts around $40/sf for basic Grade A and goes up from there as you get to more exotic stones.
I generally budget $45 to $55/sf.
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Doug W.
Flipper/Rehabber · Alexandria, VA · Member since 2014 · 461 posts · 262 votes
9y
$35/sf for the cheap stuff that looks exactly that...cheap. Prices go up from there. $55/sf should get you a really nice selection.
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Eugene Kemp
Ormond Beach , FL · Member since 2015 · 345 posts · 223 votes
9y
Just paid about 55/ft.....it was pretty nice stuff, but there are too many variables to answer your question simply.
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Manolo D.
Contractor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Ben Mizes Contractor here. Quartz and Countertop is the same range. Tiger skin is the cheapest, $80-100 per slab, Absolute Black is most expensive about $350/slab. Other consumables like glue plywood is about $100-150. Plus two days of labor (2 guys in one day). I pay mine at 400-600 for two guys. Depending on configuration of your kitchen, you might look at 2-3 slabs (8'). You can compute. Those are cheap. Go to a stone place, usually named like chinese + "cabinets and stones". Sometimes you can find installers there as well. Per foot is an ugly way to estimate. Takes you one day to install a 4' and 32', labor is the same.
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Manolo D.
Contractor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Andrew Johnson Check out Rainbowstoreusa in your area.
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David Faulkner
Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9y
Prefab is the way to go IMO ... around $220 for a 9 ft x 2 ft section, which is around $12/ft. That is with the edge already finished ... you will need to pay somebody around the same as material cost to install ... plus extra for the sink cut out, especially if undermount. No lead time on that too ...
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Mindy JensenPro Member
BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes
9y
Such small amounts should be able to be found in remnants. Go to a granite place - the place where they actually cut the stone and have slabs for you to choose from. Tell them what you need, and the general color and they should be able to help you out - especially if you're in the 15 sq ft end of things.
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Wells Lange
Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2015 · 125 posts · 50 votes
9y
$34/sf
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Luc Boiron
Specialist · Toronto, Ontario · Member since 2016 · 564 posts · 425 votes
9y
@Ben Mizes are you looking at 15-25 linear feet or sqft?
For my quartz, I usually pay $1,200-$2,000 for a kitchen. This includes install, a double lip on the front, and the sink.
There isn't a set price psqft from my installer. The per sqft price drops as the kitchen gets larger, but can go up as well. This is because they calculate based on what they will pay for the slabs, then they charge me for their labour. If you only need 10sqft and they need to order a whole slab, it will cost more per sqft than 20sqft out of the same slab. When you get larger, it gets cheaper psqft - until you need a second slab for the kitchen, and so on.
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Louis A.
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 70 posts · 27 votes
9y
usually ~$1400-$1500 for a standard 10x10 kitchen
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Manolo D.
Contractor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Yup, doesn't make sense to do a per square foot price. Nothing actually does, especially on these kinds of jobs where it's a simple 3 item material. I don't see the point of paying for edges either, I mean, there's only 8 hours in a day, once they are there, they lose their day, it is not like it is a service call where you come 30 mins and move to the next one, collect $70 per address. A simple kitchen up to 4-5 slabs can be done within a day regardless of edge work and cut-out with a two men crew; edges, cut-outs, under-mount is just an upsell and I'll give it straight to them when they do.
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Ben Mizes
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Rental Property Investor · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2016 · 48 posts · 20 votes
9y
Thanks for all of the help! I'll post pictures in 2 weeks when we're done!
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Paul Chapey
Investor · Canyon Lake, CA · Member since 2015 · 92 posts · 34 votes
9y
Granite installs on rehabs is very competitive in Southern California. I left So. Cal in 2015, and for years, I paid $345 per 9-foot prefabbed for basic granite. That includes demo and everything. Undermount sinks were an additional $75. If any material was left over, it could be used for a bathroom with no additional cost because it came from the 9 foot piece. The granite guy and his helper would buy their pre fabs in Anaheim and then fabricate in the driveway. He only worked directly for rehabbers.
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Michael Plante
Deland, FL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
$25/sq foot installed very nice granite including free sink in FL
$40/sq foot for the exact same in upstate NY
UGGG please someone with a source in NY help me lol.
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Brian Pulaski
Flipper/Rehabber · Montgomery, NY · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
@Michael Plante that NY price was the same I paid in CT and I assume it is about going rate. There is a sign around the corner from me stating Quartz starting at $29.95/SF, but I haven't stopped in to see what the details are.
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Ben Mizes
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Rental Property Investor · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2016 · 48 posts · 20 votes
9y
I forgot to post pictures when we finished, but better late than never!
This is now the second kitchen we've done like this in our current project.
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Shaun Palmer
Rental Property Investor / Construction Manager · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2015 · 201 posts · 103 votes
9y
Ben Mizes Ben, in my area you can get something nice for $30-35 /sf. This would be a basic piece of granite. Shop around and you'll find a good deal. Also, as for maintenance, I do agree that granite is porous but all it takes is a simple spray bottle field with dealer and wipe it off. This is fine once a year with very minimal effort. You can do it each time you turn the unit.
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Payton L.
Investor · Central, AR · Member since 2016 · 34 posts · 10 votes
9y
In Arkansas, I paid $42/sqft including installation and cutting for the sink. To compare at Home Depot (here) it was $47+/sqft for the granite alone. After shopping it looked like the best deal. But it was my first Rehab so I was new to the game. Hopefully I can find a more competitive deal in the future, but I was really happy with the end result. Seriously I would put those counters in my pocket and carry them with me if I could.
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Ben Mizes
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Rental Property Investor · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2016 · 48 posts · 20 votes
9y
Ours came in right around $30 sq ft installed with a free sink. It probably helped that we found a small granite company and could promise 3 more kitchens in the next couple months.
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Eric Pinter
Investor, Attorney, Broker · Little Rock, AR · Member since 2016 · 67 posts · 41 votes
9y
You can pretty easily find nice looking granite here for $30/ft installed. Don't pay more than that.
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