East side Indy, Formica vs. Granite?

Question

Good morning BP!

Looking for countertop installers in the Indy market. Our property is located in a B class neighborhood. Sold comps are mostly laminate. We have no experience with laminate as we have only ever installed granite. We received one quote and was SHOCKED at the price. It's $400 more than a comparable granite countertops; sure inflation, supply chain, bla bla, we're not buying it.

If you know any contractors installing Formica at realistic prices please drop a comment below. If you're looking for contractor references (we know great roofing, granite, plumbing, and masonry contractors) hit me up.

Stephen Barton · Answer

Hi @Jaron Walling I try to get my clients to look at the long-term. Don't just think about your out of pocket today. Think about spending that extra bit of money now and get something that will last you. Formica in my opinion is not worth spending the money on. It gets damaged pretty easily, does not look as nice, and you are talking about having this as a rental? Tenants are going to cause wear. It is inevitable. Just like the subject of flooring. Don't do carpet. Do some sort of hard flooring that will last. I know it seems counterproductive to do this because it just costs more. But it will last longer. Just wait until your first or second vacancy when you have to replace those counters because a tenant decided to spill ink or placed hot pans on that formica counter. I know it is "heat resistant" (formica) but it is not heat proof. Just a thought.

Indy Custom Stone is well known. My GC has his source and I just use whoever he is using at the time. A good GC should have this all squared away for you.

Jaron Walling · Answer

@Stephen Barton That's exactly my thoughts on this project. Not only the wear the tear aspect but simply FINDING actual materials. None of the box stores have laminate countertops in stock that we like. It's all boring colors, special order bs, or doesn't fit the dimensions. Why spend $900 for laminate when we can install granite for $400 more.

Need to sell this to my wife on the above statement... maybe I can exhaust our options then call the granite people.

Thank you for the recommendation!