Granite Worktop - Who to use

vigalent

Looking for granite worktop (in Absolute Black or similar) for our new kitchen and wondering who is good to you (north oxfordshire).

I have had a number of quotes (all coming in around the £1800-2200 mark) but also had one from Diapol.co.uk which is significantly cheaper....

Has anyone got any experience of them. i know they are eastern european based (does this cause any problems) and what is the quality like?

Many thanks

garry1978

Hello Vigalent. I was looking on here for a friend to find an old thread that I found very helpful when we did our kitchen last year. It's called "Granite Worktops - truth, lies and misinformation". There's a lot of good stuff in there about what to consider and a few cowboys to avoid. I ended up with Diapol after being let down by a company called Sheridans. The Diapol guys decended on 24 hours notice and measured/quoted. They didn't template, which made me a bit nervous, but they told me they don't ask for any money until the worktop is fitted and I'm 100% happy. They came back (I think) 10 days later and fitted it. We were very happy with the fit and service, so paid. (Not sure what would have happened if we weren't happy, but that never arose). They were an absolute pleasure to deal with. You should search on here as others have used them. The wife found them on mumsnet, so search there too. A year on, and the granite is in great condition - no complaints. There's one chip where I dropped a heavy glass tankard (entirely my fault), but it's not at all noticable.

garry1978

oh, we're in South London (so won't be the same chaps you're talking to). They must work on a franchise basis, as they do all over the UK and other European countries.

On absolute black, I understand it can be a bit of a pain to maintain as watermarks show. We went for a black with a hint of something gold in it. Looks really great with our kitchen - Howden's Tewkesbury White.

vigalent

Thanks.... I think we have decided to go with Diapol... As you say there is plenty of people on the net who seem to have had a good experience with them.
Thanks

karlos1977

For solid tops we have used a company called Stone Valley Work Surfaces, they were very competitive on price and the service was excellent. They are a internet company and offer all the branded quartz like Silestone, Caesarstone and Compac. I know they also have their own range of quartz which again is more competitive on price but they do all the granites too, hope this helps.