Granite Worktop Discussion

WillCalderwood

Thanks for that ryder. I happen to be waiting on a Nero Impala sample as a possible alternative. The Black Pearl is also fairly speckled, but the Nero looks like it's got a more balanced grey/black ratio giving it a lighter tone overall.

WillCalderwood

Just to follow this up. We went with "Granite Fitters" in the end as I didn't get any useful feedback, so I thought I may as well go for the least expensive. Here's a review of their work.

All was fine, they arrived with the granite, measured up and fitted it. All looks good.

Pros.
1. Friendly, prompt and easy to deal with.
2. Happy to do a bit extra on the day.

I do have a couple of complaints however. No major issues as I didn't notice them on the day.

1. Where we have a join in the worktop, they didn't tidy up the cut edge, so if you run your finger down it you can feel the chips etc where the stone was cut. Not great, but there's nothing that can be done about it now.

2. All the edges they cut are not polished to the same standard as the original stone. This, quite frankly, looks a bit crap and could be easily resolved. They said they'd come back and sort it 3 months ago. I've chased several times, but I'm still waiting. I'll update the thread again if they finally come and resolve it.

3. The bevels are poorly cut in a few places - and none of their corner cuts appear completely vertical. The fact that they're all the same makes me wonder if it's intentional for some reason?!

Leif

I used Optiplan for a kitchen and quartz worktops, and they supplied the stone. The work was flawless, at least to my eyes, with joins almost perfect, edges polished as per the top, drainer grooves nicely cut and so on. A colleague used them, the stone worktops, quartz I think, were nicely done. I believe they have a good reputation, but they are not cheap.I know two examples is too few to draw conclusions, but you can check them out at ReviewCentre.com if I recall correctly.

ryder72

This doesnt help OP but its a textbook example of why quartz/granite suppliers supplying direct to the public appear cheaper.

Good fabricators that produce quality work get enough work from their trade clients to not have the time / resource to develop retail business. In turn this means the lower quality fabricators go after the retail business often offering no guarantees of the quality of work they do. In most cases the end customer has no knowledge of what they should be looking at as a measure of good quality worktop fabrication and installation.

All I would say is that it is false economy .

cddc

Did not see this thread at the time, otherwise I would have said use Oxford Stone & Marble or The Granite House. I have Quartz from the former and am very happy with the job, and I have seen several of the latter ones jobs which looked good to me.

Some people I know have paid less and got a good job, but others have gone for the lowest price quote and ended up like the OP with a job that whilst not a disaster, is a bit rough round the edges. It is worth noting that you can haggle a bit with the more expensive quotes...I did!;)