People often tell me they want granite but just dont think its in the budget
. I can certainly understand that. So lets look at some options that can help reduce the cost.
First, if your Kitchen is above 50 square feet then you will need an entire slab and there is little that can be done to reduce the cost. You will still find some options in this article but the will only save you hundreds as opposed to thousands.
Remove your old counters. I charge $250 and up to remove existing counters. The process is not that hard, but its time consuming and often well encounter issues the home owner attributes to us since they had no idea they where there until we began uninstalling the old tops. Spend a few hours the night before the install and remove them your self.
Purchase scrap material. If you have a smaller kitchen ranging from 20 to 35 square feet or a vanity you should be able to locate a remnant slab to do your kitchen. Youll be limited in color and might end up with an extra seam. As long as you can live with that then you have a chance to negotiate. A lot of fabricators have friends in the business they trade with or purchase material from regularly. So ask your fabricator if he can find a color you like. It might save you several hundred to a thousand. As fabricators we have generally 30% waste. We also are faced with the average kitchen being 60 square feet which means we purchase 110 to fabricate your kitchen. We still need to cover the cost of the material, but its something well give on to get it out of the yard.
Install it yourself. I dont recommend this option. But if your adventurous, have a good back and understand how to level things then you can do it. Purchase the job locally and work out a deal with your fabricator incase you have a problem. It never hurts to call in the pros if you realize things are harder then expected. Id look to smaller shops which generally are a little more helpful and flexible. What ever you do do not purchase online granite and have it dropped in the front yard.