usctrojancpa
Well-known member
They don't give you crap unless you go with their overpriced in-house lender...the credit is only $1,500.changm55 said:
Cost of granite upgrade
- Thread starter vikas420
- Start date
NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
I think what akim meant was that they give you credit for the standard counters, so you only pay the difference between the cost of the standard counter and the upgraded counters, instead of the full cost of the upgrade counters. That's why upgrades only cost 2 grand instead of 10 grand.
I've had a bad experience in the past working directly with a contractor on my last kitchen remodel, so this time I went a different route. I went through Home Depot. I viewed their kitchen vignettes and samples, picked it out, and worked with their interior designer. They send a person out to your home to take measurements. They use a 3-D kitchen design software program which is SO AWESOME! I will never do it any other way again! You're able to create a custom kitchen and really get a feel for it before buying. They enter all your measurements into it. The design services are free, as many visits as it takes. I recommend planning ahead, Trojan, so you can leave yourself enough time to get it just the way you want it before placing your order and starting the job. A lot of people think you just walk in and go, "I want this, this, and this" and you're done in one trip. NOPE! You sit down and plan what you want to go where. Once you place the order, you can have any contractor you want install it or go through the company they use, which is the one who took the measurements. They are called Rovics. Rovic's only customer is Home Depot. I like that because if they aren't doing what you need them to do, your designer will get on them. They need to do a good job to keep the contract with H.D.
I'm looking at my receipt for the counters. It depends on what kind you get, what type of sink cut-out, and the edge detail. These all vary depending on your choices. Mine was:
$71/sqft for the material. (Group B / "Sea Salt")
+ $20/linear foot for the edge detail (I picked Large Ogee)
+ $168 for working with an undermount sink, finishing the edges around the sink (I put in an apron-front sink with a 50% reveal of the sink edge)
I had 45 sqft of kitchen counter... 25 linear feet. It was $3,863.01 altogether. I believe H.D. issued a $300 discount towards that because of some special going on. I just picked what I liked. Didn't care about the special. When you buy counters through them they use a company called Pacific Coast Installations to do your counters and there is a minimum order. I want to say it's like $1k or $2k but don't quote me on that. The point is, if the size of your job would be under their minimum dollar amount, consider having bathroom sinks made at the same time, whether you install them then or in the future.
changm55
New member
no man...
counters were expensive at the irvine design center... they mark up like 30%... flooring and shower tiles is even worse, they mark up 40%... ironically the only things that i found that had less then 10% mark up was electrical and non-movable appliances (dish washer, oven, microwave) were actually cheaper than retail (by only like 100 bucks tho haha)...
if it wasnt for the 4 year leak proof warranty, id probably have done my shower tiles myself... that was actually my most expensive upgrades...
its funny how i pick like a level 4 tile... n then i go to the actual manufacturer to get samples, and at the manufacturer showroom they are ALWAYS the cheapest ones or ones on sale n trying to get rid of... lol...
srsly like the design center is supposed to be ur pseudo-architect/interior designer... but they really suck man... im so glad i had a relative that was a architect that was more than happy to help me out with everything n pretty much be on call and on "standby" why i dealt with the design center... i mean it took my irvine design center rep 2 weeks to answer what kind of sealer they use for my marble n granite stones... ud think they be in the industry n know it off the top of their heads by now... wth...
counters were expensive at the irvine design center... they mark up like 30%... flooring and shower tiles is even worse, they mark up 40%... ironically the only things that i found that had less then 10% mark up was electrical and non-movable appliances (dish washer, oven, microwave) were actually cheaper than retail (by only like 100 bucks tho haha)...
if it wasnt for the 4 year leak proof warranty, id probably have done my shower tiles myself... that was actually my most expensive upgrades...
its funny how i pick like a level 4 tile... n then i go to the actual manufacturer to get samples, and at the manufacturer showroom they are ALWAYS the cheapest ones or ones on sale n trying to get rid of... lol...
srsly like the design center is supposed to be ur pseudo-architect/interior designer... but they really suck man... im so glad i had a relative that was a architect that was more than happy to help me out with everything n pretty much be on call and on "standby" why i dealt with the design center... i mean it took my irvine design center rep 2 weeks to answer what kind of sealer they use for my marble n granite stones... ud think they be in the industry n know it off the top of their heads by now... wth...
USCTrojanCPA said:
I think what akim meant was that they give you credit for the standard counters, so you only pay the difference between the cost of the standard counter and the upgraded counters, instead of the full cost of the upgrade counters. That's why upgrades only cost 2 grand instead of 10 grand.
socal78
Well-known member
I've been reading this thread, kind of baffled.
Granite was the hot kitchen trend six or more years ago when polished stone was the thing. Now in 2012, matte finishes, honed stone, eco-friendly materials are the trend along with marble, soapstone, Corian, some quartz products / Zodiaq... we're seeing more stainless steel counters, butcher block... and a mix of materials. I'm seeing a lot of white being used!
It would be nice if builder could offer an upgrade that is in keeping with the times. Do they offer any other choices besides this granite & that granite?? Anything at all?
I just finished a whole kitchen remodel. I've had granite in the last two homes. Nevermind the trend... I didn't enjoy the granite experience. Went with a matte finish Corian this time which sort of looks like a soapstone. (It's actually this one.)
Granite was the hot kitchen trend six or more years ago when polished stone was the thing. Now in 2012, matte finishes, honed stone, eco-friendly materials are the trend along with marble, soapstone, Corian, some quartz products / Zodiaq... we're seeing more stainless steel counters, butcher block... and a mix of materials. I'm seeing a lot of white being used!
It would be nice if builder could offer an upgrade that is in keeping with the times. Do they offer any other choices besides this granite & that granite?? Anything at all?
I just finished a whole kitchen remodel. I've had granite in the last two homes. Nevermind the trend... I didn't enjoy the granite experience. Went with a matte finish Corian this time which sort of looks like a soapstone. (It's actually this one.)
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
So Cal, I'll be contacting you about getting the contact info to your contractor as I'm looking to do a kitchen remodel towards the end of the year. What was the cost difference between granite and the counter top that you selected?SoCal said:
socal78
Well-known member
USCTrojanCPA said:
I've had a bad experience in the past working directly with a contractor on my last kitchen remodel, so this time I went a different route. I went through Home Depot. I viewed their kitchen vignettes and samples, picked it out, and worked with their interior designer. They send a person out to your home to take measurements. They use a 3-D kitchen design software program which is SO AWESOME! I will never do it any other way again! You're able to create a custom kitchen and really get a feel for it before buying. They enter all your measurements into it. The design services are free, as many visits as it takes. I recommend planning ahead, Trojan, so you can leave yourself enough time to get it just the way you want it before placing your order and starting the job. A lot of people think you just walk in and go, "I want this, this, and this" and you're done in one trip. NOPE! You sit down and plan what you want to go where. Once you place the order, you can have any contractor you want install it or go through the company they use, which is the one who took the measurements. They are called Rovics. Rovic's only customer is Home Depot. I like that because if they aren't doing what you need them to do, your designer will get on them. They need to do a good job to keep the contract with H.D.
I'm looking at my receipt for the counters. It depends on what kind you get, what type of sink cut-out, and the edge detail. These all vary depending on your choices. Mine was:
$71/sqft for the material. (Group B / "Sea Salt")
+ $20/linear foot for the edge detail (I picked Large Ogee)
+ $168 for working with an undermount sink, finishing the edges around the sink (I put in an apron-front sink with a 50% reveal of the sink edge)
I had 45 sqft of kitchen counter... 25 linear feet. It was $3,863.01 altogether. I believe H.D. issued a $300 discount towards that because of some special going on. I just picked what I liked. Didn't care about the special. When you buy counters through them they use a company called Pacific Coast Installations to do your counters and there is a minimum order. I want to say it's like $1k or $2k but don't quote me on that. The point is, if the size of your job would be under their minimum dollar amount, consider having bathroom sinks made at the same time, whether you install them then or in the future.
changm55
New member
btw i just went to the slab yard picking out the upgraded countertops... i thought i was able to pick "per slab" and be able to templete each but i was wrong...
what actually happened was they make u pick a slab "set" with each set containing about 6-7 slabs... which slabs out of the 6-7 is up to the fabricator (american marble)... u have no choice...
u also arent able to templete and tell them i want this section of the slab for the bathroom countertop and this section is where i want you to cut for the sink so that u can cut out certain spots of the slab u dont like... that is all up to the fabricator too... u have no choice...
what actually happened was they make u pick a slab "set" with each set containing about 6-7 slabs... which slabs out of the 6-7 is up to the fabricator (american marble)... u have no choice...
u also arent able to templete and tell them i want this section of the slab for the bathroom countertop and this section is where i want you to cut for the sink so that u can cut out certain spots of the slab u dont like... that is all up to the fabricator too... u have no choice...
Irvine_Dreamer
New member
So what's the point of paying for upgrade then?world chaos said:
changm55
New member
yeah, the other 2 standard granites are pretty consistent so if u like them, i wouldnt suggest upgrading...
only thing is consistency of the level 2 granites vs if u choose santa cecelia since santa cecelia varies a bit too much... i can live with a darker santa cecelia... but if i ended up getting a lighter shade, it would not correlate well with my flooring or my walls... not a risk im willing to take
only thing is consistency of the level 2 granites vs if u choose santa cecelia since santa cecelia varies a bit too much... i can live with a darker santa cecelia... but if i ended up getting a lighter shade, it would not correlate well with my flooring or my walls... not a risk im willing to take