In addition to supporting your local economy through small business, there are 3 main reasons you should consider buying your new granite or quartz countertops from a local fabricator. Here they are:
- Selection: Did you know that there are over 350 different types of Granite and Marble available to you in Hampton Roads alone? Natural stone can be a “work of art” that comes from all over the globe. At Lowes you will be presented with only 27 (at Home Depot 37). Many of these selections are considered within the industry as “commodity granite” for their uniformity. There are four local suppliers/warehouses in Hampton Roads where you can view row after row of full slabs. We can assist you to actually view the slab that is going to be installed in your house. Why make such a substantial investment based only on a 4″x4″ sample from China?
- Installation: Do the big box stores measure, cut, polish and install your countertops? Absolutely not. If you sign a contract with Lowes or Home Depot, they will outsource the job to another 3rd party fabricator. In many cases, that fabricator will outsource the installation to a 4th party installation company. Now ask yourself this question. If there is a problem along the way, who do you call, Lowes, the fabricator, the installer? This potential confusion alone is enough to consider contracting with a local granite countertop company who has their own installation team. #qualitystoneconcepts
- Slab Layout: Using a “boutique” shop like Quality Stone Concepts for your countertop project you can guarantee you will NOT be one of the 20-30 kitchens put into production on a daily basis. Unlike the high volumeproduction shops that Lowes and Home Depot favors, we allocate more time to spend with our customers, perform “slab layouts” and ensure that the most beautiful areas of the stones are included in your kitchen, not some else’s #GraniteRemnantRack.
I hope this was helpful. If you started the process of quoting granite through #lowesgranite or #homedepotgranite and want to avoid any of these pitfalls, please bring you quote to QSC and put a name and face with the #BestReviewedGraniteCompanyInHamptonRoads.
www.qualitystoneconcepts.com
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I’m helping a design client in Norfolk locate a piece of Black Galaxy with PLENTY of gold flecks in it for her new kitchen and wet bar. Please respond by telephone if you have some in stock: my cell 757-285-1495.
While I don’t disagree with your conclusions, it is never a good business practice to say negative things about your competitors. Mentioning the same positives without the negative slant and comparisons against the big box stores would indirectly send the same message and shed a much more positive light on your business…
I contracted through HD for my granite counters. Please turn the other way and run as fast as you can. Do not use a big box store for any high value service. I am in the middles of a huge cluster f@#k. Was never told about seams. Was never told that I could go and pick out the slab. The installers dropped a piece without telling me. The corner snapped off and they still continued with the install. I would have instructed them to bring back an undamaged piece. The corner was repaired, but a large crack still exists. The installer, Home Depot and I have a meeting at my home tomorrow. I don’t think it will go very well. Just saying.
Know anyone you would recommend in San Antonio Texas. I have the same issue and new to the area and could use a recommendation
I wish I would’ve seen this a month and a half ago, which was when I placed my order for granite counter tops with Lowes. BUT NOOOOO, I had to listen to my husband who does business with those jackasses! I placed my order on June 13. FIRST, they told me they would have them in by June 29, THEN on that day, they told me they’d have them on July 7, THEN they told me they’d have them on July 13, THEN they told me they’d have them on the 20th, ONLY THEY CALLED today 7/16, to tell me they wouldn’t be ready for installation until July 29, LATEST DATE being August 7th! I AM LIVID, as my cabinets have been waiting for those counter tops since BEFORE the first date they gave me. And I just have a feeling they’re gonna get here being crappy and messed up in some way. After all, something IS ALWAYS messed up when I get it at Lowes. Maybe I’m making too big of a deal out of it, but I just THOUGHT it only took a couple weeks to three weeks AT THE MOST to cut these counter tops, IDK, I just know, I’ve run outa patience, and all I keep getting is excuse after excuse. I TOLD my husband to use a counter top business that my friend used, as it only took two weeks to get them in, and they were GORGEOUS! BUT NO, he had to use Lowes.
I used QSC for my bathroom remodel. The cabinets, counter top and sink look fantastic. They measured, advised, and completed the installation in a timely manner. I felt confident throughout the entire process even though I had never attempted any project like his before. The excellent quality is evident and guests comment on how nice the room looks!
This article is…. well…. I CANNOT agree with all of it. I’ve worked with a local fabrication company who has a contract with Lowes. If you go through Lowes and you order anything at regular sales price you are actually paying more in certain occasions. If anything is on promotion you are actually saving. Same goes if you order a very expensive granite and do not use a full slab. With that being said, if you order at Lowes or HD YOU DO have the option to go view full slabs and pick out the ones you like the best. Either local suppliers or big companies such as Cosentino for example. If there is a problem the obvious answer is to call Lowes who you signed with and they will contact the fabricator or you can do both. As for the layout, if it’s an exotic material with movement, customers get advised to do a layout. That way they always get what they want and leave out what they don’t like depending on the layout.
And FYI the samples do not come from China. They come from the fabricators who had to PAY for a full slab just to make a 4×4 display sample. Also, they have display tops there made by the fabricators they hire. #TheMoreYouKnow #Facts
I purchased my granite from lowes. It’s gorgeous! yes lowes outsourced to 3rd party. They were AWESOME! I’m a pretty picky person and I can’t complain about any of the process. They measured with a computer app. I was able to pick my slab and layout on slab. When they came to install they installed quickly. They were in and out in a very short time. All the workers were polite. It looks spectacular!
I also got a written warranty from company so no guesses who to call if I have questions or issues.
I really wouldn’t want a lowes person installing my $5k granite. I’d rather have a professional. Lowes just made it easy!
This is great! For you….As a professional installer I can tell you the manager of the Lowes Kitchen Department in our town would give out my cards as a local and trust able company over his own companies. So many horror stories. Same with cabinets that were installed by Lowes or Home Depot. I have had multiple clients so upset with their experiences this article is right on from my 14 years of experience. Its not about bashing a company to make ours look good. Its about warning the consumer that the happy customers at big box stores are statistically far and few between.
To the critics of the critical assessment of the big box stores – if the article HADN’T been titled “3 Reasons…”, I would NOT have looked at the article at all because ANYONE can post a “Pick me, pick me!” article. The author of this article explained the big box business practices, which is not necessarily a common knowledge thing for those of us who do this upgrading thing maybe once or twice in a lifetime. I WAS considering hiring one of the companies mentioned. I am feeling the appropriate measure of “let the buyer beware” since reading this piece. Thank you!
Daletile in San Antonio lied to us, and ruined or granite that was done on Monday. and also the company that cut it lied too.
Stay away from them in San Antonio.
OK Daltile sorry for the misspelling. We got a piece of granite, and was promised the mazing movement for our inland. The top of the slab was 11′ 3″ long enough for a counter top of 10′, and they promised both, and we called Stone Systems of Austin to make sure they were on the same page too. Well they liked the amazing movement, and stole it. They had to make our island out of the top so, they lied about the stones lenght,. However they did not know I had photos of the slab, and lied to Home Depot about the lenght, and said it was 10″ quarry length. They did not know i had the photos. Last night 04-14-2016 i had Home Depot stop payment, because we did not get what we ordered. Stone Systems of Austin stole it, and they also charged my whife $100.00 per foot for stone they kept the good parts of and gave us the parts that STONES SYSTEMS did not want. I do think Home Depot is a straight shooter on this. We meet soon at my house, and I plan to ruin STONE SYSTEMS day right in front of the Home Depot brass. Now remember Home Depot, and Lowes hate these SCUM bag contractors too. It is a fact of life some will always be there. So always when using a big box you must be PRO active, and talk to the store all of the time, or sooner or later a Scum Bag contractor like STONE SYSTEMS of Austin, Texas will get you too. I can’t prove Deltile is involved is this rip off, So I will not accuse them of theft, Like I am about STONE SYSTEMS. Wait, and when it is over I will post the photos to prove what I just posted. Stay tune to this station for futher news up dates. I predict Home Depot will jump on this when they see the photos. long story short the big box store are really good stores, and i worked for Home Depot too in Austin from 2001- 2003. They always have Ass Holes to manage the herad, but all business like that do. Home Depot is (not) a ripoff or a scum bag store.STONE SYSTEMS of Austin, Texas is a SCUM BAG RIP off. Do not ever use them for anything EVER.
This post is spot on thank you. I had to fire Lowes today for all the reasons listed here. I have been trying to get countertops installed since June. Incompetence does even begin to describe it. It is not that there are not good installers or that there are not good people that work at Lowes. It is simple. Their process is so broken and dysfunctional that you cannot get anything accomplished.
The big box stores are actually a problem. They churn out inferior products and the people there are usually only part-time (b/c Lowes doesn’t want to pay benefits). So someone that takes an order on a Monday, may not be there for another week. Try getting answers on logics with that mess.
I had a small ($2,000) order that is time-sensitive and got all the promises in the world and zero (and really zero) follow-up. They came to measure after ~7 days (installer no show on first scheduled day, but blames Lowes even though they confirmed with me personally). Lowes manager can’t figure out how to look into it, so his solution was to leave sticky note on the computer on Thursday for when the person comes in at noon on Monday (This manager is a rock star). I am sure you are wondering if I got the call Monday (today)? NOPE!
As it turns out, they never ordered my slab because the designer forget to include the standard edge on the side where the fridge goes. So 25 inches of finishing at $10/foot or so after I gave them nearly $2,000 in advance (99.99%) of the cost. They just abandoned the order waiting for me to guess that they needed to be paid another $20 to be ordered. First of all, I must have been smoking crack to sign this agreement in the first place. Rule #1 of contracting for services is you NEVER pay 100% in advance. Any service provider that asks for 100% in advance for any construction project is questionable.
Fortunately I came to my senses and have called to engage a local professional. And the cost…well I think of it this way. It is more money, but I am paying for a service. I was not getting the service I was paying for. Therefore, Lowes seems much more expensive to me. Price is important, but value for your money is more important. A hardworking professional earning his/her money is worth it in my book. Happy to pay a couple hundred more for mutual respect and professionalism.
My Lowes card met an untimely death by shredding tonight.
Lowes can’t be any worse than the Granite store locally I bought my island top from. Terrible. They screwed up the first piece. 2nd was wrong too. Awful customer service. Unsure how a big box store could have mis-measured and been as bad.
I’m sorry to hear that. Just so we can improve, specifically, what do they do that was so bad from a customer service stand point?
uhm
I am a KD and this article is a load of bologna with a side of BS
1: we have FAR more than 27/37 colors, so far I am counting 60 just on display and more in the system and more still through S.Q.
2: each customer buying granite will select their slab AND will be helped in deciding how to design and allocate the deck
3: while we use a fabricator/installer it is clear in the contract all customer service related to the order goes through US, not THEM, no confusion at all.
please, next time post facts….but bs
we use lowes and they can call it a bunch of bs if they want to but its true ..we were out a kitchen for six months then they install the wrong counter top then blame so if i ge\t the one i wanted i have to pay eighteen hundred more so i either have to pay or keep the ugly ones i have . my husband did all demo and the painting also wall board they had shooted workers so eight months later they are trying to fix their shoted work had to write better business to get this done all together we have payed over twenty five thousand i could kick myself for doing this…..dont use lowes
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William, we are sorry you had this experience. We appreciate you sharing it with everyone. Hopefully your comments will help someone consider their alternatives before it’s too late. Quality Stone.
I had a great experience going through Home Depot. I agree with a previous comment that it’s not good business to attach other companies. Do YOU offer same as case financing on countertops for 24 months? They do!
We are happy to hear that you had a great experience through Home Depot. We do not offer the same financing options they do, so it sounds like you made a great decision. Happy Holidays from QSC.
Thanks for the post! Always great to use local fabricators!
Lots of comments here good and bad. One would have to imagine with good results people often do not post the success. With tragedy you can be sure to read posts everywhere.
Home Depot and Lowes fabricators often do over 100 installations per week at an average shop. Stone Systems of NJ and UNICO NY(now stoneworks). Meanwhile a local mom and pop shop do closer to 10-20. You would expect to hear more from the shop doing 100+ jobs a week right?
The local – While dealing with a local shop it is true they will change the stones names and try to gauge in other ways. At the same time the service expected should be better and a premium service while at it.
The big box – For Home Depot and Lowes you can choose to pick an individual slab, additionally you can pick slab layout which is more important in this regard. This is signed in the contract with two different signatures and surely for Stone Systems in the USA. Any cheating on this level is incompetence, or plain old crooks. I would like to hold it past the fabricator as they use MSI for slab deliveries daily and have slabs set aside with order #s, but anything is possible.
In many cases if one is to be picky and you should be. The best bet is supporting a local shop after doing a little research prior.
MSI a supplier, not a fabricator uses real quarry names as does Cosentino. You can find the colors you like in advanced and save the photos.
From there feel free to shop around local stores and see the issue or the bargain you can run into no matter the name they choose to call a color. Decades of experience with these retailers, I think this could be of great help. Good luck!
Granite color list:
https://www.msistone.com/granite-countertops/
Everyone will have different experiences. Here’s my experience with Lowes and a stone warehouse. True, big box retailers selection is limited. At a stone warehouse, your like a kid in a candy store. Both offer financing options. Both may or may not allow you to choose the slab. Lowes gave us option to choose (we let them choose, small condo we were selling, didn’t care). Stone warehouse we went with didn’t let us choose, disappointing since it was our house remodeling (some places visited said we can choose). But if a Lowes has what you want, here’s the big difference. At a warehouse, where you purchase and own the slab, if the fabricator you select cracks your stone, you own it. Now they do an amazing job “glueing” it back together, almost unnoticeable pending the type of stone, but you own it, we know this from personal experience. At Lowes, our delivery was delayed a week, because they cracked our original order. We good a new stone with no cracks, whole. So if you’re big box has what you want, I recommend them for ensuring you never get cracked stone.
ok, so here’s the deal. I bought through Lowes and it was an excellent decision. First, you do not pay until the job is done. Very important because you will see online so many people that are unhappy especially with the seams and cut. They cut my slab wrong and there was zero overhand at the counters. The fabricator said it was ok but Lowes made them do it over – yes, brand new granite!!! You can pick your slab so no down side there. Lowes really saved the day.
I went thru Home Depot and the installer was Rock Solid. What I liked about this was Home Depot will not let anyone do the installation if they have any kind of criminal record including trespassing.
The installers were very polite and immaculate.
Had to do a bit of chatting to receive a refund as I did not pick my first choice but had paid for my first choice.
Also, when I ask for the piece cut out for the sink they said it wasn’t mine. I begged to differ with them as per my contract and received credit for , “the missing piece”. Sq. feet is sq. feet and if they haven’t deducted the sink hole, the piece is yours as you have paid for it. They charged for the cut out and polishing. Otherwise, they sell this piece twice. Not good.
Put in a order for countertops with Lowe’s about 2 months ago and they came today (third time) to mesure our space. Dude was rude and cocky about it and we were told he was coming 20min before he arrived. At this rate we’ll have countertops by Christmas
I think the bigger take-away from this article isn’t necessarily that all big box stores offer bad service, selection, and execution; but rather, it will be inconsistent from region to region because they partner locally. Seems that if you want a good experience, you’d need to ask them who their partners are, and who their partners’ partners are. And then you’d need to do some research to find out how those 3rd and 4th parties are regarded by their former customers. At least, that’s how I’d approach things.
Joel, I think that is fair to say. Sometimes its just tough to find out who all those partners are. I’m sure many many people have had good experiences, but if things do go south it can be difficult to reconcile.
I am a Kitchen Designer and have been with Lowe’s for over 10 years. I would like to correct the comments made by this supplier regarding the three reasons not to use Lowe’s for your counter tops.
1. Lowe’s offers a select group of colors shown in the stores, however, if you make a visit to the stone yards we use and happen to see a color not shown in our store, we are able to work up special pricing to accommodate the customer to get the color they want.
2. Each store has two or three fabricators they use depending on region. Our fabricator’s do not outsource their work, so if there is ever a problem, Lowe’s and the fabricator work together to fix the issue.
3. We offer our customers the option to pick out their slab at the fabricators and we have even had customer’s work with the fabricator to create a “slab-layout”.
Last but not least, there have been occasions that we do not have what a customer is looking for and I happily tell them about the local fabricators I have heard positive reviews on.
This is an amazing guide for me and everyone.Thank you so much for sharing this information with us.
I bought my solid surface through Lowes. So far it’s been a train wreck. The counters were poorly fabricated and they have to sand them down and route out the seams and redo them. The Escalation Team at Lowes basically negated everything I said was wrong but she’d have the fabricator come out anyway. DO NOT buy granite at Lowes or Home Depot, but local. All the slabs are onsite and I can guarantee for cheaper. I wish I would have gone that route. If they don’t fix my counters right Lowes better come get them and I’m going local for granite.
DO NOT GO TO LOWES FOR COUNTERTOPS PERIOD! I bought solid surface counters from Lowes and it’s been a nightmare! They were poorly fabricated and it’s been 3 months of repairs on brand new counters. Lowes is only interested in protecting the fabricator and not at all concerned with losing a customer. I cannot stress enough not to go to Lowes. Buy local!
This post is so spot on and true! Took a chance with Lowe’s when I really “knew better” and yes it has been a total NIGHTMARE! Granite countertops were paid for end of July and installed end of September. NEEDLESS TO SAY I picked out 2 beautiful slabs at a granite supplier as everyone should do and guess what? One that I rejected first at my fabricator before going elsewhere that was basically junk ended up installed in my kitchen and my slabs were never picked up by the fabricator as they told us they were. It’s a good thing I don’t trust anyone and take pictures and document everything because the mess I now have, well you would not believe. In this case, I blame the horrible stone company / fabricators Lowe’s is using that are fraudulent. Someone mentioned their name above saying they aren’t fabricators (well they sure did mine and hacked it up looking like they used a chain saw.) Dimesions do not match their laser template and it’s basically the worst job I’ve ever seen in my life. Besides the fact they lied and didn’t install what I picked out. My carpet I’ve been trying to get from Lowe’s since March, well we won’t even get into that. I still don’t have it 🤣” We will see if they make these messes right and if they do I’ll be more than happy to brag. I am not seeing results fast enough so far.
You are so right. My experience with a Lowes flooring installation. Dayton, OH.
Lowe’s subcontracted to Ultimate Flloring, apparently their national sub.
Ultimate subcontracted to Joshua Flooring, of Springfield, OH.
Joshua subcontracted to an Independent installer.
The vinyl planks were installed over a critical drain hole in the utility room, adjoining the kitchen.
The water, with the drain blocked, flowed under the baseboards, into the walls, Because vinyl planks don’t warp, we were not aware of the issue for 4 months. Finally water started coming through the planks, By that time, the plasterboard walls were black with mold. That is considered concealed damage, and insurance does not pay for concealed water damage,
Lowe’s stalled, unusable kitchen for close to 4 months. Lowe’s said call the sub. Each subcontractor passed off responsibility. The insurance company for the independent installer said his insurance had lapsed and we were out of luck. Knowing the law well, and knowing our privity of contract was with Lowe’s, we initiated action in small claims court, They then responded quickly, and made full payment.
Obvious take from custom granite company!! Home depot not only gives customers many options but they back there products for the years there under warranty and frankly I’ve installed home depots stone counters for over 15 years and currently installing as a 4th party installer as you so put it, for 4 stores in Ontario and frankly no other stone company is going to install any better than me and customers are going to get a much better price from home depot and yes I’m local so they are supporting local small business and my reputation stands for itself!!! You’re always going to get certain stores that have not dp great installers but they weed them out in time but it’s customers right to ask who’s installing and seeing there work before proceeding!! You’re just another company upset you can’t compete with home depots pricing and payment options cause there’s companies here who say the same thing but oh how you wouebe thrilled if you had the contract to fabricate and install for your box store in your area!!
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[…] 3 Reasons NOT to use Lowes or Home Depot for your granite. – Installation: Do the big box stores measure, cut, polish and install your countertops? Absolutely not. If you sign a contract with Lowes or Home Depot, they will outsource the job to another 3rd party fabricator. In many cases, that fabricator will outsource the installation to a 4th party installation company. Now ask yourself this question. […]
Well-written post! I completely agree with you that buying granite and marble countertops from local fabricator will benefit you with various facilities like selection, installation and layout.
I have been doing business in Guangdong over the past few years. There are many brands of ceramic tiles in Foshan, and the quality and price are very good. There is a ceramic city, with low-end and mid-range products. The ceramic tile manufacturers here have also begun to introduce high-end production lines.
I’m currently in the middle of catching hell with a local company. Customer service is awful and I keep getting issue after issue and spending more and more than the quoted estimate. I’m dealing with a local asshole.
I really like your blog! Ideal important information that has been truly helpful. I hope you and your loved ones have a very good day!
I decided to go with Lowe’s for my granite countertop with the thought in mind that a big store like this would use professional companies to do the work as they wouldn’t want a bad name for using a bad contractor. Well I placed my order in my local Lowe’s on Dec 16th 2020. It now April 10th and my countertops are not installed yet and I don’t even have an installation date yet. I was told 3 – 4 weeks. Not 3 – 4 months or more. On top of this I have a half torn apart kitchen with the backsplash ripped out. Countertops are loose slide around on my cabinets waiting for the contractor. At this point I’m considering canceling the order as I’m very nervous the workmanship is going to be as bad as their professionalism. If they have any. Not to mention I’m seeing a lot of bad reviews for the contractor that I didn’t see before purchasing the countertops. Lowe’s uses subcontractors to fabricate your granite, then another to install. This makes it confusing for you to know who is doing the work and who to check reviews on. The countertops fabricator has good reviews which is misleading to the customers. Come to find out the installers have horrible reviews. All bad except for 1. Probably the owner or a friend. I highly recommend not using Lowe’s for anyone looking for new countertops. Wish me luck on my adventure.
All I ca. say is do your research. We do Lowes and Home Depot and we treat these jobs just as if they are our own. You’ll always find a bad egg if you’re not careful but some customers don’t realize the process of remodeling. I’m not saying don’t go to big box stores but it’s always a good idea to look at the company’s that do work for Lowes and Home Depot and maybe go straight thru them. They didn’t get those contracts because they suck I’ll say that much.