granite worktop

Hi, i'm wondering if someone can recommend a good place to go for granite worktops in cork area. living in carrigaline. I got a price from the kitchen crowd and its working out about 5500 euros' which seems very steep for the size of the kitcen. is there any questions i should ask about the granite etc..any help would be appreciated.

whatever else...make sure whoever does it does it totally...esp any drilling for taps etc as granite can crack easily when being drilled by a non-professional!

Johnny


Be very sure you want a granite worktop before you buy.

They look great in magazines and when new and polished.

We installed one at great expense a few years ago but when we moved house we changed back to normal.

We found them cold, hard to keep looking clean, broke lots of glasses against the sink rim and really not worth the money.

If you really want an expensive worktop try Corian or any reconstituted stone that can be polished or sanded and is warm to the touch.

In our case we opted for bog standard coated chipboard and changed it after a couple of years for a fraction of the cost.

Just a personal opinion, some people love them but many people when I bring the subject up had a similar experience to me!

Lookup corian on wed and its seems to be made up north. I'm looking for somewhere local ie munster incase i have problems afterwards etc.
Thanks though.

Hi Johnny,

You may find something useful in the key post on Granite worktops - I think there is a mention of a supplier in/near Cork.

Hi Johnny,

We fitted a grantite worktop less than a year ago and found that Hickeys in Ovens were about the best overall. Remeber with granite that you will pay for it by the square metre (even if you do not use the "waste") so ask them to make the most of it as this may get you splashbacks.

You should be aware that if you are going for granite then be sure to have your kitchen supplier prepare the unit tops for it, usually plywood will be affixed to the top of the units and the granite will sit on that....let then know what thickness of countertop you will be going for....any kitchen fitter worth their salt will know what to do after that,

Also, on size, in the case of granite it does matter, as the 30mm will usually be much more expensive while the 20mm is more than sufficient and, assuming that you finish the edges with plain or bull nose finish then it all looks the same anyway.

Final point is that granite is usually bought in the obvious plain black colour and this is where customers are most dissapointed as black will show up every smudge and water mark imaginable. Go for something with some colour and variation and you'll love it (Baltic Brown is particularly good)...granite is a natural product so it is really best when it does not conform and look artificial.

Hickeys have a great selection and I'd suggest that you go to some kitchen showrooms (ask them who they supply to) to see how each of the products look against various cabinet finishes.

Enjoy!

Have they quoted you €5,500 for the whole kitchen or just the granite top?

It would be worth your while purchasing it directly from Italy (mottled very hard, mirror polished Sardinian grey granite) for about 50 Euro per metre by 3 centimetres thick, cut to your requirements.
VINCENT.

thanks sueellen and marble..will look into it..Any one have an opinion on a quartz worktop as regards going for granite?

Also Alba longa, how would you import directly from italy???

Thanks again for all you comments Marble..been a great help.

Personally, I have never imported anything to Ireland, but it should be straightforward as both EU countries. You'd need to contact a transport company that does the Ireland - Italy - Ireland route. I don't know whether they charge by volume or weight!

My experience with granite:

Installed granite worktops and island worktop five years ago - chose a brown one as didn't like any of the black/grey combinations. I must have visited every supplier in Cork including headstone manufacturers and was quoted £3k upwards. Was just about at the stage of thinking that I would have to forget about it when a friend of mine who had been involved in the revamp of the Cork Opera House suggested a supplier who was working there at the time - Southern Stone Contracts (operating out of Tralee). I went to their warehouse and picked out the piece I wanted them to use and while there fell in love with a beautiful limestone fireplace. The price of my worktops and fireplace combined was £2,300. I'm not sure if they would still be as competitive, because they were working in Cork at the time and I wasn't charged delivery etc as they were doing the bigger job.

Maintenance of granite is tiresome though. It is not sufficient just to wipe with a wet cloth - because once dried you can see all the watermarks. Over the last five years I've had many experiments with trying to keep the nice shiny effect (never use any products from the supermarket shelves).. My best cleaner so far is wipe with a damp cloth and then wipe with one of those new fangled microcloths. It keeps the surface nice and shiny and is good for the environment.

Best of luck.

I got great quote from Ennis Marble & Granite, but Marble City in Limerick were slightly dearer (but way below your quote and ours is a big kitchen). marble city have a great name and I found them excellent. They came out twice to measure up as I raised questions - I'd fully recommend.

All the granite samples I saw the other day in a kitchen shop varied in price between €510 and €560 per metre if that's any help to you as a price comparison - south east area.

Hi Pingpong, where are you based as i think cork could be too far for them to travel...

I live in Swords, Dublin and when we got our kitchen fitted 2 years ago I used a supplier called JJ (forgot his surname - just have JJ Granite in my mobile!) who is based in Galway. Recommended by my uncle who has a kitchen joinery business in Galway and he was super and a great price too - total was 3500 ex vat for 12m * 0.6 m counter top (30mm), same in splashback (20mm) plus island top 1.2 m square. Two sinks + run offs , tap, hob cut out. Nero was the one we went for (black with silver/gold flecks in)

We got our kitchen maker to make a template which we sent to him and he made granite exactly to measure and then came up for a day to fit.

his mobile number is 087 2709443.

I am in the process of Pricing granite worktops in the Limerick area, The Kitchen is not that big but has an island. Have been priced 3300 for just the worktop no splashbacks etc. I have sent my details to southern stone contracts mentioned above and was wondering if anyone has dealt with them recently. The price I got was from my kitchen supplier who was not happy when I mentioned I was shoping around and told me lots of horror stories of worktops where cheaper were badly installed ect. Any thoughts?

Don't know much about Granite Worktops but I would assume your Kitchen supplier was not Impressed you were going to shop around as they had assumed they would get a very genourous commision on your purchase.

Have they lowered the price for you on foot of their newly attained information?

granite concept in rathcoole are the cheapest i have come across. i discovered that its not about the metreage you are buying. there can be hundreds if not thousands depending on colour and grades of materials chosen.

johnnyg said:

Hi, i'm wondering if someone can recommend a good place to go for granite worktops in cork area. living in carrigaline. I got a price from the kitchen crowd and its working out about 5500 euros' which seems very steep for the size of the kitcen. is there any questions i should ask about the granite etc..any help would be appreciated.

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I don't know what size your kitchen is, this looks very high I have vast experience in this area as I worked with marble & granite abroad in Israel, just resently returned to live in Ireland. I have been thinking to start up a marble & granite fabrication here in Ireland on my spare time. If this is the price you got for just the top then it is very very high. I know you can buy Caesar Stone (which is man made in Israel with quarts and very durable, considered expensive ) for £550.00 4.5m2 slab from england thats including shipping, so if your kitchen needs 4.5 m2 of just say Caesar Stone this kitchen could be done for max. 2200 euro or less depending on finish needed.

We got our quartz worktops in Auldstone Crafts in Camolin, Wexford earlier this year. We dealt direct with them instead of through kitchen company - they travelled up to Dublin to measure and fit - very professional, good price compared to kitchen companies. We are very very happy with quartz, hardwearing, lovely colours (we went for white on counter and green on island - sick of seeing black in every one else's house) and dead easy to keep clean.

Not associated with this company but would recommend them.