# Saving Money on Granite Countertops



## fozzy40 (Jun 11, 2008)

I read somewhere that you can cut the cost of labor for granite countertop installation if you remove the countertop yourself.  Is this true?  Around how much would it save me?  Is it worth it?  Thoughts?


----------



## glennjanie (Jun 11, 2008)

Hello Fozzy:
With the extreme cost of the granite countertops, tearing the old counter top off is a drop in the bucket.
I personally do not care for the granite tops but they seem to be the rage nationwide, just make sure you have abundant funds for the project.
Glenn


----------



## yesitsconcrete (Jun 19, 2008)

you could reduce the cost even more if you saw, polish, & install your own,,, its not life-threatening to admit costs're high,,, we don't have a ferrari or lamborghini in the garage but we live fairly well w/formica c-tops in a 35yr old home.

i make conc & granite c-tops but won't have them in our home,,, its all personal,,, the major investment of granite MAY cause your home to be more difficult to sell - not everyone likes the same stuff.


----------



## TexasKid (Jun 20, 2008)

We just spent about $4k for some granite coutertops and we have a real large kitchen w/ island. I can't remember the square footage of countertop but I think it was close to a hundred, "j" shaped. Anyway, with this company, there demo was free. But, I went ahead and removed the first row of tile behind the counters because I needed to save as many of the tile as I could and not destroy row 2. Didn't think they would be as careful. Where you will really save some money is if you reconnect the sinks, stove top, and dishwasher yourself. In my case, I didn't have to reconnect the dishwasher except for putting 2 screws in it to secure to the counter. That took 1 minute. The stove took me 5 minutes to reconnect wiring and saved $260 on that. I suggest you do your own disconnecting so you'll know how to reconnect. Take pictures of things like wires so you can look at them to remember. I even took notes... don't forgot to turn off the circuit at your fuse box! We got a new sink - they secured it to the counter and and I reconnected drain line, water line, and installed new disposal. This took me several hours and 2 trips to Home Depot because the drain line PVC configuration was different because the disposal was different and basin height was different. Still, saved $260 on this also. We had a 2nd small sink that we removed and I capped all the lines. If you're half way handy with a few tools and even have a little knowledge and experience with this kind of stuff, you can do it. Sorry - got carried away and told you my life story! I try to save $ wherever I can - don't like getting taken advantage of by some of these contractors!


----------



## cparker (Jun 25, 2008)

Anyone looked into cement countertops?  I've read some articles online (can't remember the links right now) and it's pretty awesome.  You can do them yourself if you're brave.

http://www.thecabinetfolks.com


----------



## Novello (Aug 26, 2008)

Hi 
I am agree with yesitsconcrete and I am impressed with TexasKid post . Yes you can save money in this way. Do you ever think to invest money in real estate. I believe its a good way to utilize your money. It can help you as an extra income.


----------

