- CHOOSE YOUR SLAB IN PERSON: Don’t choose a slab of granite from a picture, especially not off the Internet. Make a trip to the slab yard and see the actual slab that’s going into your house. There is so much variation from slab to slab and lot to lot (see below) that you MUST personally view the exact slab you’re purchasing. You never know if the slab you want out of the middle of the bundle might have a nice goose egg of brown in the middle that you will hate. Look at it. All of it. And if the slab yard won’t move it for you, for ANY reason, go somewhere that will. You’re spending too much money on this natural stone to be surprised by something you didn’t see during selection.
- GRANITE COMES IN LOTS: Granite is mined from the Earth in big blocks and then sliced like a loaf of bread into slabs. Veins, dots, patterns and other characteristics of the stone will usually be consistent throughout the block from which a slab was cut. If you need more than one slab for your project, you will need to choose your slabs from the same lot, especially if the slabs will need to be seamed together on a continuous run of a counter. It’s even better if you can get slabs from the same lot that are numbered consecutively. This means the slabs have an even better chance of being identical because they were cut right next to each other.
- YOU WILL PROBABLY NEED MORE THAN ONE SLAB: Granite slabs AVERAGE about 55 square feet per slab. They generally measure about 9-10 feet wide by 6-7 feet high. Companies that fabricate slabs are pretty good at cutting out the puzzle that is your countertop, but if you have a nice-sized L-shaped kitchen plus an island, you can pretty much count on needing more than one slab to accommodate your needs. And keep in mind, a fabricator will generally cut about 3-4” off the edges to square the slab. If you’re at the slab yard with a tape measure, remember to subtract this amount off the sides while doing your calculations.
- GRANITE VARIES WILDLY IN PRICE: The rule of thumb is – the more patterning and veining in a slab, the higher the cost. Granite is priced according to groups, with A being the cheapest all the way up to “exotics”, which can be more than $200 per square foot depending on your location. And –
- GRANITE’S PRICE IS MOSTLY IN THE FABRICATION: “Fabrication” is the cutting and shaping that goes on to make a raw slab into a countertop. Material costs don’t vary from place to place all that much, but each fabricator will have their own profit margin goals. The cost to put a bullnose edge on one slab of Black Pearl for Fabricator A might be 25-50% less than Fabricator B. It’s a good idea to get quotes from different fabricators for the same material and compare.
- GRANITE CAN HAVE MANY NAMES: If you found the perfect granite online and its name is something like Brown Antique, don’t despair if you can’t find it at your showroom. Each showroom, quarry, importer, and even fabricator can have different names for the same granite color. Try Googling the name of the granite you like plus “alternate name” and see what comes up. (Hint: Brown Antique is also called Marron Cohiba.)
- CHOOSE YOUR GRANITE FIRST: It’s best if you start your kitchen or bath remodel by choosing the granite you want first. It’s the showpiece that will stand out in the room and set the tone of your design. You can work paint, cabinetry, flooring, the backsplash, and other elements around the colors and patterns of the slab you choose. BUT, if you have your heart set on a certain cabinet or floor, or have to work around existing finishes –
- BRING YOUR OTHER ROOM FINISHES WITH YOU TO SELECT GRANITE: I can’t tell you the number of people who say “I should have brought my cabinet color with me” when they’re at the showroom selecting their countertop, a major investment that can’t be changed easily and needs to be right. It’s nearly impossible to match cabinet, paint, or flooring colors to a tiny sample of granite. Plus those samples are probably not from the same lot, and more than likely not even from the same quarry, as the granite you will choose. Bring a cabinet door, paint chip, tile or wood flooring plank, or other design elements in the room with you when you go to the slab yard. I REPEAT: Bring your other design elements WITH YOU to the slab yard.
Some other interesting facts about granite: Most slabs are imported from Brazil, India, China, Italy, and South Africa. Other countries that provide granite include the US, Spain, Norway, Russia, and Portugal. India tends to produce the largest slabs with fairly straight edges. Blue and red are the least common colors found in granite, and therefore add to the expense of a slab. And, yes, quartzite is a form of granite with more quartz content and therefore has the same properties as granite.
So the next time you find yourself wandering through a slab yard, keep the above in mind to help you with your choice. And enjoy your new, long-lasting, and beautiful granite!

Hewn from the earth, cut with 
