We are doing a renovation and the wife wants to put carrera countertops in the bathroom. In total, it will be about 28 sq ft with two sink cuts so pretty standard stuff. We are located in Houston and went to Rock Fin today and received a quote of $43/sq ft installed. Just wanted to do a gut check to see if that is reasonable or if we should do more shopping around.

That seems really good. We were looking at 94/sqft installed for granite

$94/ft? that must have been some fancy granite.

No. We just live in the middle of nowhere. It was actually from Lowes.

But everything I've read says 100-250 per sqft installed.

Are you ever going to actually use your kitchen?

If the answer is yes, you may want to reconsider. Marble requires a LOT of maintenance and is very susceptible to staining and damage.

I just realized you said bathroom, not kitchen. My mistake, but my point about maintenance still stands. You have to be very careful how you clean it because many household cleaners can damage the marble.

quote:

---

Are you ever going to actually use your kitchen?

If the answer is yes, you may want to reconsider. Marble requires a LOT of maintenance and is very susceptible to staining and damage.

I just realized you said bathroom, not kitchen. My mistake, but my point about maintenance still stands. You have to be very careful how you clean it because many household cleaners can damage the marble.

---

Also, everything you place on the counter that isn't soft plastic or a towel will scratch it.

Our master bath vanity is marble. Previous owners spilled perfume on it. Massive brown stain.

quote:

---

No. We just live in the middle of nowhere. It was actually from Lowes.

But everything I've read says 100-250 per sqft installed.

---

Where are you located? I think I pay my sub around $40-50/ sf for group two granite. Can be even cheaper for group one depending on the job/ layout.

quote:

---

No. We just live in the middle of nowhere. It was actually from Lowes.

But everything I've read says 100-250 per sqft installed.

---

Where are you located? I think I pay my sub around $40-50/ sf for group two granite. Can be even cheaper for group one depending on the job/ layout.

that is a pretty absurd range for granite unless it's some silly exotic. You can get standard granite slabs for anywhere form $10-20 a sqft. Installation in a major city shouldn't be any more than $20-30 per sqft. It may be an extra drive for you but I don't think those numbers seem reasonable.

quote:

---

quote:

---

No. We just live in the middle of nowhere. It was actually from Lowes.

But everything I've read says 100-250 per sqft installed.

---

Where are you located? I think I pay my sub around $40-50/ sf for group two granite. Can be even cheaper for group one depending on the job/ layout.

---

Between Billings and Bismarck. Closest sub is Billings, closest warehouse is Fargo. Most places have roughly a 1500-2500 up charge for install and delivery here, not including the cost of the stone.

quote:

---

quote:

---

quote:

---

No. We just live in the middle of nowhere. It was actually from Lowes.

But everything I've read says 100-250 per sqft installed.

---

Where are you located? I think I pay my sub around $40-50/ sf for group two granite. Can be even cheaper for group one depending on the job/ layout.

---

Between Billings and Bismarck. Closest sub is Billings, closest warehouse is Fargo. Most places have roughly a 1500-2500 up charge for install and delivery here, not including the cost of the stone.

---

Well, I guess the shipping by steamboat up the Mississippi, then wagon up the Bozeman wagon trail adds quite a bit to the overhead!!

That sound like surcharges for remote Alaska or Hawaii construction. I'll have to take that into account if I ever decide to leave the rat race and build in the middle of Montana! I'll have to save a little more to afford it!

For a bathroom you might be able to find remnants at a counter place. White countertops are popular now so most places have left overs.

quote:

---

For a bathroom you might be able to find remnants at a counter place. White countertops are popular now so most places have left overs.

---

Also look at pre-fabs. Grabite Master does pre-fabs, but they only sell to contractors.

Not just building materials that are expensive. I pay around $4.40 for a gallon of milk, and around $6 per lb for beef.

Everything here is astronomical.

If carrera marble is a poor choice for the bathroom, what do you guys think about quartzite? The guy at the shop was pimping it as the look of marble with the maintenance of granite.

quote:

---

If carrera marble is a poor choice for the bathroom, what do you guys think about quartzite? The guy at the shop was pimping it as the look of marble with the maintenance of granite.

---

Daltile has some engineered quartz that looks very similar to carrera marble. I looked at it in the showroom and was impressed.

I would think quartz would make more sense than quartzite if you're worried about durability. They have some shades that look similar to carrera and it is much lower maintenance than quartzite.

FWIW we are going with Carerra remnants in our bathrooms and Terrastone Harmony Quartz in our kitchen.

quote:

---

quote:

---

Are you ever going to actually use your kitchen?

If the answer is yes, you may want to reconsider. Marble requires a LOT of maintenance and is very susceptible to staining and damage.

I just realized you said bathroom, not kitchen. My mistake, but my point about maintenance still stands. You have to be very careful how you clean it because many household cleaners can damage the marble.

---

Also, everything you place on the counter that isn't soft plastic or a towel will scratch it.

---

I wouldn't recommend it in the bathroom, there are way too many things that can screw it up in that area.

lol if not the kitchen and not the bathroom then where would you recommend it? Bottom line is that if you like the look and you get the right cleaners and are prepared to deal with stains (alot of stains can be removed with a poultice) then get the marble.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but we are moving into a new home in a couple weeks that has a lot of carrera marble (kitchen and baths). It wouldn't have been my material of choice, but it does look great. Would love to get some advice on cleaning/maintenance. Any insight on the following would be great:

Recommended marble safe cleaning products and where you get them
Advice on staining/etching/scratching prevention
Advice/experience with stain removal
Any other general advice/experience

Thanks a lot.

We are having some Statuarito installed (similar look to Carrera) for $40/sq. ft in the same area (GOOF). Buying a total of about 40 sq. ft. Slab from Omni Surfaces, install by Durastone, all through our contractor. The pricing we saw for true Carrera was a bit higher though. Slabs were closer to the $50-70/sq. ft. if it was real Carrera.

Is Statuarito granite or quartz?

Check out Silestone. We did our kitchen remodel with a white Silestone Quartz. Looks amazing and low maintenance.

We've had carrera in our kitchen for about a year and a half. Theres slight scratching and etching from normal use, but you have to be looking from a pretty unnatural angle and distance to see it. The only maintenance we perform is wiping it when things are spilled on it and not dragging really heavy, sharp objects on it. It looks as good today as it did when it was installed.

Don't get talked out of it if you like it, it's not nearly as fragile as many make it out to be.

Statuario is a marble.

Enviroag02,
We are considering Terrastone Harmony for our kitchen counters but I cannot find any photos online of an installation. It is a new product the supplier is carrying and they only have one installation of it and no pictures. Do you have any photos of it in your kitchen? I would love to see a real world example. It is hard to tell from the 6" x 6" sample I have. How do you like it?
Thanks!
Andrea

Quartz

maintenance free and they are getting really good at simulating carrara.

These are going into our bathrooms for $60 per foot here in Austin....should be cheaper in Houston or similar.

White Carrara Quartz Counters