Kitchen Countertops

[Knomad]

We are looking to upgrade our existing laminate countertops with granite or solid surface. Does anyone in the Wolfeboro/Tuftonboro area have any positive experiences and recommendations for someone to contact to do the work?

[BroadHopper]

did an excellent job on a neighbor's countertop. They replace an old formica top with engineered stone. They recomend the engineered stone over marble or granite. As it is extremely low maintenence. No sealing required.

[RLW]

Originally Posted by BroadHopper

did an excellent job on a neighbor's countertop. They replace an old formica top with engineered stone. They recomend the engineered stone over marble or granite. As it is extremely low maintenence. No sealing required.

I agree with the above suggestion, however using either Lowe's and/or Home depot one never knows who will be doing the install. You may get someone that does an excellent job and the next person gets a contractor that does an awful job. Both places hires sub-contractors to do all there work and one can be real super and the rest do an awful job. That's just my 2¢ from past experience.

[Lakepilot]

Rumford Stone in Concord did ours and they were great.

http://www.rumfordstone.com/

[KBoater]

Rumford Stone of Concond did mine in Wolfeboro. Good job. Also, All about Kitchens has someone.

[phoenix]

moultonboro paint did ours and did a great job

[Little Bear]

Contact Kevin Gilbert - the owner. He does all the work himself. Super quality and reasonable prices. He also does those great granite clocks and granite maps of Winni (I have both in my house, as well as many other things he has done).

www.gilbertgranite.com

[Pepper]

This is a topic I can speak to purely by virtue of the fact that it is my job. Lowe's offers a very wide variety of solid surface, stone, engineered stone, and quartz countertops. They offer products to fit every budget, and a full spectrum of options including edges, backsplashes, depths, etc. Their designers can provide you with answers to all your questions and help you decide which product is right for your kitchen and your budget.

Lowe's contracts with only one local fabricator for solid surface countertops, and one local fabricator for quartz, stone and engineered stone countertops. Lowe's now surveys each customer after their install, and these two companies enjoy an extremely high satisfaction rating. I know this because it's part of my job to review their results every Monday. I have also worked closely with each of these companies and their crews and can tell you that they are professionals who care very deeply about their customers happiness.

If you have questions or would like more information, please feel free to PM me. I'll be happy to help in any way I can.

[SAMIAM]

If Pepper likes them.........that's good enough for me. Didn't realize that a chain would go to such great lengths to track installations.

[fatlazyless]

..formica..so what's not to like about a formica countertop....how to restore a tired looking formica counter...with Formica Countertop Magic in the easy-to-use aerosol spray....it really works....and is a lot cheaper than a whole new fancy-dancy countertop....ditto for Stainless Steel Sink Magic......better to spend yor money on the important things......like beer!.....and it doesn't have to be expensive beer....cheap beer works good.........beer & formica......a terrific combination......oh yeah! .....

...hey....invite me over for a beer....and I'll bring along the old spray can of Countertop Magic.....you'll be impressed!

[BroadHopper]

Hope all is well! Been in and out of Lowes. I guess we did not cross. I will look for you next time.

I had an interview last week at Lowes HQ in Mooresville NC. I am very impress with the benefits and how they treat the employees. They are hiring as they are expanding into Canada, Mexico, and Australia.

As much as I want to stay in the area, there are no permanent jobs! Just seasonal or sales. I'm not a salesman, I am a financial analyst.

As Pepper says, Lowes has the quality installations as well as products. Those that had problems ordering on the website, there will be a completely revamped website ordering coming soon.

[Pepper]

Broadhopper - you won't find me at the Lowe's where you shop - I work in a different one, which explains why we never cross paths there. Best wishes as you continue on your interview process - it's a wonderful company to work for!

FLL - you are so right about that CountertopMagic. That stuff is amazing! Note: It sprays REALLY forcefully - so it's best to spray it onto the cloth (unless you want little white spray-specks all over your walls and appliances!)

[phoenix]

Pepper nice to see you back

[secondcurve]

I recommend BFR & Associates in Manchester NH for granite countertops.

I had contracted with a Lakes Region based granite installer several years back to put in granite countertops at my cottage in Tuftonboro and they sent me to a granite distributor in Ma to select the slab of granite. After selecting a granite slab in Ma the local installer gave me a quote that I thought was way too high. On a whim I contacted BFR & Associates and they cut my price by $1,000.00 using the same slab of granite that I had picked out at the distributor! The distributor simply shipped the slab that I had selected to BFR. Give them a try. Very nice people. I worked with the son of the owner. I forget his name but he was a pleasure to deal with.

[ishoot308]

We had Lowe's install our granite counter tops at the island camp. The installers did a wonderful job and were extremely professional. No problem that the work was being done on an island either. They came fully prepared and had the work done in no time.

Lots of choices to pick from at Lowe's as well. Sometimes you can find something in granite at that is being discontinued for a great price!!

It was a great experience for us and I would recommend them in a heartbeat.

Dan

[jmen24]

Originally Posted by secondcurve

I recommend BFR & Associates in Manchester NH for granite countertops.

I had contracted with a Lakes Region based granite installer several years back to put in granite countertops at my cottage in Tuftonboro and they sent me to a granite distributor in Ma to select the slab of granite. After selecting a granite slab in Ma the local installer gave me a quote that I thought was way too high. On a whim I contacted BFR & Associates and they cut my price by $1,000.00 using the same slab of granite that I had picked out at the distributor! The distributor simply shipped the slab that I had selected to BFR. Give them a try. Very nice people. I worked with the son of the owner. I forget his name but he was a pleasure to deal with.

I have never worked with this company so my post has nothing to do with them, but what they asked you to do should be industry standard.

You went to Boston Granite Exchange, this is where every single slab of granite that will be installed in the Northeast rests until a fabricator purchases it (unless it is bought in Canada). By going to this warehouse you were able to pick a slab that matched your colors exactly and not based off a "sample". As with all natural products it is very important to select off the same lot, otherwise you will not like what you see. I can think of about 5 of the over 300 international colors of granite that would be close enough for use from lot to lot.

They did you a huge favor by allowing you to shop the slabs and not the samples. I have formally worked with two different local fabrication shops that showed our customers samples and ordered based on that, well they were not very happy when the customers were discusted with the difference in color and the kitchen stores had to eat two countertops that each went for over 15K.

I highly recommend B&E stone in Concord, they will repair any issue that comes up down the road for the life you own the top.

Engineered stone is very nice material and would be my preferrence over Solid Surface, but not granite. Just a bit of caution, to get anything that resembles real stone will cost you just as much as the granite would in the first place. Same goes for solid surface.

[JoeP]

Fred E. Varney Company in Wolfeboro did ours and we were very satisfied.

[AB_Monterey]

We used Lowes for our granite counters.

The sent us out to Milford to a yard where we picked out the granite slab ourselves.

We're very satisfied with the entire process.

[SIKSUKR]

I don't even need a new countertop but if Pepper is involved I'll find a place to install one!