Express Countertops

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1) I requested an estimate for a granite countertop for my small kitchen in my 400 sq. ft. condo, and on May 11, 2012, Ari came over to measure and provide an estimate. He mentioned it might be necessary to put a seam in the main granite piece overlooking the dining area for structural purposes, but he did not know where the seam would go until he got back to his shop. I questioned why a seam would be necessary on the relatively small piece of granite, and expressed my concerns to Ari and later by phone to John that the seam would be obvious. They assured me that the granite piece would be initially cut as one piece and then separated for the ?structural? seam so that both pieces would match exactly at the seam. Relying on their specific assurances, I agreed to proceed with the order. 2) On May 22, 2012, Richard and Jaime came over to install the granite. I had the condo staff let them in while I was at work. They called me about a plumbing problem, so I called a plumber and came back to my condo to see what was happening. The counter installation was mostly completed by then, but I noticed the granite pattern clearly did not match at the seam which was smack dab in the middle of the main granite piece. I was very upset about the obviously mismatching granite, and mentioned to Richard that the granite fabrication had been done contrary to Ari and John?s assurances. He told me to contact John. (In the meantime, Jaime took photos of the granite with a regular camera and Richard later took more photos of the granite with his phone.) 3) I called John and put him on speaker mode so that Richard would be on the same page. The plumber was also present during our phone conversation. John initially insisted that the granite piece was initially cut as a single piece before the structural seam was cut. I disputed that account based on the obviously mismatching seam. John then stated that the reason for the mismatched patterns was that slivers were cut away to eliminate flaws in the granite. I responded that, based on the way large dark spots and shapes discontinue abruptly on one side of the the seam without continuing at all on the other side, it was obvious the problem involved more than thin ?slivers? being cut away. In fact, I mentioned that obvious flaws that looked like cigarette burns were left elsewhere on the granite piece, so it was doubtful any slivers were cut away due to such flaws. (I should note that Richard did an excellent job with the installation, and I will not mention his reactions in light of the sensitivity of his contractor relationship with the company.) 4) After much back and forth, John finally admitted the granite piece was fashioned from two separate pieces of granite (albeit from the same slab) before being put together at the seam. He said the reason for this was that the only piece of New Bianco Romano available in this area was a smaller sized slab which required that the cuts be made. John offered a $500 discount in consideration of the mismatched cut. I told John the discount was entirely unsatisfactory in light of how significantly flawed the kitchen counter was and the fact that it was fashioned contrary to our agreement. John then said that if I did not agree with the $500 discount, he would tell Richard and Jaime to take out the counter immediately. I told John that would be fine, as I would prefer to have the granite I always wanted in lieu of any discount, and ended our conversation. John called back a few minutes later to say that he would not take the counter out that day after all. Instead, he would email me some documents, such as the receipt for the granite slab, so as to have a starting point for resolving the matter. 5) While the plumber was fixing the leak and installing the faucet, Jaime kicked over or dropped the disposal and broke it. As a result, the plumber could not install the disposal and drain. Although Richard provided a replacement part for the disposal the next day, I am still without a working sink in my kitchen since May 22, more than two weeks later. I cannot install the disposal/drain and the dishwasher while the dispute with the company is pending since they could take out the counter, per their original plan, and I would have to uninstall and install everything again. Needless to say, being without a working sink or completed kitchen is not fun. 6) On May 30, 2012, 8 days after the installation, John finally emailed copies of what appeared to be his receipts from NSI for the granite measuring 114? by 70? at $15.15 per sq. ft. for a total of $839.61. I used graph paper to see how the granite pieces in my kitchen could be cut from the slab that size, and found that the main piece of granite easily could have been cut as one piece of granite (and separated at the seam later only for ?structural? purposes). I still have no idea why the granite was put together from two separate pieces. 7) The company and I are now at an impasse, and I am still without a working sink in my kitchen!

The salesman/Estimator and the installers were great and the price was very competitive. I liked how they spend time and me going over the samples. I highly recommend this company.

During our recent kitchen remodeling project, we replaced everything, from subfloor to celing. In our search for a countertop fabricator, we did the 'normal' checks, with Angie's List, the BBB, etc., and came up with a list of 5 prospective contractors. Express Countertops was, far and away, the most responsive, and the most economical, of the 5. John, and the guys, were a real pleasure to work with throughout. We had a tight timeline for the project...cabinet delivery and installation on Tuesday/Wednesday, countertop templating Wednesday afternoon, delivery of appliances the follwing Tuesday, and installation of the new grantie countertops on Thursday. Express Countertops met all of our deadlines, as though we were the only customers they were servicing. We are quite happy with our 'little' project, and would (and already have) highly recommend Express Countertops for your projects.

They have great customer service, and they went the extra mile. They have a good showroom. They were helpful, and they gave good hints about installing the countertop. The installer was very nice and friendly. I would recommend them to others. Some of them were great and a big help to me. They were professional on the phone, and he called back when I had questions.

The experience both times was great. Measurements were spot on, installation was flawless, very professional and friendly. My son just hired them for his countertops in his new house. I know they will do a great job.

They responded quickly to my email request for information, brought samples to my house, and were very patient with my stupid questions.

Well done I am very pleaseed with the work. Thank you.

From start to finish it was great. I received an estimate for a new counter top for my kitchen on a Wednesday, made me a great deal on getting new counter tops for two bathrooms as well (only paid for installation when I chose two remnants from their supply at the shop) , and the entire job was done in a week. The workman were excellent, on time, and completed the job as quick and as well as I could every have hoped. A very satisfied customer!

THE ENTIRE EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN PAINLESS! I FOUND EXPRESS COUNTERTOPS ON THE ANGIE'S LIST WEBSITE. DURING MY RESEARCH, I REVIEWED SEVERAL OTHER COMPANIES, READ THE REVIEWS AND VISITED THEIR INDIVIDUAL SITES. THE EXPRESS COUNTERTOP WEBSITE WAS USER FRIENDLY AND I EVEN TRIED TO UPLOAD A PICTURE OF MY KITCHEN, BUT THEY COULDN'T GET IT TO OPEN (I'M SURE THIS WAS MY FAULT). BEFORE VISITING THE WEBSITE I HAD DECIDED TO GET A LAMINATE MATERIAL FOR MY TOWNHOUSE KITCHEN, BUT AFTER LOOKING AT ALL THE PHOTOS AND CHOICES, I STARTED TOYING WITH THE IDEA OF QUARTZ. THE STAFF WAS VERY RESPONSIVE TO MY EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS, (I ASKED A LOT OF QUESTIONS). BY THE TIME THE ESTIMATOR VISITED MY HOME (ON TIME), I HAD PRETTY MUCH MADE UP MY MIND. HE BROUGHT EXAMPLES OF THE QUARTZ THAT I HAD INQUIRED ABOUT AND EXPLAINED ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EDGINGS I COULD SELECT. ONCE I'D MADE MY SELECTIONS, HE MEASURED AT LEAST THREE TIMES AND CREATED A TEMPLATE. I SELECTED AN INSTALLATION DATE AND PAID 1/3 DOWN. THEY WERE REALLY GOOD ABOUT EXPLAINING THAT I WOULD NEED A PLUMBER TO RE-CONNECT THE SINK AND GARBAGE DISPOSAL TO THE SUPPLY LINES. SINCE I WAS HAVING ADDITIONAL WORK DONE ON MY HOME AND SCHEDULES KEPT CHANGING, I CALLED EXPRESS COUNTERTOPS TWICE TO CHANGE MY INSTALLATION DATE. EACH TIME THEY CONTACTED OTHER CUSTOMERS TO SEE IF A CHANGE COULD BE MADE. ON THE DAY OF INSTALLATION THE INSTALLERS ARRIVED (ON TIME) AND INTRODUCED THEMSELVES BY NAME (O'NEIL AND FRANK). THEY EXPLAINED WHAT THE PROCESS WOULD ENTAIL BEFORE THEY STARTED WORKING AND ANSWERED ALL OF MY QUESTIONS THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS. NEVER DID THEY ACT AS THOUGH I WAS BEING PESKY OR INTERFERING WITH THEIR WORK. THEY REMOVED ALL OF THEIR DEBRIS AND CLEANED UP THOROUGHLY BEFORE THEY LEFT. I AM SOOOOO PLEASED WITH MY NEW QUARTZ COUNTERTOP AND SINK. THIS CHANGE HAS IMPROVED THE APPEARENCE OF MY LITTLE KITCHEN LIKE YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE! EVERY EXPRESS COUNTERTOP'S STAFF PERSON THAT I ENCOUNTERED VIA EMAIL, PHONE AND IN-PERSON EXHIBITED A HIGH LEVEL OF CUSTOMER SERVICE. I WORK WITH THE PUBLIC DAILY AND KNOW THE EFFORT, TRAINING AND PERSONALITY IT TAKES TO PROVIDE CONSISTENT QUALITY CUSTOMER SERVICE. KUDOS EXPRESS COUNTERTOPS, I AM A HAPPY CUSTOMER.

The workmen came on time and, overall, did a good job. However, the estimators had made several errors, which caused problems for the workmen and also caused me to have to run to the hardware store to exchange faucets for the kitchen sink. This was very annoying for all of us, but the on site supervisor handled it with a lot of professionalism. I have a drop in range top, which made cutting the granite a little difficult, and it did crack during the installation. They repaired the cracks, rather than replacing the whole giant piece of granite, because it was one large section covering an island in the middle of the kitchen. I wasn't overly happy that I got a repair, but I didn't press on replacing the whole piece, because you can't really see the cracks in the pattern. Also, the estimator had told me that the backsplashes would go all the way up to my window sills, which they didn't, so there was a thin area left where the old backsplashes had come out (and tore up the paint) and the new back splashes did not cover this up. The company told me that it wasn't really their problem, which I was also not too thrilled about. Finally, the estimator had really miscalculated the supports that would be needed to hold up the breakfast bar portion of the counter. So that couldn't be installed for about another 10 days while they went back and fabricated something that would work. While they took the responsibility for that and didn't increase the price, There was a real disconnect in so many ways between the people who came and measured and gave me the estimate and the workmen. But the workmen di their best, and they were very skilled and dedicated, so it kind of made up for it. They did fit me into the schedule on short notice right before Thanksgiving too, which was nice. The subcontractor stayed an extra two hours trying to fix a leak in my dishwasher, which he said he didn't cause, but he didn't want to leave it there leaking. We really appreciated that.

I had a small problem that made me hold back my last payment. The worker had damaged my granite counter top. I had to debate with the supervisor about having the problem fixed and told him I would not make my last payment until it was fixed. Overall it all turned out well and the problem was solved. The quality is very good and their punctuality was great. I have recommended others to this company and I would use them again in the future.

Excellent experience. Gave particulars via email then had them do an on site measurement. Answered all my questions (and I had alot). the workers on the day of install were very knowledgeable and polite. Kitchen was left with minimal mess from install.

It went very smoothly. Came when they said they would. Service was very quick. A little problem arise which was quickly taken care of. I would use them again.

It went very well - I was able to set up an appointment for an estimate very quickly; they gave me a very reasonable price that included a new undermount stainless kitchen sink; they measured for the counter template despite my absence; they had the completed counters installed in less than 3 weeks; and the finished product looks even better than I had imagined! John was even kind enough to drop a sample of the granite off at my house on his way home from work so that I could show prospective tenants what the finished counters would look like before they were installed.

The company was very easy to deal with. They called back very promptly and set an appointment within 2-3 days time. The installation was completed as scheduled and the entire work was completed within one week.

Installers did an excellent job - seam is almost completely invisible and worked very hard to get it close to the wall as we had no backsplash. They also accommodated us as we did not have one of our end cabinets yet so they built a brace to hold it.

Excellent. Easiest company to do business with. They came to house gave estimate and templated same day. Chose granite from existing samples and installation was complete within a week. Very professional and friendly people.