Empire Countertops, LLC

The good thing about Empire is that they will let you pay by the sq foot rather than having to purchase a whole slab. I've been in their showroom on multiple ocassions. We have put granite in our kitchen, master bath and now the guest bath. This is the only time I've used them. They are located very close to us so for each project I've looked at what they have to offer. The showroom has pieces of slabs that are about 2' x 4'. Although this might give you some idea, you really need to visit the yard as every slab is different. They do not have any method to move slabs so that you can see the slab face on. They are packed in close to each other. This is an outdoor yard not a warehouse with the overhead crane systems. I visited in the fall and found two possibilities for our guest bath but I wan't able to move forward with the project then. When I went back shortly before Christmas, one of the choices had changed completely in appearance and would no longer work. This was a bad time to visit. They were desparately attempting to get projects done for clients right before the holidays and didn't have much time to allow me to look at a lot of cloices. I found something in the yard that I really liked. This is not their fault, I picked it. It's not pretty at all once cut down to size and installed. It has weird colors in it. In my quick viewing in the yard I didn't notice these colors and shading. I'm having a hard time picking out bath towels and bath fixtures. The gripe I have with them is that they forgot to ask me what type of edge I wanted on the countertop. Naturally you would expect when they started on the fabrication and didn't have this vital piece of information that they would have called. Nope. They just put a rounded edge on it. The edge of granite once cut is finished but never turns out as dark and rich looking as the top of the slab. With a rounded edge this is very ntoiceable and in my opinion ugly. Our other installations had a straight edge with slight beveling. I would have selected the same if they had asked. My husband was there for the installation. I was not. I wrote them a note on the bill. They did not even ackowledge my disastifaction. I also asked for bisque sinks. What I got looks white. Here is my suggestion if you want to use Empire. (1) Don't feel pressured to make a quick decision. (2) make sure to pick your edge. (3) Remember that they install many granite countertops for new home builders so they may not focus on your custom job but fall back on a standard they use for new construction (4) Don't pick something from the showroom, look at the slabs in the yard. (5) Ask to see the color of the sinks. (6) with whatever granite you're putting in look closely at the slab for all of the colors in it and consider how you're going to match that with sinks, towlels, fictures, etc...(7) keep in mind that something outside will look different inside. (8) Be sure that you like the whole slab. Since you're not buying the slab, you don't get to pick what section they use.

Had a great experience with Empire Countertops. Note: They are NOT the same Empire that advertises on TV. From my first request for a quote to the installation, everything went very smoothly - they answered calls promptly, came to the house on time, did what they said they would do, were polite and pleasant to work with and cleaned the work site well. I thought the installers did an excellent job. They pointed out to me a small area where the countertop did not sit tight against the wall due to the wall not being level. My standards are pretty high but what they showed me did not bother me at all and I appreciated that they pointed it out. I believe the installer mentioned that he had worked for Empire for 21 years. I had a plumber come in the next day to install the faucets, and he said that the countertop installers had drilled the holes for the faucets perfectly, and that was not always the case in his experience. One thing I do want to mention is that I knew exactly what type of countertop I wanted. I had selected Corian, which I was already familiar with, and then I researched it on the web home décor sites, and I was able to tell Empire the exact color, type of sink, type of edging, gloss level and backsplash type I wanted.