"Sasha" writes:

I am ready to buy granit countertop for my kitchen. I have several
questions.

1. My kitchen countertops are not continues. In fact I have three
independent countertop areas, none is exact whole number of sqft. How
sqft are calculated? Are they calculated total in square inches and
then dividied by 144 to get sqft?

Generally yes.

2. Priced advertised everywhere is per sqft. Does shape affect
price?

Not usually but it may affect how many slabs you need or if your
counters can be fashioned out of one continous piece rather than
having a joint.

My backsplash wall unfortunately is not straight. I would like template
to be made to follow the wall so that countertop will match the wall
exactly. Also do cuts, for instance for sink cost extra?

Depends on who's doing the work. These are important questions to ask
the folks you have estimate the job.

3. Finally, is granit the same from any distributor or it differs? If
it is the same everywhere what else except color affects the price
which I see varies from 45$/sqft to more then $100/sqft.

Depends on the area. Here in Chicago, we have a handful of slab
wholesalers near the airport, and a number of fabricators and then a
ton of folks selling countertops reselling work of those fabricators.

The individual outfit you talk to will determine how much markup they
wanna make.

4. what else should I put attention to when buying granit
countertops?

Try to deal directly with a fabricator. Someone who has a shop floor
where the countertops are cut from raw material. Don't deal with
someone who contracts their stuff out to a fabricator, or who tries to
cut edges and holes at your home.

A fabricator will send someone out to precisely measure your kitchen,a
nd then the counters will be made at their facility from raw slabs you
pick out from the wholesaler they use.

I paid $59/sf, out the door (tax, all cuts, any edge I wanted,
isntallation, take up and disposal of old counter, and even a
stainless undermount sink) all included. Other places nickel and
dimed you to death charging extra for these various things.

Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/