How It Works:
The Refacing
Process!
Countertops
Choosing a counter is one of the more difficult
decisions you will make. Once you have chosen the
material – then you must choose the design/color.
Kitchen Options’ sales reps have been trained not to
lead you to make a decision towards one material
versus another or one design or color versus
another. What they have been trained to do is try
and stop you from making a mistake. It is your home,
but some customers have no clue as to colors and
what colors work with other colors. Kitchen Options
would be a shadow of itself if it were not for
referrals. Unbalanced kitchens = Zero Referrals.
We will cover material below, but when it comes to
color please keep two things in mind: 1. Things that
are vertical (cabinets, walls, etc.) reflect light
back into the room. 2. Things that are horizontal
(counters, floors, etc.) reflect very little light
back into the room. Contrast is very important when
it comes to choosing a counter color. Many times our
sales reps try and stop customers from trying to
match the color of their cabinets. You do not want
the kitchen to all run together in a bland color.
Price is a consideration. WilsonArt Laminate is
still the most popular and by far the least
expensive. No matter if a laminate counter is 5’
wide or 6” wide – they will cost you the same
amount. A backsplash is usually a throw-in with
laminate, but with stone (quartz or granite) you pay
for every square inch.
There are two materials that Kitchen Options does
not and will not offer:
Marble is too porous for an area that prepares food
and stains are more than possible.
Over the years our customers have had multiple
problems with "Poured” Surfaces”: cracking, easy to
stain, scratching so easily that the manufacturer
supplies instructions on how to maintain these
surfaces. These surfaces are better suited for
bathrooms.
Granite
Granite Price Alert
Granite comes from China, South America, Africa and
several other countries. They are delivered to the
United States in large containers shipped aboard
large fuel driven ships. It is no secret that fuel
has increased in cost significantly. That fuel cost
is passed onto everyone – including the end user:
you. Cost for granite changes on a regular basis.
You are forewarned.
When you think of stone you think of granite. As you
will see below – it isn’t the only choice and not
always the best choice. Before we go into detail
about the various granites, it is important for you
to know the various companies that supply and sell
granite. There are retailers and fabricators.
Kitchen Options does not know of a single retailer
that is also a fabricator. A fabricator must have
millions of dollars of cutting, honing,
electric/hydraulic lifts, and craftsmen that know
precisely what they are doing. Usually the
fabricator also has a team of installers and that
field is very specialized. And don’t forget the
building that must house all of this. One of the
main reasons granite (and quartz) costs so much is
because of the cost to take a dull piece of mountain
and making it into the jewel of your kitchen.
A reputable fabricator will not sell a single piece
of granite to the end user – you. If the word ever
got around that the fabricator that supplies the
granite is selling retail, the fabricator will lose
all credibility with the retailers.
Granite comes in 5 basic grades. Each grade,
obviously, is a better quality and a higher price.
Most suppliers (not necessarily retailers) grade
them A-B-C-D-E – with "A" being the least expensive
and "E" being the most expensive. You will usually
see A-B-C grades on display in retail
establishments. The A-B-C grades all look basically
the same. If you see one “Blue Pearl” or “Ubatuba”
you have seen them all.
The D & E grades are far more expensive. These
grades are the ones that have the most character.
None of these look the same. They are full of swirls
and faults. (Fault is not a bad word when it comes
to granite.) Many have multiple colors all
throughout even a small piece.
Kitchen Options will not sell you a granite counter
without you going to the fabricator and choosing
your slab. This will take at least an hour of your
time and always by appointment. You not only need to
pick out your slab, but lay out your counter on the
slab you have chosen. You will receive a great deal
of assistance by the representatives at the
fabricator. Look at this process as fun. Most
customers enjoy picking out the areas of granite
that will be the center of a peninsula or an island.
Granites are not maintenance free.
Quartz
There are several quartz brands. Kitchen Options
believes that the most vibrant of color choices are
offered by “Cambria.” When we come to your home we
will bring with us all of the Cambria color
assortment. If you want another brand it usually
means that you have chosen a certain color (number).
If you present that color number to our sales rep,
no matter what brand, we will supply and install it.
No stone is totally maintainance free, but quartz
comes the closest. It is virtually stain resistant.
It, like granite, will not standup to a certain spot
being used as a hotplate. Unlike granite, where you
must go to the fabricator and choose your slab, a
quartz 4” X 4” sample is what your entire counter
will look like. The design, again for the lack of a
better word, is consistent throughout. It weighs as
much as most granites. It feels and looks like
granite, but quartz is a ground stone (quartz) that
is bound with a glue/resin (KONE words) that makes
the counter rock hard.
There are no down sides to quartz.
Pricing
Precise Price Guarantee
Kitchen Options will be very glad to come to your
home and give you a FREE “Precise Price.” Our
Precise Price guarantee is simple. When we give you
a written quote, which will be completed during our
first visit, the price will not change as we proceed
with the work. The only time a Kitchen Options price
will change is if you decide to add to or subtract
from the contract. If you do change the contract, it
will be done so in writing with a “Change Order”
form that you will authorize/sign.
Other companies are infamous for giving “guess-timates.”
You sign a contract with them for specific work and
then “something comes up” that is going to cost more
money. This will NEVER happen with Kitchen Options.
The price given to you and on your contract will be
precise and never change.
1st Visit Discount
There is another savings offered by Kitchen Options.
It is a savings that Kitchen Options and other large
home remodelers offer to their customers. It is
called “The 1st Visit Discount” and it is a savings
offered no matter what the source the customer was
catalyst. This savings is a permanent Kitchen
Options policy.
The 1st Visit Discount is offered for several
reasons and they all revolve around the almighty
dollar. Most importantly is the fact that if our
sales rep returns a second time to your home, the
sales rep will not be available to take an
appointment during that time slot to sell another
kitchen. In other words: We would be selling 1
kitchen in 2 appointments and not 2 kitchens in the
2 time slots. (Aside from the cost of having 1 sale
and not 2, imagine how much in man-hours, auto
expense and office/clerical costs that seeing a
customer more than once for the sale. If you do the
math, you will understand why we offer a “1st Visit
Discount.)
The other reasons for the 1st Visit Discount are
somewhat recent. The cost of gas is, as of this
writing and by the IRS, 47 cents per mile. $2.50 per
gallon for gasoline brings a sales rep monthly fuel
bill to over $450. The cost of fuel has driven the
cost of our door and counter samples to over triple
what they cost compared to June of 2008.
You making a decision to buy your Kitchen Options
kitchen the first visit are a huge savings to us. We
pass that savings on to you by offering an
additional 15% off either the retail price or the
sale price. You are under no obligation to take
advantage of this savings. The retail price or the
sale price is good for 30 days.
Website Savings
If you make an appointment using this website it
will save us hundreds of dollars in marketing. The
cost for our media, print, mailing campaigns, fairs
and home shows are an astronomical amount of money.
This website costs us very little in comparison.
Therefore, Kitchen Options can pass that savings on
to you. If you make an appointment by using this
website you will save 15% off the total cost of your
kitchen. This is a significant amount of money and
this savings can only be seen by making an
appointment at a home show/fair.
There are no down
sides to quartz.
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