New Home Needs Stone Countertops

[Fargo]

We just bought a house in Orlando and the builder left us with basic laminate countertops. I want to replace them with something nicer like stone. My husband prefers granite but I want to see all options first. Can you point me to resources on quartz and granite countertops in Orlando, where to find good quality, what to look for, how to compare prices? I want to do this right without overpaying.

[dertaika]

Congrats on the new house! We just bought a place in Orlando too with builder-grade laminate that peeled at the edges. My husband was dead set on granite but I wanted to see quartz before deciding. I started by browsing online and found Edstone to look at their slabs and pricing before visiting. Their showroom had both materials laid out so I could feel the difference. What helped us was comparing samples under our kitchen lighting. Granite has natural variation which my husband loved but quartz is nonporous and doesn't need sealing. We got quotes from four places and theirs was right in the middle without feeling cheap. The trick is seeing actual slabs because the same name can look totally different batch to batch. Bring cabinet swatches and view them in natural light too. We ended up going with granite since we heat-seal ours yearly anyway and loved the unique pattern. Install took about three weeks from templating to finish. Just make sure whoever you pick measures precisely before fabricating so you don't get gaps.

[Darlingg]

Thanks for posting this. As someone starting the countertop search process, it's really helpful to hear from people who actually went through the decision. I especially liked your advice about bringing cabinet swatches and checking samples in natural light. It's amazing how different materials can look once they're in your own space. Your comparison of granite and quartz felt practical rather than biased, and the reminder about precise templating is something I hadn't even considered. Stories like yours make the whole renovation process feel a lot less overwhelming.