Update Your Bathrooms with a Granite Vanity Top
One of the easiest way to update an outdated bathroom is to add granite vanity tops.
You have a few options for purchasing granite tops for your bathroom on a budget:
- Buy a new cabinet and granite top combo from a store like Home Depot or Lowes.
- Buy a new granite top in a stock color from a store like Home Depot or Lowes.
- Visit granite fabricators and look through their granite remnants and have them make you a vanity top from the leftover granite from another project.
When I was looking for granite tops for my bathrooms, I tried all of these options. I quickly decided that buying a stock vanity and top combo, or a stock color from a big box store wasn’t going to work for me since I wanted rectangular sinks. Purchasing this way does save you a lot of money, but it also limits your choices.
For most people, the sinks that come with the stock granite tops would be ok. But I was doing full bathroom renovations and wasn’t going to skimp on the granite tops after spending the money to get everything else the way I wanted.
So I went in search of granite remnants that would help transform my bathrooms.
Purchasing granite remnants for bathroom vanities can still get expensive, but it does save you a lot of money over picking out a full slab.
Granite tops and counters get charged by the square foot, but the cost goes up depending on which level of granite you choose.
Buying granite is similar to buying furniture where you can pick the fabric. The price tag hanging from the furniture reflects the pricing of that piece of furniture with the fabric shown. Pick a less expensive fabric, and the price goes down. Pick a fancy fabric, and the price goes up.
The same is true with granite.
The plainer the granite…meaning the more consistent the pattern, granite without a lot of quartz which sparkles or has movement to it and not having bold or exotic colors...means a lower price. Anything exotic or unusual sends the price up.
What makes remnants so affordable is that the more expensive granite slabs are priced at either the cheapest granite price or discounted by several levels, depending on the fabricator.
To pick granite remnants, you need to know the approximate size of your vanity top or counters. When you visit a granite fabricator, you’ll walk through the remnant area with a salesperson.
IMPORTANT…only fabricators carry remnants. Most granite stores send their slabs to a fabricator after purchase to have the granite cut to size, so call to find out if a granite company has remnants before you head out.
I went over to Hallmark Stone Company several times since their available remnants change daily, and picked out a remnant for my master bathroom. I was surprised at the price, and decided to take up my contractor on his recommendation to try Granite Busters before making a decision.
Granite Busters remnant area
Granite Busters owner Beata Hodzic with one of her fabricators
I made an appointment with Beata, the owner, and she walked me around the remnant yard and fabrication area. She knew every single piece of granite and saved me a bunch of time by going straight to the pieces that might work for me.
She did a great job, and offered me a much better price. I’m thrilled with both granite vanity tops I purchased.
Granite Busters Stock Vanity Tops:
If you live in the St. Louis area, there is another option to purchase a new granite vanity top at a great price.
Granite Busters offers granite bathroom tops in a variety of colors with a sink included for just $250.
Whenever they have a break in the their busy schedule, Granite Buster fabricators convert their smaller remnants into vanity tops in 4 widths (27 inches, 31 inches, 36 inches and 42 inches). They attach a round sink and make them available to customers who visit the showroom.
Compare that to the cost I spent – $480 for the smaller vanity and $669 for the larger master vanity…and you can see that $250 is a great deal. And the sink is included! Just be sure to measure your vanity size carefully since these stock granite tops don’t come with a measuring service in your home before you buy.
If you are flexible on the color of your new vanity top (since the colors they offer depends on what they have in their remnant yard), you will end up with a more expensive granite style at a lower cost than if you shop the big box stores.
And your money is helping a locally owned business.
If you are thinking of selling your home and your bathrooms look dated, or you simply are ready for an updated bathroom with a bit of elegance, shop granite remnants and give your bathroom a makeover!
