Custom granite countertops are expensive. The price per square foot of granite can range anywhere from $ 60 to $ 120 depending on the color of the granite slabs as well as the purity of the stone. Sometimes, the price could include the cost of installing granite countertops while at other times the cost could be only for of the stone.

The pricey nature of granite is because of the work involved in quarrying the stone and the transporting it from place to place. Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. It is usually medium to coarsely crystalline, although sometimes granite slabs can also occur as larger individual crystals.

This does not mean that homeowners can not get granite slabs for cheaper. There are several wholesale dealers as well as discount stores that sell granite for even $ 30 a square foot. However, these slabs may be lower grades of the granite and could have some flaws in them.

Kitchen countertop fabrication is also available with granite slabs. This usually implies that the granite is cut into thinner slabs and than fabricated for countertops. The thinner sections of granite slabs are usually two inches in thickness instead of the regular industry standard of three inch thickness.

Pre fabricated kitchen countertops are less expensive than regular granite countertops as less waste is being shipped to the supplier. In addition, as the fabrication is usually done in countries with much lower wages, granite counter top pricing is less.

Granite suppliers usually group the granite slabs into four tiers. The first tier consists of premium products that cost the most. These granite slabs are usually of unique colors and have very little or no veins on spots on them. Some granite slabs exhibit ""movement"", or a distinctive pattern within the color. The combination of color and movement also affect the final price of granite countertops.

Granite from lower tiers has the same appeal and beauty as the high grade granite slabs. This tier of granite is usually called the ?commercial grade?. This grade of granite is very useful for making cultured granite slabs.

Typically the commercial grades of granite slabs have a large number of ?pits? that have to be been filled. There fore they require the use of more sealants to protect the surface of the granite.