The Difference Between a Stone Fabricator and Stone Supplier
Marble Granite World specializes in stone sales, fabrication, and installation! This means that we help you find the perfect material for your project, complete a laser measurement of your space, cut your stone, polish your stone, and install it. Marble Granite World fabricates marble, granite, quartz, quartzite, and other natural and engineered stones!
While stone fabricators are the companies who cut and install stone, they are often not the companies that supply stone slabs. Stone suppliers are large warehouses of natural and engineered stone. A supplier buys natural and engineered stone, often from Brazil, India, and China, and completes the shipping process to bring the stones to your local community, such as Kernersville, NC!
Suppliers do not sell directly to the public. Since it requires heavy machinery and large trucks to move the slabs of marble, granite, and quartz, this has to be done through a supplier and fabricator. Marble Granite World has the resources to receive the slabs, cut slabs, polish slabs, and install the finished product. However, suppliers are open to the public so that homeowners can view and select slabs!
The Buying Process:
The purchasing process for countertops can be a two-step process. First, you must have a fabricator selected to fabricate and install your countertop. Second, you may have to work with a supplier to select your perfect stone! At Marble Granite World, we keep around 50 different full size natural stone slabs in our slab yard. We keep a variety of marble, granite, and quartz in our slab yard for customers to view. If a homeowner is looking to see more stone colors and patterns, we often direct them to one of our local suppliers, such as Stone Basyx, Francini, OHM, or Cosmos.
- STEP 1: Set up your in person or virtual consultation with a Marble Granite World sales associate. Once your sales associate has all the necessary details for your project (see our previous blog on how to get a quote!), they can show you the slab selections at Marble Granite World. If you aren’t finding the stone you love, your sales associate can direct you to one of the local suppliers.
- STEP 2: Stop by a supplier! Once the homeowner arrives at a supplier, they will be escorted through the warehouse with a selection sheet. Any selections of marble, granite, or quartz that the homeowner makes will then be emailed to the MGW sales associate from the supplier.
If a customer chooses a slab at a supplier, they supplier will let the Marble Granite World staff know, and the slab selection is put on hold under the customer’s name. When the project is ready for fabrication, Marble Granite World has the slab selections delivered to our fabrication shop, where we begin the cutting and polishing process.
Things to keep in Mind When Looking at Suppliers:
Benefits of Suppliers:
Stone suppliers are fantastic resources for homeowners and contractors to find the perfect marble, granite, or quartz for their space! These warehouses often house hundreds of stone options, which means that customers have countless options for their stone selection. Suppliers also have the space dedicated to housing slabs, something that is not always available with a stone fabricator. Marble Granite World has a showroom, slab yard, and fabrication shop, meaning our space for slabs is more limited than what is at our suppliers.
Price Levels:
One thing to note: Suppliers will have their own unique system for categorizing their natural and engineered stone by price. Make sure you talk to the supplier staff to ensure that you are looking at marble, granite, and quartz in your budget. While the options are almost limitless at the supplier, you want to make sure you are sticking to your budget and not selecting stone that is going to max out the budget you set for your project.
Marble Granite World staff encourages our customers to stop by our local suppliers, Stone Basyx, Francini, OHM, or Cosmos to make sure that they have selected their favorite option for their home remodel or new build! Before you begin your browsing, just let them know you’re working with Marble Granite World as your fabricator!
