The Real Cost of Inexpensive Granite Countertops
One of the reasons of the boom in granite countertop sales was the continued falling prices of both materials and installed countertops. Several factors lead to this, Globalization, Chinese regulations on allowable radiation levels in granite for household use, currency valuations, and most of all, cutthroat competition for an increasing market. This article will restrict the discussion to cutthroat competition, leaving the other factors for future discussion.
Granite is found all over the world but the strip mining needed to extract the stone is labor intensive and causes a lot of environmental impact around the mine. Noise, heavy truck traffic, toxic heavy metal rain water run off, slightly radioactive toxic heavy metal dust, and the damage done to the land all lead to resistance from nearby land owners and homeowners. Far more likely to get a license to strip mine approved in a poor area where jobs are scarce. Developing third world countries are both desperate for jobs, but usually lack labor laws, environmental laws, infrastructure, even basic needs like clean water and health care for the workers go unmet. But the locals will work cheap and the local politicians can be bought cheap as well. All recipes for human misery.
This link is about one such country, India, specifically the article looked at area around Bangalore in the state of Karnataka, India.
Real cost of India’s cheap stone
The article ends asking if consumers can pressure the granite industry to provide stone without resorting to child labor and environmental destruction.
As a consumer, what steps do you feel the granite industry should take to clear up these issues?
This post is part of Operation Miles H. Crowes, named for a granite fabricator that brought this issue to the forefront.
2 Responses to 'The Real Cost of Inexpensive Granite Countertops'
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on June 25th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Al:
You’ve made no secret that your company sells, fabricates and installs granite countertops, that is indisputable fact.
Could you share with us which percentage of your countertop sales are granite? Solid surface? Other? How have those percentages changed over the years?
Kowboy
on June 26th, 2008 at 4:09 am
Joe,
We do sell granite, but every single slab is tested prior to purchase. We have lost only one job to date because of the testing, a Typhoon Bordeaux job. No accounting for the whims of a consumer on their safety, but we refused to subject our workers to that particular stone.
This quarter, granite was about 25% of our countertops jobs, but because of the high cost, more like 40% of our sales in value. Solid surface accounts for around 35% in value, quartz around 20%, balance is laminate tops.
Solid surface took a dip about two years ago, before we started fabricating and selling granite and quartz. The sales of solid surface immediately rebounded once we started offering granite. Seems the customers listen to the pros and cons of the different material only if you fabricate them all. That and having granite in the showroom lets you show scratches and stains, seams, and UV fading.
This week, solid surface is doing well, three jobs in the shop today, Staron, Pinnacle, and Livingstone. Not as much profit, but a whole lot less potential risk down the road.