How to Choose a Countertop Fabricator in New Jersey

Start with the shop's State registration number and a written estimate built from your measurements. Then get estimates from at least three shops for the same material, layout, edge and cutouts, and ask each who does the template and the install.

The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs says it receives thousands of complaints a year from people who hire home contractors, including complaints about failure to start or complete the work after taking a deposit. The registration check, written contract and payment rules below answer that complaint.

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Ask the shop for its State registration number, then call the Division of Consumer Affairs at 800-242-5846 to confirm it and to ask whether consumers have filed complaints. Registration is not an endorsement, so treat it as the minimum check.

The Contractors' Registration Act requires home improvement contractors to register, and the brief says an unregistered contractor will not be issued municipal construction permits. Its list of home improvement work includes kitchens and bathrooms but not countertops, so ask the shop for its number and ask the Division how your job is treated.

If a plumber or electrician is part of the job, check that license separately. State-licensed trades are not required to register as home improvement contractors when acting within their profession, the brief says, and it points to the Division's Licensee Search.

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For home improvement work costing more than five hundred dollars, the brief says the contract must be written and must include the contractor's legal name and business address, a start date, a completion date, a description of the work, the total price and the registration number. Add the countertop details in the table.

The brief also says to make sure all warranties and guarantees are in writing and that the contract names the brands or quality grades of materials. The contractor must give you a copy of the commercial general liability insurance policy and the insurer's phone number. You may cancel a signed contract for any reason before midnight of the third business day after you receive a copy.

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Whoever does each step should be named in the contract, and you should know whether the shop's own crew or a subcontractor does it. The brief tells buyers to ask about subcontractors. You settle the seams with the fabricator at the template, before any stone is cut.

Caesarstone describes the template as a detailed diagram with precise measurements for cutting and for where each slab is installed. Use Natural Stone says most installations need at least one seam, so ask to see yours marked before cutting.

For natural stone, Use Natural Stone advises choosing the best part of the slab for the most visible areas with the fabricator, and says picking from a showroom is not enough: visit the shop.

• Who measures for the template, and will that person be at the install?
• Which parts of the job, if any, go to subcontractors?
• Where will each seam sit, and can I see it marked before cutting?

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Look at finished work and talk to someone who has hired the shop. Hunker advises seeking out fabricators with good references and reviews. Ask to see finished kitchens with seams and for one recent customer you can call. Then ask what the shop covers if the slab or part of your kitchen is damaged during installation, and get the answer in writing. Hunker says a good contractor should take care of damage they cause and offer that in writing.

Credentials come in different kinds, so ask which one a shop means. The Natural Stone Institute calls its accreditation the only independent third-party credentialing program for natural stone fabricators and installers. It reviews companies on nine areas, including quality control, safety, ethics and finance, and its directory searches by project location.

The International Surface Fabricators Association is a trade association that also certifies individual fabricators and installers through a skills assessment by ISFA-approved trainers. That is a person credential, not a shop accreditation. Caesarstone says its Certified Fabricators receive training on cutting quartz, which is a Caesarstone program. A missing credential is not proof of poor work.

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Yes. The OSHA and NIOSH hazard alert names wet cutting, local exhaust ventilation and doing more work in the shop as ways to control silica dust, so asking tells you whether the shop uses them. The alert covers workers who manufacture, finish and install natural and engineered stone countertops.

It is written for employers, not homeowners, and does not rate any shop. The AIHA summary describes silicosis as an incurable, progressively disabling and potentially fatal lung disease. For questions about your own exposure, ask your doctor. For the shop, ask:

• How is stone cut here: with water, with dust extraction, or both?
• How much work happens in the shop and how much at my house?
• Has your crew had silica safety training?

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The state says to be wary if a contractor asks for more than a third of the total payment before work can begin, tells you there is no need for a written contract, demands cash, has only a P.O. Box as a business address, or has no registration number unless exempt. Also be wary of a contractor who approaches you unasked claiming to be in the neighborhood. If you see one, calling the Division is a sensible next step.

On payment, the brief says not to pay for the entire job upfront or in cash, and that the law prohibits demanding final payment before the work is completed. Where a permit applies, final inspections come before final payment. Get the payment schedule into the contract.

Before you sign, ask for a lien waiver, which the brief describes as a receipt stating that workers and material suppliers will not ask you for money once you have paid the contractor.

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Bring the width, length and depth of the countertops and a drawing that shows the sink, the cooking surface and the backsplash. New Granite & Marble writes its estimate from those, and says the price can change after the template if final measurements or material selections change.

Its procedure page puts the process at 3 to 5 business days from deposit and slab choice, gives you a 3 hour arrival window, and says installation typically takes 2 to 4 hours. It also lists a 40% deposit, which is more than the one third the state brief says to be wary of before work begins. The page says that with the details set and a deposit it can often start fabricating the same day. Ask this shop what you would ask any other: what the deposit covers, when each later payment is due, and whether it holds Natural Stone Institute accreditation.

• Measurements and a sketch with sink, cooking surface and backsplash marked
• Photos of the cabinets and the old top, if you have them

On this site: How the process works, Get a written estimate.

More on this site: how our process works, see finished jobs, towns we serve and ask for a written estimate.