The Austin Granite Direct Advantage

Purchasing granite countertops is generally a relatively complex process that involves some time and usually a considerable amount of money on the part of the customer. Austin Granite Direct is committed to the highest standards of customer satisfaction as well as quality of materials, impeccable workmanship, and professionalism.

Austin Granite Direct believes strongly in complete transparency and honesty when dealing with current and prospective customers.

Quality Standards

1. Customer choice in the granite selection

   Austin Granite Direct strongly encourages its customers to select no just the color of granite but also the actual slabs to be cut in their kitchen granite project. Austin Granite

   Direct recommends that customers visit one of the local granite slab yards and select and tag their granite slabs. It is not uncommon for discount granite fabricators to discourage visits to slab yards while pressuring their customer to make a color selection based on a small set of granite samples.

2. Grade A granite slabs exclusively
   Austin Granite Direct purchases Grad A granite slabs exclusively from reputable and accredited local granite wholesalers (slab yards).
   
   As a matter of policy, Austin Granite Direct does not deal with Grade B granite slabs. It is not uncommon to find many discount granite fabricators using Grade B granite slabs consistently.
   
   
3. No remnant granite materials
   Austin Granite Direct also has a strict policy of not combining remnant granite materials with new slabs for kitchen projects. Austin Granite Direct has a very large selection of remnant materials for vanity projects only.
   The use of remnant materials is a very common occurrence when discount granite fabricators try to save costs.

4. No pre-fabricated granite materials from China
   Austin Granite Direct measures every kitchen or vanity as a custom project. Pre-fabricated granite materials have their use for large scale commercial projects such hotels, dormitories, etc. However, pre-fabricated granite materials are not suitable for custom granite residential projects because of variations in the cabinets and walls.

1. Personnel Qualifications

   Austin Granite Direct hires qualified granite installers with at least 5 years experience in granite installation. In addition, Austin Granite Direct runs exhaustive background checks on all employees and contractors.

2. Liability Insurance

   Austin Granite Direct has maintains an insurance coverage of up to 1 Million dollars.

3. Care and respect for customers homes and property

   Austin Granite Direct installers are fully trained protect customers house interiors, including flooring, cabinets and walls. Our installers will take the necessary preparation steps such as covering tile, carpet, or wood floors to prevent scratches. In addition, our installers always make sure they do a final clean-up to ensure the home is left in the same condition as before the work started.

4. Workmanship
   
   

   • Minimize the number of seams
     
     There is no question that a seamless kitchen looks better than a kitchen put together with a large number of seams, even when the seams are good quality seams. Austin Granite Direct has a policy of clearly communicating with its customers the number and exact position of seams before the granite is even cut. Austin Granite Direct will minimize or eliminate altogether the number of seams. Less seams or no seams at all adds to the amount of waste granite material and as a result it requires the use of additional granite material.

   • Quality of seams
     
     The quality of granite seams is usually a reflection of the level of skill and experience of granite installers. A good, acceptable seam should not have a width of more than 1/16 in. In addition, whenever the granite has a specific pattern or flow, the pattern should much as closely as possible at the joint.

   • Overhang

     The overhang should be 1.5 in. in most cases unless a customer specifically requests a different overhang. No all cabinets and walls are perfectly straight so to expect a margin of error of plus minus 0.25 in.

Respect for customers time - On time delivery

Austin Granite Direct is fully aware that when an installation date is set, customers make their own plans around that date, which may include taking off from work, scheduling plumbers, scheduling delivery of appliances, etc. Austin Granite Direct considers punctuality and meeting commitments as a very serious matter. With a very few exceptions due to accidents or events out of our control Austin Granite Direct has a perfect "on time' record for the last three years.