TAKING STOCK – OUR STOCK WORKTOP STONES

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A Nero Assoluto Granite Worktops installation from our early days

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Blue Pearl Granite

 

The heart of our business at Affordable Granite has always been solid stone worktops made from granite and quartz which we buy in bulk and hold in stock. Over the years the market has changed, and so have we. Our original position as the cheapest kitchen worktop company on the block has shifted.   We have moved from making granite worktops in people’s back gardens to running an efficient and well-equipped workshop. The emphasis on direct importation from quarries in India and China has given way to careful sourcing of quality-warranted materials through UK-based wholesalers. A steady programme of investment in people and in equipment – in the office, the workshop and out on the vans – have taken us to the top as a leading supplier of high quality granite and quartz worktops. We think that our templating, manufacturing and installation work is excellent, and our sales and customer service is as good as it gets: informative, honest and friendly.  And we are still affordable!

There are real craftsmen operating on a smaller scale, and we don’t want to disrespect them at all. But all rapidly growing markets attract their share of less than reputable firms too. As in any area where significant money is changing hands, discernment is an important quality for consumers! Our ongoing goal is to work at the sweet spot where confidence, excellent quality, and competitive pricing come together. Isn’t that what you call good value?

Central to our service and competitive pricing is the warehouse, which holds a massive stock of stones that we have found to be steady sellers and reliable performers in customers’ kitchens.  We buy these stones in bulk, which allows us to pass the best possible discount on to you, the customer.

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Our warehouse – back when we were building it

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A cutting plan for a bespoke quartz slab –
this customer needed three slabs for their whole kitchen

Buying in bulk also means that we have to worry far less about what is going to happen to part-used slabs. If your kitchen needs two and a bit slabs of quartz, and you buy from stock, you will pay for two and a bit slabs. If you tackled the same kitchen in bespoke stone we would need to buy three slabs, and make sure we made no loss on the wastage. You don’t need a degree in economics to see that that can put the price up sharply.

We pride ourselves on being able to offer a range of granite, quartz and Dekton materials so that there is something to suit differing needs and tastes and types of kitchen installation.

Our natural stones, or granites, cover a range of geological types. The darker stones tend to be volcanic rocks – crystallised from molten magma.  We have such stones in all our price bands. They are low in porosity, beautiful when polished and exceptionally hard-wearing. At the heart of the collection are the five black stones: Black Pearl, Zimbabwe Black (replacing our old Indian Nero Assoluto), Black Galaxy, Stargate and Midnight Blue. To that we can add the light speckly greys of Salt and Pepper and Azul Platino, the classic floral crystals of Steel Grey and the inimitable class of Blue and Emerald Pearl. All make great granite worktops!

Steel Grey Granite Island, Cuckfield, West Sussex

The timeless beauty and effortless quality of Steel Grey Granite

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Ivory Fantasy Granite Worktops
in a stunning house near Guildford, Surrey

Lighter natural stones are often metamorphic rocks – sandstones that have turned to harder rock under the amazing temperatures and pressures that are found under the earth’s crust. Many would be called ‘schists’ by the geologists – you try selling a range of coloured schists! At present we stock the creamy Ivory Fantasy and the two whites River White and Colonial White.

You can see our full range of natural stones for granite worktops here.

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Silestone Blanco City –
one of the best and most economical granular cream quartzes on the market

In quartz, our range of stones for worktops is built around some tried and tested favourites from Cosentino’s Silestone stable. In the entry level, granular quartzes, we have the creamy Blanco City, the light grey Gris Expo and the dark grey Marengo. These products are joined by Quarella’s Blanco Paloma – a white that we really like and which stops us putting ALL our eggs in the Silestone basket at this price band.

We stock the Silestone Stellar range, and these are at present among our fastest sellers. Contemporary style monochrome kitchens need worktops that look like manmade products, and Blanco, Negro and Gris Stellar especially fit the bill. The fairly strong speckled patter also makes these stones extremely easy to live with so far as dust and finger marks are concerned.

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Contemporary and practical – Silestone Blanco Stellar

Blanco Massa White Marble Quartz

Beltrami Blanco Massa –
the soft and gentle beauty of marble with the durability of quartz

The other big trend in quartz is to the marbled look. We stock the coffee coloured Silestone Coral Clay and Ironbark at a very reasonable price. Bigger sellers, though, are the whites: Beltrami’s Blanco Massa and the twins from Classic Quartz, Marbre Carrara and San Vincente. Despite being at the upper end of our stock price range, these are very popular. Perhaps not surprising given how much more economical they are than many other white marbled quartzes that may not look as good.

You can see our full range of stones for quartz worktops here.

Whatever your taste and need in solid stone worktops, Affordable Granite has something for you.

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Black Galaxy Granite worktops

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