L & E Stone & Kitchen Supply

Went to L and E Stone Kitchen and purchased countertop and was instructed would install 6" backsplash to replace previous and they scheduled date time for installer to come out and measure. I was specifically instructed that they would not re-install the sink so I knew about that. Installer did come and measure and later installed. At no point in time did either representative or installer mention my responsibility to tear out old countertops and cost (though they itemized all other costs and discussed with me). At time of installation, I was there for beginning and left my son-in-law to stay during installation. AFTER installation, my son in law called and said they wanted additional funds for tearing out old countertops. I did not leave money for him to do that. I called and spoke withe representative who put me on the phone with manager/owner? I told him I was upset with the lack of communication and telling me about the "pre-work". I was told it was standard in their industry to take out the old and the customers responsibility, or if they installer does that then I pay separately...and that they had this issue before so they put it at the bottom of the invoice. I said I would have paid them if I had known, and I am not upset over the cost but am upset over the lack of communicaiton on this when they managed to tell me about all other itemized costs. I was also upset I would have to "undo" what was done to fix the fact the backsplash wasn't high enough to cover the ripped out mess behind and they just caulked over it without asking or giving me other options. I expressed I totally understand my mistake of not knowing what should have been done pre-install put me in this situation, though there were points along the way from measuring through install where further damage could have been prevented and I could have avoided additional cost to fix what is a mess now. It may be standard in the industry, but as a consumer I don't buy countertops every day and feel there should have been much better communication on this. I went to Home Depot and bought products to try and dig out the silicone caulk and fix just over the backsplash without scratching and messing up the granite. Home Depot told me they routinely install 1/4" higher or more if necessary to cover line wher torn out and to prevent further damage to walls. They said they discuss these issues and options with customers while offering more than the standard 6" backsplash. I also spoke with Lowes and they said they discuss these issues as well and even let customers pick out their pieces of granite. I chose L and E as a referral from a friend. I should have gone to Angies List instead like I usually do. L and E offered to cut the installation cost by $50 and charged the extra cost to my credit card since I did not have the cash to leave the installer when he asked at the end of installation. I told him again the issue wasn't the price and I gladly would have paid if owed and realized prior...but now I have a mess to fix and I think they should let customers know beforehand if they've never had countertops and backsplashes replaced. For the few hundred dollars I thought I was saving, it will cost me more because I will need to call a professional to re-install. Even after digging out the silicone caulk and trying to fix above the backsplash and recaulk with silicone..it looks terrible. I feel embarrassed to leave this report since I guess I should have just "known" all this, but I think great customer service is when the vendor informs the customer of what to do and what will look best and options to ensure thousands of hard-earned money isn't speant on a home-remodeling project that looks terrible when it could have been prevented. Now I have to find someone that knows what they are doing to fix this mess...I should have just gone to Home Depot or Lowes or called someone at the top of Angeis List.

If you are a perfectionist they are not the people for you. Here is why; Nearly 2 hours late for measuring appointment, window of time to arrive 4-8 did not arrive until almost 10PM! The gentleman who did the measuring waved my husband away when he was explaining to him that the doors were not on the cabinets yet (we were afraid they would scratch them). This resulted the overhang of the countertop to be short by 3/4" all around, it looks odd. If he would have listened he would have gotten the proper measurments. But he just dismissed my husband like he didn't know what he was talking about...resulting in inaccurate measurment and stupid looking countertop. Then the gentleman who installed the countertop did not make them level. I could see it before they left and I questioned and he said that the cabinets were not level when he arrived and he had to shim a lot. Which doesn't make any sense. Where he put shims the counter was high and where he didn't it was low...what was he correcting for? He made it unlevel, and I could visually see it. We know it was level before they arrived. We ordered a slide in range and when we slid it in there was a 3/8" difference from one side of the range and the other. The whole point of a slide in range is you want nice clean lines...not a huge difference form one side to the other. My husband had to lower the countertops and make them level after they left, because the installer insisted it didn't make a difference. Finally, they left a huge mess on our front porch from where they were cutting tile for our backsplash. He asked to borrow a broom but I have no idea what he used it for, there was crap all over our front porch. He left the front door open when he was grinding the granite, so there was dust all over the house. Not very pleasant. If you are a perfectionist this is not the company for you. They do not have an attention for detail. The only bright spot was Jennifer in the office. She was super helpful when we were in the office, very professional, gave us sound advice and guidance. Too bad the rest of the bunch isn't like here.

Sent in sketch of kitchen by fax and got accurate estimate for job. The countertops are prefabbed, which saves on cost. The actual granite is about 3/4 inch thick, backed by high quality plywood, 3/4". I see no downside to this. The bullnose (only edge offered) is bonded on the lower half, which in nearly invisible. The sinks they offer are good quality.You have to tear out your own old counters, but they will do it for additional cost. They don't do plumbing. The installation took about five hours. Yeah, there is a bit of a language barrier, but not a problem. The finished product is spectacular. Overall, an excellent value. I highly recommend.

Price is excellent - about half of other places. Countertop looks great. Backsplash on counter has some nicks in the corners due to poor cutting but we didn't complain because you get what you pay for and we chose a very dark color so it's not too noticeable. Installation of counter and backsplash went well. They cut the inlet piece on site since we have uneven plaster walls and made it too small so they threw in a backsplash for that piece at no charge. We did have to go pick it up two days later and install it ourselves, which I thought was sort of strange. The language barrier made me nervous but they did exactly what we asked. They polished the counter after installation and cleaned up well after they were finished. I would recommend this company to someone who is not too picky.

They were reasonably priced. They charged half of what others charged. They did everything in a timely manner and were exactly on schedule. The only problem with them was that sometimes there was a language barrier.

They are a great value for the money. They were prompt and professional, and when we had a slight problem with the caulking pulling away, they came out within 48 hours to correct, and also resealed all of the counter tops. We had a kitchen counter tops and an island countertop installed.

Quality, appearance, and value - very good. Communication and customer relations--not so good.

John and Winston at Land E were very helpful in the kitchen design process, in terms of working to maximize our cabinet capacity for our small kitchen. They even exchanged a cabinet for the right one when we bought one the wrong size (our fault, not theirs). They do not do cabinet installation, but our contractor had very few problems with the installation. The price on the product is outstanding for both cabinets and granite counters. We found the cabinets to be well-constructed and the granite counter is fantastic. The choices are more limited than other places, but that is to be expected considering the price. There could be a language barrier with team who comes to install the counters. They did put a hole in our new drywall and did not point it out before they left. We had to patch that, but it was no big deal. Also, we have one base pantry cabinet that could never be completely adjusted squarely so there is a slight gap between two doors, but it is barely noticeable.

This is a new company that just opened up, and I was a little hesitant on using an unknown source, but they were great. You can't beat the price! They deal with prefabricated granite countertops and tiles that come in a range of colors. Quotes that we got from other companies were over $10K for the same stuff. If you thought you couldn't afford granite countertops - you can with them. The only thing is the colors are limited to 18 (but they are the most popular colors and anyone could find something they like), and there is only one choice for edging. But the end result is wonderful, and the installation was top-notch! Definitely check out this company if you are looking into granite. We bought one of the more expensive colors so our price could have been half of what we paid by choosing a different color.