Quotation Tutorial
At World Stone we are always very enthusiastic in assisting our new, as well as returning, customers in providing competitive pricing for their new orders. We aim to be as efficient and accurate as it is possible when it comes to submitting our estimates. However, before we begin providing you with quotations, we would strongly suggest you review the rest of the information on our web page in order to obtain more information pertaining to the stone you intend to order. It is extremely important to us that you acquire sufficient amount of knowledge about our industry, as well as the goods that you intend on purchasing, before you place your order with us.
Our stance has always been that an educated customer is a satisfied customer. There is a substantial amount of data in the Products and FAQ sections of our web page, for you to review and gain knowledge from.
Once you are comfortable with the general outline of what you will be purchasing, we would like to ask you to proceed with the quotation request. The following tutorial is meant to provide a quick set of instructions which will allow for a preparation of a small layout, based on which we can price your job.
Feel free to take a look at various examples of the quotation sheet already filled out. We hope they will give you an idea of what information we require to provide a proper estimate.
Initially we'd like to ask you to print out a quotation sheet, which we would like you to use in order to submit your request. Once completed, feel free to drop it of in person, fax it or email it to us.
We will contact you back with a quotation within the next couple of business days. Please note that, for your convenience, we have included all the data necessary to get in touch with us at the very top of the quotation sheet.
Just below the aforementioned contact information, we would like to ask you to fill in your personal information, as well as several other particulars which will give us a better idea of what you require us to do. The details located on the left are fairly self explanatory, thus we will not be spending much time explaining them. However, the right hand side may be a little confusing to some.
Starting from the top, the first two lines allow two different choices of stone which you would like to have priced. Please note that by default we will be pricing counter tops fabricated in 2cm material, as it has been a standard for a very long time.
However, should it be necessary to price the thicker stone, please put either “3 cm” or “1-1/4 in.” beside the name of the specified material and we will price your job accordingly.
The following line deals with sinks. There are many different materials out of which sinks are produced.
Furthermore, all of them can have various installation configurations. The most common type of sink which we encounter is made out of stainless steel, which is either top mounted or under mounted. In case you may have an apron sink (also referred to as a farmer’s sink) or a cast iron sink, please make a note of it as it may become important. Please note that apron sinks can also be top or undermounted, depending on their design. Please refer to the sink section in FAQ’s for further details.
Next we have the back splash option. In general, a counter top made in natural stone or quartz will be priced assuming only the top surface butting agains the wall. However, optionally there can be either a small lip added at the back, usually around 3-4” in height. This practice is very common for bathroom vanity top applications, or kitchens, where the client does not intend to install any form of back splash in the future. Besides the visual aspect, it is meant to serve the purpose of preventing water leaks behind the counter top, in case something is spilled.
Very often our customers will order counter tops along with a backsplash made out of the same slabs running between their main counter and the upper cabinets. This is a beautiful solution especially when under cabinet lightning is installed, providing stunning appearance throughout the entire kitchen. It is imperative that this step is planned prior to ordering the counter top, especially when material selected “has movement”. The idea is to cut the counter top and the full height back splash in such way that the veins in the slabs continue from the counter top onto the back splash. Although it is not always possible to do so because of slab size limitations, we will do our best to help you plan your counter top out to the best of our abilities.
The last piece of information that we would like to know up front is whether the kitchen cabinets are brand new or the existing ones are remaining. This has to do with other options which we may or may not offer, depending on the circumstances.
Once the top portion is completed, then we would like to ask you to provide a rough outline. The area of the page designated for the layout is divided into small squares, which in case of a kitchen counter top should allow a scale of one foot per three squares in most cases. However, feel free to use any scale that you desire (or none), as well as additional pages if necessary to draw additional larger items. It is very important to draw each counter top positioned (oriented) the same way as it is in real life. This will help us determine more accurately the material requirements for your counters.
Upon drawing the main layout, please mark with small circles the exposed edges, sink and stove/cook top location and other details such as a bigger protrusion (eating area). Lastly it is important to include the overall measurements. Please note that we will not cut your counter top based on the measurements which you provide, this is only for budget purposes. Any additional notes or requests should also be included at the bottom below the drawing.
Please refer to other examples for layouts portraying shower niches, fireplace surrounds, shower jambs, stairs, or other items. Please note that we have done a lot of very intricate jobs, producing a vast variety of items other than just counter tops.
We strongly encourage you to ask questions regarding any idea that you may have. It is our pleasure and duty to provide you with as much information as we can in order to finish your project efficiently and with proper results.
