Granite Encounter

Bit late reviewing, but better late than never. I went to Thomas after I read reviews from Unilocal.He helped me pick the right granite counter top (river white granite top) for my kitchen. He was the cheapest from the other quotes I got. I had a good vibe and decided on hiring him to do the job. His team came to our house on time and installed the counter tops. It was an outstanding job. His method of installing the sink is unique and doesn’t require reinstalling or tearing up the entire granite. Overall super satisfied with his service. On another note, he also knows Eddie Jordon (formula one driver) !!! I guess it’s his Irish connections…

We were not able to use this business for our remodel due to our budget however just from experiencing their customer service and getting to see how they actually fabricate stones I would defin recommend this place. You defin pay for what you get for. I would defin use this place in the future if I have extra funds to splurge :)

I agree with the other reviews. Granite Encounter gave us excellent service and value. Thomas (the owner) and Serdar (sp?) both have an artistic sensibility and a craftsman’s thoroughness. There is a lot to consider in these jobs. I also appreciated the forethought of using brackets to hold the vanity sinks — instead of gluing them to the granite. If the sink needs to be replaced, it will be possible without replacing the granite…

After interviewing and seeing a lot of other peoples granite work I decided to go with Thomas. Not only was he the lesser of the bids but he was able to get my whole kitchen done with only 1 slab verses the other guys who said I needed 2 slabs. This alone saved me 1500 $.
I also went with Thomas because he installs rebar and flat bar in the granite AND plywood so my overhang wont have any of those ugly moldings holding it up. He also installs the undermount sinks so that you can REMOVE them later on.
The L shaped piece by the sink is 1 whole piece. The seams on the other side are flawless. There is literally a perfect seam where they meet and cannot be felt by the touch.
If you want something cheap call one of the Chinese prefab guys. If you want perfect work then call Thomas. Let the pics speak for themselves.

These guys are true professionals. I needed to enlarge the cutout for a new cook top. The two men that came were on time, pleasant and extremely efficient. There was virtually no dust left behind and the cook top fits like a glove. This was one of those infrequent experiences that required an immediate positive Unilocal review. I will recommend this company to anyone and everyone that needs granite work. Thank you!

We had waited almost 10 years to update our tile counter tops in our kitchen — mainly because we had heard so many contractor nightmare stories from others. So when we finally decided it was time to get rid of the white tile, we did a lot of research and went to quite a few places, getting multiple bids before deciding on Granite Encounter to do the job.
Our first impression of Thomas was positive and remained that way throughout the entire process. He was extremely friendly, patient and easy to work with. We brought our measurements to his shop, and he gave us an estimate for the work while we were waiting.
His price for installation was very reasonable and he could schedule us quickly.
He had a good selection of granite slabs in his shop, but also gave us a list of local granite distributors that we could go to to find the granite we wanted.
Miguel was the lead installer and he was a master craftsman! He came to our house to create the template — in a very thorough and meticulous manner — paying attention to details and working with us to create the shape we wanted. It was easy to communicate with him and with Thomas.
We also worked with a contractor (Jack) that was recommended to us by Thomas for the electrical work and plumbing needs, and he did an excellent job.
We were amazed by the quality of the work and their work ethic. They came when they said they would. They worked efficiently and cleaned up each day when they left. They left the sink in for as long as they could so that we could still use the kitchen during most of the time the work was being done.
The craftsmanship is top-​quality. Seams are smooth and edges match and flow together beautifully. We had full control of how we wanted the templates to be laid out on the granite, so we could direct where each slab would go.
The process went very smoothly and we ended up getting a new granite counter top for our guest bathroom also.
All in all, it was a great experience. We would highly recommend hiring Granite Encounter to install your granite without any hesitation. We love our new granite and wonder why we waited so long!

Thomas from the Granite Encounter was great. He is straight forward, fair and knows his stuff. The intallers were very professional and speedy yet did not cut corners. They measured and built a template before they created the countertops and everything fits perfectly and is seamless.

We remodeled our 20 year old American Canyon kitchen by changing the L shaped counter with moving the «corner» sink against the window and getting the island counter we always wanted.
We came onto Granite Encounter at the end of our list of visiting many granite stores/​outlets/​factories in the Hayward area. We knew we were not going to be happy with prefabricated counter tops and our choice was confirmed when we saw our «Paradiso» slab and meeting Thomas. He was not hesitant to do business in Napa County as he has done some jobs in Sonoma. We were impressed with Thomas’ explanation to details with some samples of Granite Encounter’s work. We conversed and compromised many times with Thomas after understanding how the granite is fabricated and installed.
We are very satisfied with the results of Thomas, Miguel and crew of their professionalism, expertise, efficiency, and resourceful work. Look no further if you want custom work; top dollars for top quality material and performance; job very well done. Thank you Granite Encounter!

Thomas is a very knowledgable granite person and is very helpful.

We recently had our main bathroom remodeled and we converted from a tile counter, with single sink and vanity to a dual bowl vanity. We chose The Granite Encounter from a variety of other granite vendors throughout the SF Bay Area, mainly due to pricing, and the reviews from other Unilocalers.
We did have a slight problem which delayed our installation, but we were not in a rush to complete. There was a mis-​communication in what we originally ordered and what was cut and installed. When you are doing any work such as remodeling, there will always be something that can go wrong and usually does.
In the end, eventhough we had to wait one more week, Thomas ensured that it would be done right, and he and the crew delivered on that promise.
Thanks again! We highly recommend The Granite Encounter for your granite counter top needs!

I’m moving to a new-​to-​me house. I had to have it pretty much gutted. It’s a foreclosed house. I guess the previous owners were hella bitter and trashed it before hand. Sidebar: What the hell kind of people take stair railing?
Anyway, I chose Granite Encounter to do my counter tops thanks to you Unilocalers. They did an amazing job. I knew that they were better because they used the rebar supports. No one else talked about using them. Plus, their prices were VERY competitive.
Thomas put up with me and my indecision about a backsplash. Countertop to cabinets would be way too expensive for me. See gutted house above. I don’t like the way 4 inches looks. I decided to go for no backsplash. My contractors then said I should have a backsplash or my house would spontaneously combust or something like that.
Back and forth I went for a week, being a total pain in the ass, I’m sure. My compromise was 1.5 inches. Just to protect the sheetrock by closing off the gap between the countertop and wall.
Miguel and Gustavo did a wonderful job. The cut outs for the faucet set were perfect. The granite is gorgeous and looks amazing. Don’t hesitate to choose Granite Encounter.
Totally extraneous here, but Thomas’ Irish brogue is white hot!

I can’t recommend these guys enough. Working with Thomas and his crew, Miguel, Gustavo has been great. They deliver what they promise — a professional product. No issues, no drama and great pricing.
We remodeled the kitchen and baths– all done to perfection.
Thanks Thomas and Crew!

The Granite Encounter did an excellent job of custom fabricating counters for our kitchen as well as my mother’s. Barely a square inch of material went to waste. Thomas’s people do the demolition, fabrication, and installation. When they did my installation, they took great pride in showing me how they had matched the patterns in the granite on the wrap arounds and the full backsplash. It was almost like matching wallpaper. The seams are hardly noticeable. Highly recommend.

The east bay will never run short of granite places and fabricators. But one place that stands out from all the rest is Granite Encounter. Why? Because they made it easy for us from beginning to end. Selecting granite countertops for our kitchen remodel wasn’t as easy as we first thought. Driving from granite place to granite place we were getting more and more confused. Thomas at Granite Encounter could immediately tell we were a little puzzled and spent time walking us through the different options, samples and costs. We left with his business card and a better idea of what we needed to do.
A few weeks later we found the perfect piece of granite and contacted Thomas without hesitation for fabricating. We sat down with our kitchen plans. After a few dimensions were taken, he calculated a price for all the work and it fitted within our budget — he also didn’t nickel and dime us. He then made arrangements for the granite to be collected and stored at their location.
A few weeks later our cabinets were installed and Thomas arranged for his guy to template the countertops and then a date to install a week later. The guy who did the template and installation knew exactly what needed to be done and made sure everything fitted exact. The attention to detail to match the pattern meant the end result was superb. We are getting lots of compliments about our granite and it really makes our kitchen. Granite Encounter is easy to work with and can answer any questions you have along the way.

This company far exceeded my expectation in quality of work and professionalism compared to my 1^st experience working with another company. When I decided to install granite counter top for my prior home, I chose a company that sell prefabricated granite and charged very low cost for cutting and installation. The result was not good. The granite was not cut to right measurements or the measurements weren’t taken properly… they were on site to do both! There was ½ inch gap between the plywood and the granite on one of the edges, and nails coming though the plywood on another edge, …etc. The granite also wasn’t sealed properly resulted in lots of water and oil stain penetrated inside the granite within few weeks we started normal use of my counter top.
This 2^nd time around, I decided to shop around visiting both low and high end stores, and finally decided to go with Granite Encounter. Thomas, the owner/​director of the store was great, very responsive to questions and phone calls, and very flexible in schedule. They sent someone out to take measurements of my counter top. They didn’t just take measurements, but make a template out of the entire counter top! The final cuts were to perfection! As opposed to just straight cuts, I designed my counter space with two radial cuts which were done nicely and gave my kitchen a very custom look and feel. I did my research — most high end companies charged you premium for radial cuts but not much for this company. For those of you who want more than just straight cuts for your counter top, you definitely want to consider this company for their reasonable rate and quality work. I gave a rating of A+ for my experience and their quality work. I already recommended this company to two of my coworkers who are remodeling their homes.

The service and honesty of this place is the best. During a full-​scale kitchen remodel, I encountered problems in almost every aspect of the project. The only smooth part was the granite countertop we purchased from Granite Encounter.
They delivered as promised and had it installed perfectly the first time without any adjustments needed. Even my contractor was impressed by the installation by Armando. The joints were tight, the surfaces and polished edges were flawless, and the proper supports were used.
On their honesty, the business underestimated the cost of installation by several hundred dollars. Without argument, the salesman honored the original quote which, by my estimate, caused him to lose money or make close to nothing on the sale. I was highly impressed by his honesty and integrity and recommend him to ANYONE who needs granite.
The salesman was professional and patient. I’ve already talked about his integrity and the installer he uses is top notch. I HIGHLY recommend this business and will use it again.