We cannot say enough good things about Cary Granite and, in particular, Joe Murphy. They came highly recommended from our contractor, who is very particular and cares about value, so we knew that they would be good and would represent a good value. But they really went above and beyond by finding us the extremely rare piece that we wanted, then making it beautiful--to the degree that it is now the defining aspect of our house.
I realize this review might sound a little over the top, so a little bit of background: We did a large addition and major remodel, which required us to get new countertops everywhere in the house, including in the kitchen. What we wanted, though, was extremely rare: a 10.5 foot single slab of honed, white Carrara marble for the kitchen island--something that essentially doesn't exist, because white Carrara slabs that large are virtually always polished, not honed. (We have kids, so we didn't want a slab that would show all the scratches and etches of polished marble). We started our search early, and Joe would not give up, nor did he try to talk us out of what we wanted. He was amazing. He worked for months and months on finding this unicorn of a marble slab, and in the nick of time, Joe found the most incredible piece of honed carrara that was 12 feet long, and he called and texted us, and we got over to the wholesaler that same day and locked it down. The wholesaler told us that if Joe hadn't been looking so hard for us, those slabs would have been gone within a few days. (Joe liked them so much that he bought the rest for future customers).
Those were Joe's efforts on the sourcing side. His efforts on the fabrication side were just as good. He worked with us to cut the 10.5 foot island slab perfectly, so that it chopped off a couple less-than-perfect spots and captured the very best parts. For the countertops, his work was also outstanding. The way he did the countertops without seams, and the way he did the corners were just awesome.
Last but not least: The cost of everything was less than what we thought. We came in right at our budget--maybe even a little below.
We are so grateful to Cary Granite, and Joe Murphy especially, for all the extra effort. The marble we got from them is the defining piece in our house. If you're weighing your options among stone fabricators/suppliers in the Triangle area, you should make Cary Granite your first (and last) stop. We aren't especially picky/needy about most things, but we definitely were on this particular piece of the project, and Joe wasn't turned off by that at all; instead, he was incredibly patient and worked his tail off for us. Joe and Cary Granite get our absolute highest recommendation.
