Kitchen Countertop Replacement Cost

You like your kitchen cabinets, but the counters have had enough. Replacing just the tops sounds simple until one quote includes the sink and another leaves you looking for a plumber.

So kitchen countertop replacement starts with the surface price. Top Marble & Granite in Northern Virginia publishes $40 to $80 per square foot for granite and $50 to $100 for quartz, including standard fabrication and installation.

I will walk through the materials, the extras and homeowners’ prices so you can see what each quote includes. The US prices here were checked October 18, 2026.

Countertop Prices by Material

Ace Countertops in Streamwood, Illinois, charges more for its stocked quartz than Top Marble & Granite. Here are the two companies’ published stone prices.

Use the actual brand, color, thickness and layout when you request a price. Ace also publishes laminate and wood market benchmarks, but those are not prices for its own installations.

For a tighter stone budget, I would start with a basic granite color. If you prefer wood, decide how much surface care you are willing to do before choosing it for every counter around the sink.

Ace’s care notes call for regular oil or board cream on butcher block, depending on the finish. Standing water needs attention. Quartz care is different: avoid hot pans directly on the surface and follow the product’s cleaning instructions.

What Does the Square-Foot Price Buy?

Top Marble & Granite includes the slab, measuring, fabrication, a standard eased edge, a sink cutout and installation. Removal, plumbing and extra cutouts sit outside that standard price.

Granite Mill in the Seattle area uses another method: $36 per square foot covers fabrication and installation, with the stone priced separately. Reading that labor figure as an installed stone price would leave a large hole in your budget.

Granite Mill’s worked example measures the finished countertop area, including the backsplash. Ask whether your bid charges by finished area or by whole slabs, and how it handles leftover stone.

A long island or a pattern you want to continue across a seam may change the slab layout. Have the fabricator show the proposed seams and vein direction before you approve the cutting plan.

Tear-Out, Sink Holes and Plumbing

These are separate jobs even when one company arranges them. Granite Mill publishes the following extras on its price page:

Do not add that sink charge to a competitor’s package if the cutout is already included. Also, a hole for the sink does not buy the sink, faucet or drain reconnection.

Top Marble & Granite allows $150 to $300 for plumbing disconnection and reconnection. Ask who handles the appointment and whether changing the sink depth will require drain or disposal adjustments.

Keep the cooktop model settled before measuring. The fabricator needs the correct opening, and a gas or electrical reconnection is another task to assign to the appropriate trade.

A 40-Square-Foot Quartz Example

Using Top Marble & Granite’s lower quartz rate, 40 × $50 = $2,000 for the countertop package. Its published removal range is $200 to $500, so the old tops still affect the total.

Using that same company’s low allowances gives 40 × $50 + $200 removal + $150 plumbing = $2,350. At its high rates, 40 × $100 + $500 + $300 = $4,800.

This example assumes a standard included sink cutout. It leaves out a new sink, a backsplash, upgraded edges and extra openings. Those are choices to price once your layout is known.

Keep the Backsplash or Replace It?

A short strip of matching stone and a full wall of tile are different purchases. Tell the installer which one you want, including the area behind the range and any returns at the ends.

If you want to keep existing tile, ask whether the old countertop can come out without damaging it. A change in top thickness may also leave a gap that needs a planned finish.

I would settle this before ordering the slab. A cheap countertop swap loses some of its appeal if it leaves an unfinished wall and no one has priced the repair.

What Homeowners Paid and Were Quoted

These DC Urban Moms posts give useful comparisons between brands and jobs. They are dated homeowner accounts, with the limits of each bill kept alongside the price.

• On January 22, 2018, at 18:02, one poster had quotes of $6,800 for mid-range granite and $9,300 for Cambria quartz. The post does not give the area or report a purchase.
• On January 23, 2018, at 17:09, a buyer who found the slabs at a Rockville stone yard reported paying about $63 per square foot for Spectrum Quartz. The Caesarstone option they considered was quoted at about $95 per square foot.
• On October 2, 2019, at 09:29, a homeowner reported $1,500 for basic granite, cut and installed with a sink, bought in Beltsville. The area was described as large but was not measured in the post.

The Rockville buyer changed the brand to fit the budget. That is an option worth exploring if you like a general color or pattern more than one particular product.

Before You Pay the Deposit

Ask for one written scope showing the selected slab or product, finished area, edges, seams, openings, removal and reconnections. Then check who repairs damage to cabinets or walls during removal.

The cabinets need to be ready for the new tops. If there is water damage beneath the sink, deal with it before measuring and installation. Rotten flooring may also need a separate subfloor repair.

Confirm the period between removal and getting your sink working again. That is the part of the schedule your household will feel every day, even when the new stone is already in place.

Questions About New Kitchen Counters

Where These Prices Come From

US prices checked October 18, 2026. The homeowner examples retain their original posting dates.

• Top Marble & Granite: Northern Virginia countertop prices and inclusions.
• Ace Countertops: its own quartz offer and care notes.
• Granite Mill: fabrication, installation, removal and cutout prices.
• DC Urban Moms: quartz prices, January 2018; granite purchase, October 2019.

I hope your countertop quote is easier to read now. If you have a kitchen countertop bill you would like to share, send it to costcheckr@gmail.com.