What does it cost to replace granite countertops?

For a 60 square foot kitchen in Level 2 granite, around $4,600 including tear out, material, fabrication, installation, and Massachusetts sales tax. That works out to roughly $77 per square foot. The tear out portion is $10 per square foot, or about $600 on that kitchen.

How much does it cost to remove old countertops?

$10 per square foot for removal and disposal. On an average 60 square foot kitchen that is $600. Ask whether it is included in your quote, because it is often listed separately or left out entirely.

Why is replacing countertops more expensive per square foot than installing new ones?

Because of tear out. The same 60 square foot kitchen runs about $66.61 per square foot as new construction and about $76.61 per square foot as a replacement. Most published per square foot figures are written for installs with nothing already in place.

Will my tile backsplash be damaged when the countertops are removed?

Usually not. If your tile sits above a 4 inch stone backsplash, we remove the counter and that splash without touching the tile roughly 98 percent of the time. If the tile runs down directly onto the countertop, it is about 90 percent.

Can I keep my 4 inch backsplash when I replace my countertops?

No, and you would not want to. It comes out with the old countertop and gets replaced in the new material so it matches. Saving it is not the goal. Saving the tile above it is.

Does the new backsplash piece have to be exactly 4 inches?

No, and assuming it does causes problems. Once the old tops come out and the new ones are templated, the gap between the new counter and your existing tile has to be measured. The new countertop will not sit at precisely the same height as the old one.

Will removing my old countertops damage my cabinets?

Almost never. In 24 years we have had one instance, and that kitchen had cabinet tops that were already rotted from water damage before we arrived. Absent existing damage, removing stone countertops does not harm the cabinet boxes or faces.

Can I reuse my existing sink when I replace my countertops?

Yes, it can be done. Whether it is a good idea is another matter. A new sink runs a few hundred dollars against several thousand for new stone, so reusing a fifteen year old sink to save a little is usually a false economy.

How long will my kitchen be out of service?

About one day. We do not remove your old countertops in advance. They come out the morning of installation, the new tops go in, and the sink is attached, which takes roughly half a day. The sink adhesive then needs 24 hours to cure before the plumbing is reconnected.

Cost to Replace Granite Countertops in Massachusetts

People call about replacement pricing. That is not what they are worried about.

Three or four questions in, it comes out. They put that tile up eight years ago. They picked it, they love it, and they have decided that replacing the countertops means losing it.

Almost always, it does not.

Let me do the money first, then the tile.

The Number Nobody Publishes

Removing and disposing of your existing countertops costs $10 per square foot.

On a 60 square foot kitchen, which is a fair average, that is $600.

That is the whole difference between a replacement and a new install. Everything after it is the same job.

A Real 60 Square Foot Replacement

Level 2 granite, one slab, standard sink cutout and eased edge.

Tear out and disposal, 60 sq ft at $10	$600.00
Level 2 granite, 1 slab	$1,300.00
Templating and fabrication, 60 sq ft at $25.50	$1,530.00
Installation, 60 sq ft at $16.50	$990.00
MA sales tax on materials and fabrication	$176.88
Total	$4,596.88

That works out to $76.61 per square foot.

Why Your Quote Looks High Next to the Articles

Run that same kitchen as new construction, with no old tops to remove, and it comes to $3,996.88. Call it $66.61 a square foot.

Ten dollars a square foot apart. Same stone, same crew, same everything.

So when you read that granite runs sixty-something a square foot installed and your replacement quote comes back in the seventies, nothing is wrong. You are reading a number written for a kitchen that had nothing in it.

Replacement is not more expensive per square foot because someone is padding it. It is more expensive because there is an entire countertop in your kitchen that has to leave.

If you want the full breakdown of how the rest of the number is built, including why slab size drives more of your price than slab cost does, that is on our pricing page.

Now the Tile

Here is what people are really asking, and the answer depends on how your kitchen was built.

Stone counters with a 4 inch stone backsplash, tile above it

This is the common one, and it is the good news case.

We can take out the old countertops and the 4 inch stone splash without touching the tile above it. I put that at 98 percent. In practice, it comes off cleanly.

Your tile stays where it is.

Stone counters with tile running right down onto the stone

Harder, and still usually fine.

When the tile terminates directly on top of the countertop, we are working right at the edge of it. I put this one at 90 percent. Nine out of ten times we get the old stone out and the tile stays intact.

I tell people ninety rather than a hundred because it is honest, not because I expect trouble.

Stone counters with a 4 inch splash and nothing above it

No tile, nothing to save. Your new countertop gets a new 4 inch splash in the new material, which is what you would want anyway.

Nobody salvages a 4 inch backsplash. It comes out with the counter and goes back in matching the new top.

The Part That Gets Missed

Say we save your tile. Good.

Now there is a gap between the new countertop and the bottom of that tile, and the new 4 inch splash has to fill it. That is the bare strip in the photo at the top of this post.

It is not 4 inches anymore.

Four inches is the starting assumption. The old countertop had its own thickness and its own setting height, and the new one will not land in exactly the same place. That gap has to be measured after the old tops are out and the new ones are templated. Assume 4 inches and you get a piece that is short, or one that will not fit.

This is a small thing that turns into a callback. Ask whoever is quoting you how they plan to handle the gap under the existing tile. If the answer is that they will cut a 4 inch strip, that is the wrong answer.

Your Cabinets Will Be Fine

One time in 24 years.

That is how often removing old countertops has caused a problem with a cabinet in my shop. That kitchen had cabinet tops that were already rotted before we walked in, and taking the old stone off pulled at the face of the cabinet.

The rot was there first. We just found it.

Short of water damage that already exists, taking stone off cabinets does not hurt them. Your boxes stay, your doors stay, and nothing about a countertop replacement obligates you to touch them.

Your Old Sink and Faucet

Can we reuse them? Yes. People ask, and it can be done.

Should you? Usually not, and here is the arithmetic.

A new sink is a few hundred dollars. You are about to spend several thousand on new stone. Putting a fifteen year old sink into a brand new countertop to save three hundred dollars is not the win it feels like when you are already writing checks.

Faucets, same answer, with a little more force. They wear out, and they date a kitchen faster than almost anything else on the counter. If yours is fairly new, keep it. If it is not, replace it while everything is apart and the plumbing is already disconnected.

If there is a faucet you actually love, tell us and we will work with it. That happens and it is fine. Just make it a decision instead of a default.

One Day

This is the part that surprises people, and it is the reason most of them were dreading the whole project.

We do not take your old countertops out ahead of time. There is no week of living with plywood.

They come out the morning we install, and it is the first thing we do. Old tops out, new tops in, sink attached. That is about half a day.

Then the sink adhesive needs 24 hours to cure before the plumbing gets reconnected.

So call it one day without a working kitchen. You can use the countertops themselves almost immediately. You are back to full function the next day.

What to Ask Before You Sign

Is tear out and disposal included, or is it a line item added later?
What are you doing about the gap between the new top and my existing tile?
How will you measure that gap, and when?
What happens if the tile does get damaged during removal?

That last one is worth asking of anybody, including us. A shop that has thought about it will have an answer ready.

The Short Version

Tear out is $10 a square foot. On an average kitchen that is about $600, and it is the only real difference between replacing and starting fresh.

Your tile is probably fine. Ninety to ninety-eight percent, depending on how it meets the counter.

And the piece that fills the gap afterward is measured, not assumed.

Your cabinets are fine. Your kitchen is down for a day. Buy the new sink.

Replacing rather than building new? Send a photo of where your tile meets your countertop and we will tell you which of the three situations you are in before we ever come out. Give us a call.

Your Tile Backsplash Will Probably Survive