We have dealt with some of the bigger players in this space and had a hard time getting the answers we wanted. We decided to go with Higher Ground based on their reviews here and the friendliness and knowledge of Romel when we went to visit.<br><br> Romel was able to answer all of our questions and the selection process was easy and smooth. But honestly, things went downhill from the measurement process.<br><br> We had another company in to do measurements and they spent a good hour and half doing so. Romel was in and out in about 20 minutes. That did seem a little odd to me compared to our first experience.<br><br> The installation crew was on time and were generally pretty careful with our house. <br><br> We were not very happy with them though. The lead was very moody and grumpy. The other guy didn't seem to know what he was doing most of the time as the lead was always yelling at him.<br><br> All of our questions were answered with attitude which was not appreciated.<br><br> The biggest complaint that we had was that the attention to detail was just not there:<br><br> - One of the countertops was over *an inch* too short. This is what happens when you rush through the measuring process. Double checking measurements is a must. Lucky for us, they were able to get a new slab the same day and return a few days later to install it.<br><br> - We asked for 4 inch tall backsplahes on our vanities, most of them have different heights. Not the end of the world, they look nice, but again, where is the attention to detail? 4 inches, not 3.8 inches.<br><br> - Our slide in stove did not fit in the opening. They had to cut large chunks off to get it in but, not before refusing to do so. Again, this goes back to rushing through the measurements. Had they left without moving back the stove, we would have had to call them in yet again to cut more of the quartz.<br><br> - The silicone job was very sloppy. The solution? We can paint over it. Great, more work for us.<br><br> - Since they had to come back a second time, they rushed through the final install so that they could go to their next job. We were not happy with the finishing touches but they wanted to get out.<br><br> - We have a rather large L shape in our kitchen that required 2 pieces and thus a seam. We were told that the seam wouldn't be very visible but honestly, it is quite visible. When we asked the installer about it, his response was "I don't know".<br><br> - The height of those 2 pieces that made up the L were not even. They were going to leave it like that, the installer didn't seem to care. We had to call Romel and have him come in to look. The solution? Grind down the one side so that it curves in and matches the other. The whole entire piece should have been ground down to match. Not once did anyone stop to think, "this is going to make a mess, maybe you should move your dishes". We had to spend hours cleaning all of our stuff.<br><br> - All of our baking trays got covered in epoxy when the installer was doing the seam work. Not once did he stop and say: you have some things in there that should be moved because they could get some of this one them.<br><br> - They had to remove a few kitchen cabinet doors to do the grinding. In the process the stripped one of the mechanism which I had to replace. Plus they did not put them back on correctly.<br><br> - They left quite a mess at the end of the day and didn't make any effort to at least try and clean up a bit.<br><br> In the end, we had to settle with extra work for us afterwards. ========= UPDATED REVIEW ========== Company response: It is a good thing that we take full responsibly for all measurements taken and we never leave the customer stranded. We are all human and make mistakes; unfortunately it happened to this customer. Once we realized our mistake, we wasted no time. Romel ordered another full slab of quartz to redo the one piece at no extra charge to the customer. Customer response: as mentioned in our review, yes, another slab was ordered and the issue was resolved. Company response: As for the joint in the kitchen, if you contact any supplier they will tell you that there is no such slab that has the exact same thickness as another. Slabs slightly differ in thickness and that is why, on occasion, during an installation we sand the bottoms of the joints to even them out at the customer’s house. Customer response: so sanding them down on one side to create a curve is acceptable? I am fine with sanding it down but do the whole piece, not just one side. Company response: It is a shame that the customer felt the way she did with the installer, we have never had any problems with him, maybe he was having an off day. Customer response: have a look at your other low review and will see the same thing we wrote in our review. Obviously not a 1 time thing. Company response: Just to inform the homeowners, caulking is a paintable material, and is a common process during kitchen renovations to protect from water damage. Some areas may look thicker than other areas due to uneven walls. Quartz is not a bendable material, therefore caulking is needed. Customer response: please don't make us look like we don't know what we are talking about.We know silicon is paintable and we know that there will be more in areas that need more. The issue is that the application was SLOPPY. It is all over the quartz and up the walls. Yes we could paint it but why are you creating the extra work for us? Apply it properly and we wouldn't have to paint it. In fact, we have shown your "quality" job to other contractors and they just laughed. Company response: We could have walked away from the customer and left her stranded, but we took the loss in order to do the job properly. This goes to show you our commitment and dedication to our customers, no matter what the case may be; measurements, fabrication, installation, etc. We take responsibility when you hire us! Customer response: if you had left us stranded, you would not have been paid the outstanding amount. You failed to respond to other concerns mentioned in our review. What about the backsplashes you cut that are all of different heights? What is the excuse there? What about the fact that the stove did not fit? What about rushing through the second day? What about the very visible seam on top of the countertop and the installer not knowing why it was that way? What about your installer getting glue all over our baking pans? What about all the quartz dust on our things? They didn't even have the decency to suggest that we move things. What about screwing up our cabinet door hinges? What about the mess left behind? Anyways, to anyone else reading this, just beware. I am sure there is an excuse for everything.

Company Response:

It is a good thing that we take full responsibly for all measurements taken and we never leave the customer stranded. We are all human and make mistakes; unfortunately it happened to this customer. Once we realized our mistake, we wasted no time. Romel ordered another full slab of quartz to redo the one piece at no extra charge to the customer. As for the joint in the kitchen, if you contact any supplier they will tell you that there is no such slab that has the exact same thickness as another. Slabs slightly differ in thickness and that is why, on occasion, during an installation we sand the bottoms of the joints to even them out at the customer’s house. It is a shame that the customer felt the way she did with the installer, we have never had any problems with him, maybe he was having an off day. Just to inform the homeowners, caulking is a paintable material, and is a common process during kitchen renovations to protect from water damage. Some areas may look thicker than other areas due to uneven walls. Quartz is not a bendable material, therefore caulking is needed. We could have walked away from the customer and left her stranded, but we took the loss in order to do the job properly. This goes to show you our commitment and dedication to our customers, no matter what the case may be; measurements, fabrication, installation, etc. We take responsibility when you hire us!

Jorge (George) was fantastic. Customer service is a priority at Higher Ground. He did everything exactly as we discussed (measurements & polishing of faces) for a number of quartz pieces for the bathroom. He ordered material, had it delivered, cut and polished in 7 days to help with my installation schedule. During the dry fit, it became apparent that I had neglected to tell him to polish the lip of the bottom side of our niche (half an inch of the bottom side of four pieces). I called George and he told me to just drop by the shop and he would fix my oversight free of charge. He polished the half inch strips while I waited. I had previously used another vanity provider and there was no comparison. Customer service, turn around time, quality of work and cost were all better with George. I wish I had found George before I ordered my initial vanity top from one of his competitors as George provided brand name material with exceptional attention to finishing. I can't say the same for my initial provider (a competitor who does not have George's focus, providing everything from faucets to full vanities and bath tubs) as he showed us the brand name material and priced it accordingly only to show us a knock-off made in China that was on display that better suited our colour choice when finalizing the order. It was only after the fact that I found out the initial counter was a knock-off because George recognized it as a knock off immediately and was able to show me the difference between my material and the leading brands. I would definitely recommend George for any countertops (kitchen, bathroom etc.). I am in fact going to use him again, as soon as my current reno is complete.

We sourced different shops to replace the kitchen formica countertops with granite or quartz countertops (over 60 sq.ft.). Jorge went out of his way to select the most suitable granite and reuse our existing cupboards. His price was competitive and the work was completed on schedule - order placed Jan.11, job completed in one day January 26. Carlos and Dario completed the removal of the old and installation of the new in an efficient, professional manner. We are thoroughly satisfied with the work and visitors to the house are so impressed with the transformation of our kitchen.

I selected this company based on Homestars reviews, and was very pleased. The selection of granite was extensive, and the person helping us was very knowledgeable about the materials. And the price was lower than any of the other places we visited. The installation went smoothly, and the installers were very careful about cleaning up. The plumber who installed our sink was very courteous, and stayed late to make sure everything was working well. A very happy outcme.

We had high expectations for this company from the start since Jorge was great to work with. He was patient and the price he quoted was competitive. Unfortunately, we weren't pleased with the installation. Maurcio and another worker came to install the quartz countertops and we found the workmanship to be substandard. Since the area for the kitchen coutertop was too big for 1 entire piece, we knew there would be a seam. However, the seam was not smoothed and levelled out so dirt gets in the middle of the 2 pieces. Also, the grout/sealer around the edges of the countertops were applied messily. The dust from the plywood is stuck in the sealer and there was so much residue from the sealer that months after the install, we were still scraping it off. IIn fact, we will need to strip and re-apply sealer ourselves so that it will look cleaner and more professional. In addition, we were also dissatisfied with the mess that was left behind. Maurcio had cut the pieces in our garage and there was so much debris which was not swept or placed in the garbage/removed offsite. He and the other installer also left behind their garbage from lunch (take out drinks still half full) for us to clean up afterwards. Considering the positive reviews, we were really hoping for the finished product to look professional, sadly this was not the case. Hopefully, this was a one off situation! Company Response: The person in this review was not work for Higher grounds granite and marble shop at this time. This review is a false. We never use grout or sealer on quartz countertops, you can contact all the suppliers to ask them this question. Customer Response: Homestars asked us to provide a copy of the invoice to prove we hired this company. The reason why this review is still up is because it is a valid review and not a false one. At the time our countertops were installed, the installer was Marcio/Mauricio. If he no longer works for this company, then maybe the company is listening to customer's complaints and let him go due to poor workmanship. Although he may not work for the company anymore, our comments are still valid. We made an error in writing grout/sealer when it should be silicone. Regardless, whatever material was applied was done so messily that we were unsatisfied with the overall work, thus the low rating. I'm surprised that this company isn't taking our comments and using it as constructive criticism to help better themselves. Instead they are claiming the review to be false when it is not!

Company Response:

The person in this review was not work for Higher grounds granite and marble shop at this time. This review is a false. We never use grout or sealer on quartz countertops, you can contact all the suppliers to ask them this question.

We were looking for a granite counter top for our kitchen. We visited over 25 granite shop with the sketch of our kitchen, no one would guarantee to have the granite cut at one piece, it is a lager L shape. The last shop we visited is higher ground. Jorge the owner told us from the beginning it will be one piece, we went to select the granite we want, he gave us a very competitive price, included a free sink, the install was done on time with on issue, I recommended higher ground to my neighbour without hesitation.

Higher Grounds did an excellent job. They were able to accomodate my timelines and the counter is absolutely gorgeous. Right from entering the premises, all the way through installation, the staff is knowledgeable, professional and good at what they do. I would recommend Higher Grounds Granite & Marble to anyone I know and definitely know where to go for my next project. Great work guys! Thanks!

Company Response:

Thank you Rhonda, we really appreciate your comments in order to serve our community in the best and honest way. Sincerely, George.

Jorge provided excellent customer service and reasonable pricing. We were renovating kitchens and bathrooms, and of course, working with many vendors, and Higher Ground was the best vendor we had. Jorge and his staff were helpful and easy to work with. We had looked into several countertop vendors and Higher Ground was by far the most competitive pricing we've received. I would definitely recommend Higher Ground to others looking for kitchen countertop.

Exceptional customer service and very competitive pricing. George was a try businessman. He treats you with respect. I was extremely happy with their service. I was just a customer that called to ask about how to clean granite, and within hours, he was at my house sealing and waxing my kitchen granite. Exceptional work. I totally recommend Higher-Grounds. T