Bullnose & Shaping Granite Counters

I wish there were a negative rating. This guy John is unprofessional and unethical. First, he charges double the market price and when I asked him about it, his response was «because I get it». Really! Second, I had a 5″ edge of a marble tile that I wanted him to bullnose. I called him and agreed on a price of $ 10 with him on the phone. I told him I wanted it while I waited and he agreed. I reached there and he asked me for $ 15, if I wanted it right away. This is pure unethical and opportunistic. Stay away from this rude, unethical business. Go to Bill at Bullnose King in San Leandro. For $ 5 a tile, I got a great price with a great service there.

John was recommended to us for our extra long kitchen counters. Pleasant enough fellow. He took us to a discount granite place in Oakland. First three choices were not available. I wanted slabs but John convinced me that for him to bullnose and shape would be cheaper with the same look. Wrong.
The seals are uneven and have lifted off in several places. Should I wish to «push» a dish it catches on one side of the uneven surface and will not move. The whole counter looks cheap, the granite thin and not well installed. I had the fellow that recommended John to us in for some other work and asked him to look at the counters. Perhaps I was being unfair and it was supposed to look wonky. Wrong again. He agreed with me. Should not happen but «John will fix it for you». After several e-​mails, voice mails and an eventual conversation, John promised to come out and fix. Over a year later and I’m still waiting…
The counters are going to have to be ripped out and replaced with someone that is reputable and knows what they are doing. On another note, the fellow he uses for tile work is excellent.
Sorry John, I thought long and hard about this review but for you to completely blow me off is truly bad customer service.

This guy is way overpriced and very arrogant. He gave me a price without even asking the dimensions. He said, he priced it high because he can get it… WOW! Do not use this contractor. Zero stars for this guy, if it was an option.

I hired Bullnosing and Shaping for my kitchen granite countertops based on a recommendation from my cabinet refinisher. It turned out to be a great choice. John Lorio, the owner, walked me through every step along the way in selecting my granite and designing my countertop.
John met me at the granite store and spent more than an hour helping me with my granite selection while sharing his knowledge about the character of each granite type at the store. After purchasing a couple of slabs, I decided that I wasn’t happy with my selection soon after I had returned home. I called John right away to tell him that I had changed my mind. Without blinking an eye or becoming annoyed, John met me at the granite store an hour later to start the whole selection process all over again!
The demo of my old countertops and granite installation were flawless. John and his employee Oscar arrived on time each day as promised. Dust control measures were applied adequately. Before the week was over, my beautiful countertops were installed as per schedule along with new kitchen plumbing. They left the worksite clean and orderly.
John’s employee, Oscar is an expert in his craft and was a pleasure to have working in my home. John is an absolute professional to do business with. His personality, honesty, dependability, expertise and eye for detail are unsurpassed.
If you want great customer service and a beautiful granite job, choose Bullnosing and Shaping. Thank you John and Oscar!

We needed a kitchen update and we didn’t have a specific plan. We needed someone who could recommend and do the work. John was perfect to work with, he made suggestions that made our finished kitchen so much better. When he came to do the work he was there when he said he would be, he finished when he said he would. The finished kitchen is flawless, the granite countertop is lovely. After hearing horror stories from friends about their kitchen remodels I thought the reviews on Unilocal may be overstated. They were not, John’s timing and work are impeccable. I love my new kitchen.

Let me start off by noting that I work for a large commercial general contractor and deal with good/​bad subcontractors on a daily basis. The most important thing for any contractor is to be accountable, responsive, and an overall good communicator. John was all of the above which started off by him e-​mailing and calling me back right away after I reached out to him. From the time I sent him my first e-​mail to when my countertops were in place was 2 weeks which is amazing. John met me at a granite shop where he helped me find a great deal on granite slabs. John came 3 days later to template and was ready to install 2 days after that. He installed tops for an outdoor BBQ I have and they look great! I’m really glad I used John and would suggest you use him as well.
Before you judge someone’s business on one bad review amongst remaining great reviews be reminded that you’re probably not getting the whole story. I would highly recommended John, hands down.

If you want to overpay, go to SOSA. If you want a great looking kitchen at a great price, call John. He’s an honest guy doing an honest day’s work and I recommend him without reservation. He did a fantastic job on our kitchen, communicated well with us, was easy to schedule and work with. Thanks John!
Almost forgot to mention — John has an amazing saw that makes the most smooth seams ever. Hard to see, impossible to feel. Super smooth and nearly invisible.

I was looking for a very special person. Didn’t like the 2-​basin undermount cast iron kitchen sink, and wanted to replace it with a single basin top mount. It would require cutting the granite. Visiting granite fabricator/​installers this wasn’t going to be easy, most didn’t want to take the risk the job presented, but rather partial demo or demo, and sell new granite.
Granted, I was looking for the neurosurgeon of granite. Didn’t want to find myself stapped to the operating table with a Resident, his first time in surgery; the kind of contractor that wholesales your job, subcontracting to someone you never met until they’re in your house ready to go.
Met John at a Pleasanton Home and Garden Show, explained what I wanted. He said he was the one for the job, but he would have to see the existing sink first. He came out, said to give him a call when I have the new sink and hardware. Purchased new hardware through Amazon, eBay, Cal Steam, and Lowes,
Normally, the flange of a kitchen sink are sandwiched between the granite and plywood over the cabinets, not impossible to remove, but could involve cutting the cast iron sink in situ. I wanted someone to remove the two blocks of wood supporting the sink. John scheduled the job. John and Ramon attacked it first with a sawzall, before changing strategy to chisel and crowbar. They were very careful not to exert force that would crack the granite.
Once they dropped the sink out, John triple checked his layout, linear, square and diagonal; a four sided cut. The two under a tarp, vacuum cleaner running, Makita diamond blade in hand, made quick work for a perfect cut.
Re-​plumbed, cleaned up, settled the bill, what a perfect job. Highly Recommend: A fabricator/​Installer who took took the challenge of my job, a neurosurgeon of granite. John, I have some kitchen remodeling work coming up.

I shopped around at the big box stores and a few independent places, and decided to give this place a try. I was a little concerned at first, since there was no answer at the Pleasanton number… turns out that’s just the shop, and sometimes everyone’s out doing business, so call back if you don’t get an answer. This is a fabricator/​installer, not a whole-​kitchen remodel place, in case you’re curious (I’ve been to a few places, and they want nothing to do with you unless they get to redo your whole kitchen). Cash or cheque only.
I found John to be very professional, and very honest. He pointed me toward some cheaper alternatives based on what I was looking to accomplish (improve the resale value of my place), and took me out to the granite warehouse to personally shop for the specific slabs of granite we’d be putting in my kitchen (and I got a great deal, compared to other granite yards I’d wandered around). He dealt very well with the fact that I really had no idea what I was doing, and made some great suggestions. When the time came to install, I had decided at the last minute to go with a different sink, and he rolled with it no problem, making changes on the fly. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for new granite countertops.
The only complaints I would have are with cleanliness of the job site. I’ll be cleaning up granite dust for several weeks to come, vacuuming it off of my floor, my dishes, everything. This could have been mitigated with the judicious use of some canvas dropcloths (I’ve even got a couple that would have served) and the advice to remove all of the contents of my lower cabinets before the install. A minor annoyance, but room for improvement nevertheless.

Just finished working with John on a kitchen project. He knows fabrication! He was great to work with… professional, accommodating and on time! John spent a day looking at granite with us in Hayward, giving us his expertise. After he made templates of our countertops we went to his warehouse where we together determined exactly how the slab should be cut to best show the beauty of the granite. John has all the machines to do a superior cut and fabrication. The installation was perfect… it looks beautiful. He also arranged for the installation of tile backspash. John has years of experience so knows what he’s doing. His pricing is very fair. Don’t be tempted to save a few dollars by using the discount expo type stores.

We needed a sink and countertop in our office — contacted John L. to do the countertop, he did a great job, professional installation, nicely done, courteous, clean and thorough. I’d recommend him again without hesitation. Thanks, John!

My business needed granite in the back room and John L was right there. He had the piece I needed and had plenty of options of styles and color. I would highly recommend him!

As usual this guy starts off really nice and professional however… the end result is that my sink was not cut directly under the window where I asked him to place it. He tells me he lined it up with the cabinets. MORON! And when I ask him why he cut the faucet to the left and not the center he tells me. Sorry I didn’t hear you. OH REALLY! It’s pretty hard to say you can’t hear someone talking to you after they are standing in front of your face answering the question of where I want it cut. IDIOT! Go somewhere else.