Saturday, August 29, 2009

Finally OFFICALLY done!

I failed to mention and post the news that my wonderful amazing husband, John, put the crown molding up on our kitchen pantry cabinet ... remember that nightmare with the microwave cabinet and our pantry? The designer ordered the cabinet too tall so John had to take out the ceiling and raise the plumbing.

Now looking at it, you would never know!

John also installed and finished the sides and the crown molding for the entertainment cabinet! When we had our carpets stretched last week, our amazing carpet guy (Tyson) finished the carpet around the entertainment cabinet! John was VERY grateful! Oh ... and our carpet doesn't buckle anymore when we get a rainstorm! Thanks TYSON!

6 comments:

Tianna said...

On your granite, did you go with 2cm, 3cm or 2 cm with a laminated edge?

ckm said...

It is 2 cm with additional material added for the "lip" of the countertop hanging under towards the cabinet ... (2 cm with an additional 2cm seamed together at the lip - you can't see the seam). It was easy to go this route since the granite didn't have a lot of movement. You might not notice a seam with the other styles of granite. We had our kitchen design sent to the countertop company where they came up with the measurements. They double checked once the kitchen was installed. The countertops were already being cut to size so they were hoping John had installed it close to specs. John was off only by 1/16 of an inch. The countertop owner was impressed.

Since you are installing over existing cabinets, I would definitely look into pre-fabrication options. It is still granite and still great quality. You just don't need to necessarily live without kitchen countertops for nearly as long. I even heard a commercial on the radio last week about a company that would install granite over your existing countertops. Sounded interesting to me.

I can't wait to see/hear what you decide!

Tianna said...

I was looking at the 2cm with the 2cm laminated edge too. I really wanted the 3cm but can't find the exact colors I want in the 3. Are you happy with yours? I was worried it wouldn't look good with the added edge, but I love yours. Did you do the install yourself? What about the plywood? I have had a quote from the company who does the granite over your existing countertops. I don't think it is near as good of quality and surprisingly they were more expensive than the solid 3cm granite. What do you mean by prefabrication option?

ckm said...

I will post a picture of our edge.

Prefabricated is a term some granite companies use with how they make their countertops - usually in their own warehouse and have some ready to go. You don't shop the granite yards - see what they have in their warehouse. There is one in Denver (shopgranitedepot.com) that has countertops with the edge already on it in their showroom. They also have a warehouse full of remnants. You can pick the sections you like. They come and measure your kitchen and install your selections. It still takes several weeks depending on how busy they are.

We had them installed. They are HEAVY! We could have installed the plywood, but let them do it since it was included in the cost. We had ripped out the original kitchen so we were saving money on removing the old countertops. We might install our outside built-in grill countertop ourselves. They glue it down with a tar type glue. They have to work the seams and cut holes for your sink and or faucet. I recommend getting a sink that goes under the counter (under counter mount). Our installer recommended getting a "regular" aka drop in sink as it would give them more surface area to glue it (they use bondo - used for car body repairs) to the underside of the countertop, plus the regular sinks are cheaper than the undermount ones! Something to think about! Blanco "silgranit" black (anthracite) sink is sink we got model number 440215 or 511-607. (blancoamercia.com)

Tianna said...

Now I understand what you were saying about prefabricated granite. We have a place right by our house that has them. They were actually more expensive that I found the custom made ones for. I know there isn't anyway for us to install our own, but I didn't know if you did. You guys seem to be so talented. I am getting the undermount sink, I think stainless. Your sink sounds a lot like the one my mom has. I have a great installer that I am working with. If I could have only found the perfect granite, it would have already been done. I have been looking for a year or maybe even two. I have been to all the granite yards in Spokane as well as one in Idaho, and Seattle. I know crazy!! After all of that I think I might just go with the very popular and cheapest, New Venician Gold. For some reason the coloring in the 3cm right now is terrible. I love the color in the 2cm so I might do what you did. It is more money to have the edge built up on the 2cm than it would be to just get the 3cm on the whole counter, but I definately don't just want a 2cm edge- it lookds so thin. Thanks for all your help. I will be so glad when it is done :)

ckm said...

Go with what you love ... will the colors in the 3 cm change eventually? You'd think that it is all coming from the same area where they are mining it. You should ask where the 3 cm granite is coming from and where the 2 cm is and if they expect a change. It was interesting to pick the brains of the granite people at the yards. When we got our granite, we found out that another granite dealer wasn't carrying our granite anymore because the mine they were using in another country was closed because they were having problems getting quality granite.

Sounds like you have done your work! Really, check out the remnants. You might be surprised!!!