Whew!
The Good: The quartz countertops (Cambria, Bristol Blue) are fabulous. They look just the way I wanted. They provide some darkness to offset the cabinets, and they provide a blue cast that complements the browns of everything.
I can't tell you how good they look in person. Now it's looking like a kitchen.
The guys who installed were friendly and professional and got the job done. Eventually …
The Bad: They also arrived at 4 p.m., and took about 5 hours, all told, to bring in, line up, caulk down, seal together, clean off, etc. Yes, that means they left around 9 p.m. Which was a late night for them and us.
The Ugly: Everything was perfect … except with the island, where the cut-out for the sink is about 2.5" further family-room-ward that it's supposed to be (in order to be centered under the center pendant). So we'll be calling to have a replacement slab cut. Wish us luck.
Next steps: In terms of big steps … finish plumbing (well, except for the island), flooring (to be scheduled), appliances (after flooring), backsplash (now that the countertops are up), and (not affecting the kitchen going "live") the side yard grading, patio, and retaining walls. Oh, and finish electrical …
… which can't actually be done until the island countertop is determined …
… which is also dependent on our getting the pop-up electrical outlet we had planned for there …
… which we discovered today that we were supposed to have ordered, not the contractor …
… which turns out to be no longer manufactured, and, apparently, the only one left is on eBay for more than normal and with an oiled brass rather than satin nickel finish.
So … we'll cope.
But, hiccups and potholes in the road aside, this was a major, major milestone. And I'm very, very happy.
In Album Hill-Kleerup Kitchen – 2015-04-27
It looks great! Except for that tentacle coming out of the wall…
Yeah, just stay … out of reach of that guy. (Some contractors drive a hard bargain.)
Lowe's has a line of outlets and switches called Adorne that I really like. I know they have some pop-ups.
It's coming along nicely, Dave!
i like
I could do lots with all that surface area!!
+Leigh Scott The number one thing on my list is to keep it from getting cluttered!
+Brittany Constable Very few pop-ups are kitchen-rated (i.e., "water won't leak down into them when open or close"), and most of those that are use a plug to connect to the power, making them (for code purposes) extension cords, not outlets. Crazily, there are no other good options here at the moment.
Beautiful looking Kitchen Dave! I hope you both enjoy it. Cant wait to see the finished product.
+Jon Weber Thanks! And me, neither!
Looks very nice! Going to finish it off with cork floor?
+George Wiman No, we thought we'd go with the half-plywood, half-70s-linoleum look. Retro, y'know?
Yeah, cork floor. That's one of the next big things, though probably after the backsplash is installed.
Good work.