| Author | Message | ||
     greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 3157 Registered: 5-2001  |
Ashear - good idea. It's a helluva lot cheaper. | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1618 Registered: 5-2001 |
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| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1626 Registered: 5-2001 |
Well, today my countertop was installed, finally. Overall, it looks great, but I'm not 100% happy with the finishing. There is one seam in a way too-obvious spot, and another seam behind the sink that looks sloppily put together. It was difficult to see these details until after the mineral oil dried, and by then the installers/fabricators and Greg were long gone. I emailed Greg my concerns tonight, but I know I will not sleep easy until we discuss this further. I'm not quite sure how this will be rectified. This is a test...  | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1627 Registered: 5-2001 |
So, here are pics. Not sure if the silicon will dry clear and the seams will be less obvious. Maybe I'm being too picky. Anyone with soapstone experience, please feel free to chime in. Thanks!      | ||
| greenetree Supporter Username: Greenetree Post Number: 3192 Registered: 5-2001 |
Ommm. Ommmm. Shh- We also had to wait for some goop to wear off, so don't stress it yet. In terms of the obvious seams, did the fabricator show you where the seams would be & get your OK when they came to make the template? I have no idea what the recourse is if you don't like the seam. It's not like it can be "uncut". But, it will definitely look better. There's probably silicone goop around the seams, too. That comes off. | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1629 Registered: 5-2001 |
Well, they used a razor blade to take away some of the excess. I did ask them to fix the one behind the sink, because they left a little gap beneath, so they went back and filled it with more silicon, unfortunately it doesn't look any better but at least water will not seep underneath it. They did not show me where they'd put a seam, I don't know if they showed Greg. But really, they chose the worse place to put it. Arrgh. Too bad I can't find my DVD remote. Now would be a great time to do a little yoga. Ommm, Ommm... | ||
| bobk Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 6497 Registered: 5-2001 |
It is hard to tell if the seams are so obvious because the pieces don't fit together well or just because of a poor caulking job. The caulking should be redone as the job is really amateurish. There seem to be a lot of seams although it is tough to tell seams from veins in a photo. Doesn't granite usually come in at least 4 x 8 sheets? | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1649 Registered: 5-2001 |
Bob, There are 2 seams, one behind the sink and one perpendicular to the stove. Today it looks a little better, but I agree with you, the seaming/siliconing does look amateurish. It's soapstone, not granite. Greg & I discussed it —he called the owner of the company— and he's having these guys do a vanity top and will have them come over to look at it in a few days. I told him I'd never recommend them (a neighbor took their card yesterday). This looks a little shoddy. | ||
| bobk Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 6501 Registered: 5-2001 |
Soapstone? Interesting. I guess I am still thinking of the soapstone in school chem labs.  Didn't know that soapstone came with so much veining. Good luck. | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1662 Registered: 5-2001 |
Soapstone, from what I've read, has comparable durability to granite, but a softer, mellower look (IMHO). As it ages it gets a little darker. When it was first brought in it was slate gray, then they oiled it (with mineral oil) to seal it and it's now off black. You just rub mineral oil into it periodically, and you can sand away scratches, etc. In person, it looks beautiful (except for those damn seams). My kitchen kind of is my own chemistry lab! | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1686 Registered: 5-2001 |
Hey! I forgot to update you on the status of the girls' bath. I love it! How could I not, it's like my bathroom, only better. It's a mirror image of ours, but slightly larger. I went with the same tile and border treatment, but using gray grout. Their floor has no border like ours. You've all seen their counter, it's Stellar Snow and it looks amazing in the room, just very bright without being girly. I am keeping their walls and trim off-white, figuring it will give me a blank canvas to paint something fun somewhere along the line. Their vanity will be a color very similar to the kitchen cabinets, a shade darker than off white but still neutral, not too gray, tan or yellow. I'm sure it will look just gorgeoous with their silver lame shower curtain. The counter guy should be coming Monday (or so) to fix the edges and seams. I will oil it once a week to darken it, and then the seams should be less obvious anyway, but cleaning it up on their end will help. Cooking is a real pleasure in the space. Have I said that 100 times? Once I get all my drawers and pantry in place it will be the only room in the house that has a spot for everything—even the microwave should fit in the pantry! Whew. | ||
| amandacat Citizen Username: Amandacat Post Number: 690 Registered: 8-2001  |
Shh, would you mind posting a photo of the girl's bath? We're redoing our bath with white subway tiles and are thinking about going the grey grout route -- nothing I hate more than stained white grout! -- but would love to see what it looks like before making the committment. Thanks in advance!!! | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1718 Registered: 5-2001 |
Sure, will do! | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1735 Registered: 5-2001 |
Amandacat, sorry I haven't had a chance to take that pic yet. Will do soon. Plumbers came yesterday and today to hook up all the fixtures in the girls' bath and radiators in both. Looks good. The girls' bath is still being worked on so they haven't broken it in yet. The painting is almost done, cabinets and trim still need to go in, and the door needs to be adjusted. Our bath has been in use, but we're waiting on the cabinets. The vanity base is in, but no doors or storage towers. I have big storage bins of bathroom supplies in my bedroom, so to say I am anxious to empty them and clear out my room is an understatement. My light fixtures (for all but the girls' bath) should be in by the end of the week, beginning of next week. I still need to buy a fixture for above the girls' vanity, but will find something less expensive locally. Greg has been working on our kitchen cabinets too. I can't wait to get them in so I can organize—get the recycling & microwave out of the dining room, and misc. kitchen stuff out from wherever I found the space. I have tons of piles all over. It's driving me nuts. But at least I can cook and bathe. | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1737 Registered: 5-2001 |
Here is a shot of the girls' bath, specificallt the white subway tile with gray grout.  | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1738 Registered: 5-2001 |
Anyone ever order blinds from decoratetoday.com? I did, but they promptly sent us the wrong item. Well, it was the right blind, but missing the twill tapes. So, I called. They said they'd send the correct item out, and send someone to pick up the return. (If not, I get to keep it, which is great because the girls' bathroom window is the same size as ours, and I didn't order two because I wanted to make sure it would look good in the space.) Now here it is at least 6 weeks later and still we don't have the right blinds. A week or so ago I called again and the Customer Svc. guy said it would take 5-10 days to mae up the correct item (it somehow never made it past my initial phone call). I'm not too pleased about this, but it looks like I'll get 2 blinds for the price of one, and their prices are very good. | ||
| amandacat Citizen Username: Amandacat Post Number: 695 Registered: 8-2001 |
The grout (and everything else) looks great, Shh, thanks for posting the photos! | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1770 Registered: 5-2001 |
Thanks Amandacat. Still a way to go but we're getting there. The light fixtures were shipped out and should be in by Thursday! Yeah! Greg added a few more cabinet doors in the kitchen and they look great. | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1803 Registered: 5-2001 |
I will have to post some new pictures soon. Some of the upper cabinets have gone in, the ones that sit on the counter and go up to the ceiling. They are gorgeous, and they will hold everything. (They're huge!) We're waiting for the doors for the glass front cabinets which flank the sink, so that will hold more decorative glasswear (not that I have any, it all broke!) The girls' bathroom has progressed and is just about ready to use, we're just waiting for lighting and final cleanup. (The cabinetry is not done yet though,) My lighting from Schoolhouseelectric just came in today and it's beautiful. Hopefully the electricians will come soon so I don't have all this fragile stuff sitting in my living room. We're getting there. Oh, my bathroom blinds finally came in. They look perfect in our bathroom, and since no one came to pick up the wrong ones, they'll look just fine in the girls' bath. | ||
| bobk Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 6658 Registered: 5-2001 |
OK, I have a question. How did pewter and brushed chrome get so popular all of a sudden? We aren't immune, Mrs. K has purchased enough brushed chrome to start an electroplating business over the last year or so including faucets, bathroom light fixtures, cabinet hardware and lamps. Everytime we see brass (the previous favorite) our reaction is, "how 80s can you get". |
