First shopping for counter tops

Dee Randall said:

Today was my first day at truly looking at the differences between counter
top materials and prices thereof. Whoa!

I did find out at Lowe's that one orders from them, you (yourself) have to
measure it, you (yourself) have to do all the removal and whatever prepping,
and then the person you buy it from (Dupont probably) provides the
installer. (I guess these measurements had better be correct, because they
are all cut previous to your specs before they get there.)

This is news to me. Our Lowe's has installation available, and it includes measuring to
make sure it fits. Better ask again, you might have talked with an ill informed employee.

Quoted message said:

When you see the prices of these 4 major groups of materials, you think,
well that is the price of that; I can choose between $26 per sq. ft., for
laminate, $39 for corian, $56 for Zodiaq -- but NOO!, you go over to the
little pieces to see all the different choices of color and that $56 can run
up $70+ depending on what color you want! Good Grief!!!

Wait until you go to a store that sells counters, all sorts of counters: stone, corian,
tile, Silestone (or Zodiac - they're both engineered granite), marble, granite, concrete,
formica, etc. Way too many choices. Like you said, different selections are considered
premium, for which you pay extra. Oh, and how do you want the edges finished? Square,
beveled, rounded, half-round, etc.

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking that one would not want to install a kitchen counter top and
then decide to buy a slide-in stove -- wouldn't that just mess up your new
counter top big-time! How could you ever get a good fit if you bought and
installed a new stove 'after' you bought your new counter top? I'm thinking
perhaps a private company closeby in your home town might be worth the
price - that is, after you get an idea of your base costs.

I think you need to decide first if you will have a slide in stove or a drop in cook top.
It makes a difference in how the counter is completed.

Quoted message said:

Do people buy stoves (slide in) or cook tops usually in conjunction with
getting new counter tops?

We did, but we were remodeling the entire kitchen. Gutted it and started over.

Quoted message said:

BTW -- I like the looks of one of the Zodiaq darks, but I also like a light
pebble textured corian.

We went with Silestone, can't recall the color, but it's more durable than Corian
(according to the propaganda) and less maintenance than granite (again, according to the
propaganda). We love it.

Quoted message said:

I don't know if there is a program online to calculate costs for measured
counter tops materials and showing them using certain colors. That would be
nice -- I think I'll have to look around. I hate these stick-figured type
of things I've seen Lowes use. I'm not too good with Paint Shop Pro.

Do a search on kitchen remodels. You will find tons of info, and, if you edit out the
obvious hype, you can get lots valuable suggestions. And lots of good ideas as well.

Quoted message said:

Thanks for listening, and welcoming any advice when anyone has time.

Don't rush into anything. Take your time and be 100% certain before you make a decision.
Everyone wants you to choose right now, but you don't need pressure like that. You want
to feel confident with your decision, and until you do, don't let anyone push you to
select anything.

Talk with others that have the same product you are considering and listen as much to what
they don't tell you as to what they do say. Ask about those omissions. Oh yes, how was
installation? Did it go as you planned? Was everything done on time? To you satisfaction?
The first time? etc.

Nobody wants to admit they made mistakes, so sometimes they will try to foist it off on
the contractor, the installer, etc. Listen to the types of things they are blaming on
someone else, if it's normally a decision you'd make, it was probably their mistake.

Good luck!

Our remodel pics here: http://mysite.verizon.net/res008oe/kitchenremodel2005/

--
Rick R
[email hidden]
replace default with com to email

Dee Randall said:

I did find out at Lowe's that one orders from them, you (yourself) have to
measure it, you (yourself) have to do all the removal and whatever prepping,
and then the person you buy it from (Dupont probably) provides the
installer. (I guess these measurements had better be correct, because they
are all cut previous to your specs before they get there.)

Yes, it can be an expensive mistake, so I'd advise going with a company
that measures and installs and guarantees the fit. We shopped around
and decided on Silestone (quartz) and bought it when Home Depot/Expo
Design Center put it on sale for about $35/sf measured and
installed...this was 2 years ago. We had to pay a non-refundable
deposit that covered the cost of the measuring, and it was applied to
the cost of the countertop. When they came to measure, it took about 3
hours with all the precision equipment/cameras they used. And yes, the
"installation" was simply them delivering and dropping the countertops
in place. We were responsible for removing old countertop, removing
cooktop and sink and hooking them up again ourselves (luckily, I'm
married to a handy guy).

I do like the look and feel of the Silestone a lot, it requires zero
maintenance, and because it's engineered quartz, it comes with a 10
year warranty, which you don't get with granite. Ask around for when
sale time will be coming up.

Lastly, I'd certainly recommend that you pick out and have delivered
whatever appliances you intend on replacing before you finish off the
kitchen with new countertop. I have wall ovens so that wasn't an
issue, but I did put in a new gas cooktop before we proceeded with the
countertop, and I'm glad we did.

Sandy

Quoted message said:

Today was my first day at truly looking at the differences between counter
top materials and prices thereof. Whoa!

I did find out at Lowe's that one orders from them, you (yourself) have to
measure it, you (yourself) have to do all the removal and whatever

prepping,

Quoted message said:

and then the person you buy it from (Dupont probably) provides the
installer. (I guess these measurements had better be correct, because

they

Quoted message said:

are all cut previous to your specs before they get there.)

When you see the prices of these 4 major groups of materials, you think,
well that is the price of that; I can choose between $26 per sq. ft., for
laminate, $39 for corian, $56 for Zodiaq -- but NOO!, you go over to the
little pieces to see all the different choices of color and that $56 can

run

Quoted message said:

up $70+ depending on what color you want! Good Grief!!!

I'm thinking that one would not want to install a kitchen counter top and
then decide to buy a slide-in stove -- wouldn't that just mess up your new
counter top big-time! How could you ever get a good fit if you bought and
installed a new stove 'after' you bought your new counter top? I'm

thinking

Quoted message said:

perhaps a private company closeby in your home town might be worth the
price - that is, after you get an idea of your base costs.

Do people buy stoves (slide in) or cook tops usually in conjunction with
getting new counter tops?
BTW -- I like the looks of one of the Zodiaq darks, but I also like a

light

Quoted message said:

pebble textured corian.

I don't know if there is a program online to calculate costs for measured
counter tops materials and showing them using certain colors. That would

be

Quoted message said:

nice -- I think I'll have to look around. I hate these stick-figured type
of things I've seen Lowes use. I'm not too good with Paint Shop Pro.

Thanks for listening, and welcoming any advice when anyone has time.
Dee Dee

I will watch your progress with great interest, as we will probably be doing
this in the next 6 months or so. But I think we will be going the
independent rout rather than the HD Lowes approach. We have a few friends
that have had such work done by Lowes, and although the projects turned out
okay in the end, there was a lot of fussing to get satisfaction. One friend
spent over $9,000 for granite tops (beautiful by the way) but the installer,
who worked for the stone company told them they could have probably saved
$1000 if they had bought directly from them. (they import the stone, cut to
size and install)

Good luck

Larry T

"RoR" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 00:29:06 -0500, "Dee Randall"

Quoted message said:

Today was my first day at truly looking at the differences between counter
top materials and prices thereof. Whoa!

I did find out at Lowe's that one orders from them, you (yourself) have to
measure it, you (yourself) have to do all the removal and whatever
prepping,
and then the person you buy it from (Dupont probably) provides the
installer. (I guess these measurements had better be correct, because
they
are all cut previous to your specs before they get there.)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

When you see the prices of these 4 major groups of materials, you think,
well that is the price of that; I can choose between $26 per sq. ft., for
laminate, $39 for corian, $56 for Zodiaq -- but NOO!, you go over to the
little pieces to see all the different choices of color and that $56 can
run
up $70+ depending on what color you want! Good Grief!!!

Wait until you go to a store that sells counters, all sorts of counters:
stone, corian,
tile, Silestone (or Zodiac - they're both engineered granite), marble,
granite, concrete,
formica, etc. Way too many choices. Like you said, different selections
are considered
premium, for which you pay extra. Oh, and how do you want the edges
finished? Square,
beveled, rounded, half-round, etc.

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking that one would not want to install a kitchen counter top and
then decide to buy a slide-in stove -- wouldn't that just mess up your new
counter top big-time! How could you ever get a good fit if you bought and
installed a new stove 'after' you bought your new counter top? I'm
thinking
perhaps a private company closeby in your home town might be worth the
price - that is, after you get an idea of your base costs.

I think you need to decide first if you will have a slide in stove or a
drop in cook top.
It makes a difference in how the counter is completed.

Quoted message said:

Do people buy stoves (slide in) or cook tops usually in conjunction with
getting new counter tops?

We did, but we were remodeling the entire kitchen. Gutted it and started
over.

Quoted message said:

BTW -- I like the looks of one of the Zodiaq darks, but I also like a
light
pebble textured corian.

We went with Silestone, can't recall the color, but it's more durable than
Corian
(according to the propaganda) and less maintenance than granite (again,
according to the
propaganda). We love it.

Quoted message said:

I don't know if there is a program online to calculate costs for measured
counter tops materials and showing them using certain colors. That would
be
nice -- I think I'll have to look around. I hate these stick-figured type
of things I've seen Lowes use. I'm not too good with Paint Shop Pro.

Do a search on kitchen remodels. You will find tons of info, and, if you
edit out the
obvious hype, you can get lots valuable suggestions. And lots of good
ideas as well.

Quoted message said:

Thanks for listening, and welcoming any advice when anyone has time.

Don't rush into anything. Take your time and be 100% certain before you
make a decision.
Everyone wants you to choose right now, but you don't need pressure like
that. You want
to feel confident with your decision, and until you do, don't let anyone
push you to
select anything.

Talk with others that have the same product you are considering and listen
as much to what
they don't tell you as to what they do say. Ask about those omissions.
Oh yes, how was
installation? Did it go as you planned? Was everything done on time? To
you satisfaction?
The first time? etc.

Nobody wants to admit they made mistakes, so sometimes they will try to
foist it off on
the contractor, the installer, etc. Listen to the types of things they
are blaming on
someone else, if it's normally a decision you'd make, it was probably
their mistake.

Good luck!

Our remodel pics here:
http://mysite.verizon.net/res008oe/kitchenremodel2005/
Rick R
[email hidden]
replace default with com to email

Re your:

Quoted message said:

This is news to me. Our Lowe's has installation available, and it
includes measuring to
make sure it fits. Better ask again, you might have talked with an ill
informed employee.

DH said I got my information messed up a little: DH said we measure to take
to Lowe's for a preliminary cost idea, then Lowe's sends out the measuring
person. Then Lowe's passes this measuring information on to say, Dupont, and
then that's the end of Lowe's involvement; that Dupont is in charge of the
installation.

***
Thanks for your pictures. I see you know of what you talk.
Your advice made me settle down a little. You are definitely right. The
lady yesterday got me all fired up because she said they were offering the
free sink until 30 March. I liked the Corian sink -- DH said that is
something we'd have to investigate. But she smiled at me when we left and
said, 'you know, we don't know what offerings we'll have starting April 1,
there are always new offerings."

Now that I am faintly recalling seeing many kitchen stores (as well as
appliance stores) in the New Haven area where I'll be in April that will be
a good way to spend the 'time on my hands' when we visit FIL, and view these
products of which you speak, and to ask questions, questions, questions.

Our kitchen was completely remodeled in 1988, but I guess I really use-up a
kitchen. The counters and flooring is old beyond their years. I still like
the pull out cabinet drawers and doors like you have installed and have them
myself; my cabinets still look good inside and out (to me). I have a
built-in Sub-zero refrigerator that works (fingers crossed), so not a
full-gut-out like your project. The flooring really has to be done.
Slippery flooring is an issue. And I've already pretty well settled on a
vent hood.
So: mine is stove decision, counter top, vent hood, flooring, and probably
sink.

Thanks for the information that I can find a lot on internet -- I'll set my
mind to that. Thanks for including your project pictures. (DH tore out
cabinets himself in our last home - he had never done anything like that
before -- did a darned good job. We were selling the house and he didn't
want to spend the money -- funny, I didn't like the cabinets, but the buyer
loved them.)

Much appreciation,
DeeDee

Dee Randall said:

Today was my first day at truly looking at the differences between counter
top materials and prices thereof. Whoa!

Are you going to tear out/install yourself? My contractor is doing all
that measuring and ordering stuff.

My slide-in (free-standing) stove doesn't have anything to do with my
countertops in terms of installation. I like free-standing because of
the storage drawer on the bottom.

Better Homes & Gardens supposedly has a "color me" service at
www.bhg.coloraroom.

I haven't tried it yet, because I pretty much know the colors I want.

N.

"LT" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Thanks for listening, and welcoming any advice when anyone has time.
Dee Dee

I will watch your progress with great interest, as we will probably be
doing
this in the next 6 months or so. But I think we will be going the
independent rout rather than the HD Lowes approach. We have a few friends
that have had such work done by Lowes, and although the projects turned
out
okay in the end, there was a lot of fussing to get satisfaction. One
friend
spent over $9,000 for granite tops (beautiful by the way) but the
installer,
who worked for the stone company told them they could have probably saved
$1000 if they had bought directly from them. (they import the stone, cut
to
size and install)

Good luck

Larry T

Yes, Larry, every middle man adds a little something. When we had our hot
water heater recently installed by a person who subcontracted from HD, he
gave us a few names of workers that did projects; they did the ordering
themselves, so, in essence HD would be cut out, but who knows how much the
new person would take up the slack in dollars. You just have to get
estimates from both to know the real story.

The problem is how do you find these installers/buyers 'beforehand."
Thanks for answering.

I can get it for you wholesale!
Dee Dee

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall said:

I did find out at Lowe's that one orders from them, you (yourself) have
to
measure it, you (yourself) have to do all the removal and whatever
prepping,
and then the person you buy it from (Dupont probably) provides the
installer. (I guess these measurements had better be correct, because
they
are all cut previous to your specs before they get there.)

Yes, it can be an expensive mistake, so I'd advise going with a company
that measures and installs and guarantees the fit. We shopped around
and decided on Silestone (quartz) and bought it when Home Depot/Expo
Design Center put it on sale for about $35/sf measured and
installed...this was 2 years ago. We had to pay a non-refundable
deposit that covered the cost of the measuring, and it was applied to
the cost of the countertop. When they came to measure, it took about 3
hours with all the precision equipment/cameras they used. And yes, the
"installation" was simply them delivering and dropping the countertops
in place. We were responsible for removing old countertop, removing
cooktop and sink and hooking them up again ourselves (luckily, I'm
married to a handy guy).

Thanks for your helpful information. Yes, we should all be so lucky to find
a 'handy' guy. Some are handier than others :-)))

From just the tips I have got here, I think you are definitely right that
one should go with a company that measures and installs and guarantees the
fit. It sounds to me that HD did that all for you and guaranteed it,
correct? Maybe it is just Lowes that gets the the producer to do the
installation. I will definitely check out HD, too, as well as other places.

When we talked to the sales person at Lowe's she said regarding the prices
for the product, that I could just basically double that again for the price
of installation; i.e., $50 for the price of the product and another $50 for
the installation by the company for that product. What you are saying is
that you got one heck-uva good deal (stunning, in fact!) by knowing your
product and waiting for the deal. I know I'll be doing that now. It's easy
to get caught up in the heat-of-the-moment when first looking at products
and talking with a nice salesperson.

Yeah, it's gonna be hard to buy another stove -- when one is working -- even
though it's not an up-to-date one that I want.
DH is on one side of spending; I'm on the other. (We rarely meet -- tee
hee - except when it's a good sale).
Thanks again,
Dee

Dee Randall said:

Today was my first day at truly looking at the differences between counter
top materials and prices thereof. Whoa!

I did find out at Lowe's that one orders from them, you (yourself) have to
measure it, you (yourself) have to do all the removal and whatever prepping,
and then the person you buy it from (Dupont probably) provides the
installer. (I guess these measurements had better be correct, because they
are all cut previous to your specs before they get there.)

I haven't used Lowes but I have purchased 'replacement' laminate
counters from Home Despot; was like eight years ago. You could either
measure yourself or for a $25 refundable fee (if you make the purchase)
they will send out and installer who will measure and make up
computerized color images of whatever work you want done so you cna
have a visual of how your kitchen will look, they will install and
guarantee fit. I would strongly recommend you pay the Estimate fee., a
very small amount relative to the price of a countertop. But, if you
are planning on more than replacing existing contertops and/or wanting
some sort of expensive custom material, then I would say to go to a
custom kitchen emporium.

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking that one would not want to install a kitchen counter top and
then decide to buy a slide-in stove -- wouldn't that just mess up your new
counter top big-time! How could you ever get a good fit if you bought and
installed a new stove 'after' you bought your new counter top? I'm thinking
perhaps a private company closeby in your home town might be worth the
price - that is, after you get an idea of your base costs.
Do people buy stoves (slide in) or cook tops usually in conjunction with
getting new counter tops?

You need to know the style of stove prior to ordering a new countertop,
but which brand in most all cases is of no consequence, their
dimensions are configured to an industry standard. But any experienced
installer will insist on doing their own measuring... houses are not
perfect, just too many things that can be out of whack... even tape
measures vary from each other, sometimes significantly.

Again, it is usually worth it to obtain your kitchen remodel, even if
just contertops, from a business that specializes in custom kitchens,
one that manufactures what they sell. There really is no bargain price
from buying at the big box stores, their prices are the same as from a
custom place because they need to order from some distant factory so
they are just a middleman. And if the item doesn't fit just right they
will do it over, but you need to wait, sometimes months. That's why I
only ordered countertops from Home Despot once, I waited through two do
overs... first time they were a foot too short, second time it was the
wrong color laminate, the third time it was perfect, and the installer
did a very nice job. But it wasn't worth the waiting and aggravation.

Sheldon

"Nancy1" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall said:

Today was my first day at truly looking at the differences between
counter
top materials and prices thereof. Whoa!

Are you going to tear out/install yourself? My contractor is doing all
that measuring and ordering stuff.

My slide-in (free-standing) stove doesn't have anything to do with my
countertops in terms of installation. I like free-standing because of
the storage drawer on the bottom.

Better Homes & Gardens supposedly has a "color me" service at
www.bhg.coloraroom.

I haven't tried it yet, because I pretty much know the colors I want.

N.

Thanks, Nancy, I registered to use it, but it keeps shutting me down when I
choose a room. I'll try it later.

I'm pretty sure that they way my counters have been built fitting a 'slide
in' (not a free standing), that I don't believe I have much choice in the
matter unless I wish to get involved in carpentry work. That is an absolute
no-no for me. My cabinetry is too sacred to me. Better to chose a slide-in
vs. a free-standing.

I think now that the slide-in's now have even perhaps the bottom drawer
and/or a warming oven in place of the kick-piece that mine does. Seems like
it's a waste of space, otherwise.

I don't think there will be much do-it-yourself here except the tearing off
the formica and the wood surrounding the formica. But I'm thinking perhaps
it might be wise to have someone even do this if there's a possibility of
destruction to the tile backing up to the formica. That will have to be
decided, I guess. I hadn't thought about the nice tile backing up to the
formica -- oh my! Another thing to think about -- tee hee! Thanks for
making me get my thinking cap on!
Dee Dee

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I will watch your progress with great interest, as we will probably be
doing
this in the next 6 months or so. But I think we will be going the
independent rout rather than the HD Lowes approach. We have a few

friends

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

that have had such work done by Lowes, and although the projects turned
out
okay in the end, there was a lot of fussing to get satisfaction. One
friend
spent over $9,000 for granite tops (beautiful by the way) but the
installer,
who worked for the stone company told them they could have probably

saved

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

$1000 if they had bought directly from them. (they import the stone, cut
to
size and install)

Good luck

Larry T

Yes, Larry, every middle man adds a little something. When we had our hot
water heater recently installed by a person who subcontracted from HD, he
gave us a few names of workers that did projects; they did the ordering
themselves, so, in essence HD would be cut out, but who knows how much

the

Quoted message said:

new person would take up the slack in dollars. You just have to get
estimates from both to know the real story.

The problem is how do you find these installers/buyers 'beforehand."
Thanks for answering.

I can get it for you wholesale!
Dee Dee

Here's another idea, Depending where you live, a lot of the larger cities
(Dallas/Ft Worth in my case) have a Sears division called "Great Indoors"
(my son-in-law worked for them for a few years) They do all sorts of
interior remodeling and have on staff designers. They assign a "project
manager" to oversee from start to finish.

Just another option.

Larry T

Dee Randall said:

"Nancy1" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall said:

Today was my first day at truly looking at the differences between
counter
top materials and prices thereof. Whoa!

Are you going to tear out/install yourself? My contractor is doing all
that measuring and ordering stuff.

My slide-in (free-standing) stove doesn't have anything to do with my
countertops in terms of installation. I like free-standing because of
the storage drawer on the bottom.

Better Homes & Gardens supposedly has a "color me" service at
www.bhg.coloraroom.

I haven't tried it yet, because I pretty much know the colors I want.

N.

Thanks, Nancy, I registered to use it, but it keeps shutting me down when I
choose a room. I'll try it later.

I'm pretty sure that they way my counters have been built fitting a 'slide
in' (not a free standing), that I don't believe I have much choice in the
matter unless I wish to get involved in carpentry work. That is an absolute
no-no for me. My cabinetry is too sacred to me. Better to chose a slide-in
vs. a free-standing.

I think now that the slide-in's now have even perhaps the bottom drawer
and/or a warming oven in place of the kick-piece that mine does. Seems like
it's a waste of space, otherwise.

I don't think there will be much do-it-yourself here except the tearing off
the formica and the wood surrounding the formica. But I'm thinking perhaps
it might be wise to have someone even do this if there's a possibility of
destruction to the tile backing up to the formica. That will have to be
decided, I guess. I hadn't thought about the nice tile backing up to the
formica -- oh my! Another thing to think about -- tee hee! Thanks for
making me get my thinking cap on!
Dee Dee

I'm using the terms slide-in and free-standing as the same thing. My
bottom drawer goes almost to the floor with just a narrow toe-kick - no
other toe-kick required.

The current mode around here (midwest US) is not to have anything extra
for the backsplash area (and area behind stove) - but just paint with
semi-gloss or glossy paint.

After my over-the-stove microwave goes in, and I pick my stove with a
back bar with the controls on it, there is precious little space left
for any wayward splashes - I'm going with the paint idea. And the
counter top backsplash is perfectly adequate for around the rest of the
counters.

Right now I have tile all around the entire L of the counters - but
that's coming off, not to be replaced anywhere. Above the sink, the
backsplash that's part of the counter meets the bottom of the window
sill.

N.

Dee Randall said:

DH said I got my information messed up a little: DH said we measure to take
to Lowe's for a preliminary cost idea, then Lowe's sends out the measuring
person. Then Lowe's passes this measuring information on to say, Dupont, and
then that's the end of Lowe's involvement; that Dupont is in charge of the
installation.

One more thing. If you can, find out who supplies Lowe's in your area. We went directly
to the supplier of Lowe's and had them do the counter work. Better price and they had
more colors to choose from. Their contract with Lowe's includes most, but not all of
their offerings.

We actually picked a color Lowe's had, but we got our counter direct from the local
Silestone supplier. I found ours by going to the Silestone site and used their locator
button to find the local supplier. Lowe's gets their material and installation from them,
but adds a mark-up as well. I would guess Dupont does the same thing.

You might find other sellers of Dupont, or whatever you choose, to be more competitive
than Lowe's.

Thanks for the nice comments on our remodel, I hope yours goes smoothly. Be thankful you
aren't gutting it all, it was a real hassle.

--
Rick R
[email hidden]
replace default with com to email

"RoR" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 10:06:50 -0500, "Dee Randall"

Quoted message said:

DH said I got my information messed up a little: DH said we measure to
take
to Lowe's for a preliminary cost idea, then Lowe's sends out the measuring
person. Then Lowe's passes this measuring information on to say, Dupont,
and
then that's the end of Lowe's involvement; that Dupont is in charge of the
installation.

One more thing. If you can, find out who supplies Lowe's in your area.
We went directly
to the supplier of Lowe's and had them do the counter work. Better price
and they had
more colors to choose from. Their contract with Lowe's includes most, but
not all of
their offerings.

We actually picked a color Lowe's had, but we got our counter direct from
the local
Silestone supplier. I found ours by going to the Silestone site and used
their locator
button to find the local supplier. Lowe's gets their material and
installation from them,
but adds a mark-up as well. I would guess Dupont does the same thing.

You might find other sellers of Dupont, or whatever you choose, to be more
competitive
than Lowe's.

Thanks for the nice comments on our remodel, I hope yours goes smoothly.
Be thankful you
aren't gutting it all, it was a real hassle.

Quoted message said:

Rick R
[email hidden]
replace default with com to email

Darned good advice, DH says; this is important information to novices like
us. I'm saving your information in my file.
Thanks for the name "Silestone" that's not one I heard of yesterday. I'll
be looking into that.
Gutting -- you need to have a lot of gumption to do that; I'd almost (well,
almost) rather buy a new house -- tee hee!
Dee Dee

"LT" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I will watch your progress with great interest, as we will probably be
doing
this in the next 6 months or so. But I think we will be going the
independent rout rather than the HD Lowes approach. We have a few

friends

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that have had such work done by Lowes, and although the projects turned
out
okay in the end, there was a lot of fussing to get satisfaction. One
friend
spent over $9,000 for granite tops (beautiful by the way) but the
installer,
who worked for the stone company told them they could have probably

saved

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$1000 if they had bought directly from them. (they import the stone,
cut
to
size and install)

Good luck

Larry T

Yes, Larry, every middle man adds a little something. When we had our hot
water heater recently installed by a person who subcontracted from HD, he
gave us a few names of workers that did projects; they did the ordering
themselves, so, in essence HD would be cut out, but who knows how much

the

Quoted message said:

new person would take up the slack in dollars. You just have to get
estimates from both to know the real story.

The problem is how do you find these installers/buyers 'beforehand."
Thanks for answering.

I can get it for you wholesale!
Dee Dee

Here's another idea, Depending where you live, a lot of the larger cities
(Dallas/Ft Worth in my case) have a Sears division called "Great Indoors"
(my son-in-law worked for them for a few years) They do all sorts of
interior remodeling and have on staff designers. They assign a "project
manager" to oversee from start to finish.

Just another option.

Larry T

Larry, they may have this at our Winchester store. I think I used them many
years ago for a whole house full of those pleated window blinds. Thanks for
the reminder.
Dee Dee

"Nancy1" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall said:

"Nancy1" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall wrote:
> Today was my first day at truly looking at the differences between
> counter
> top materials and prices thereof. Whoa!

Are you going to tear out/install yourself? My contractor is doing all
that measuring and ordering stuff.

My slide-in (free-standing) stove doesn't have anything to do with my
countertops in terms of installation. I like free-standing because of
the storage drawer on the bottom.

Better Homes & Gardens supposedly has a "color me" service at
www.bhg.coloraroom.

I haven't tried it yet, because I pretty much know the colors I want.

N.

Thanks, Nancy, I registered to use it, but it keeps shutting me down when
I
choose a room. I'll try it later.

I'm pretty sure that they way my counters have been built fitting a
'slide
in' (not a free standing), that I don't believe I have much choice in the
matter unless I wish to get involved in carpentry work. That is an
absolute
no-no for me. My cabinetry is too sacred to me. Better to chose a
slide-in
vs. a free-standing.

I think now that the slide-in's now have even perhaps the bottom drawer
and/or a warming oven in place of the kick-piece that mine does. Seems
like
it's a waste of space, otherwise.

I don't think there will be much do-it-yourself here except the tearing
off
the formica and the wood surrounding the formica. But I'm thinking
perhaps
it might be wise to have someone even do this if there's a possibility of
destruction to the tile backing up to the formica. That will have to be
decided, I guess. I hadn't thought about the nice tile backing up to the
formica -- oh my! Another thing to think about -- tee hee! Thanks for
making me get my thinking cap on!
Dee Dee

I'm using the terms slide-in and free-standing as the same thing. My
bottom drawer goes almost to the floor with just a narrow toe-kick - no
other toe-kick required.

The current mode around here (midwest US) is not to have anything extra
for the backsplash area (and area behind stove) - but just paint with
semi-gloss or glossy paint.

After my over-the-stove microwave goes in, and I pick my stove with a
back bar with the controls on it, there is precious little space left
for any wayward splashes - I'm going with the paint idea. And the
counter top backsplash is perfectly adequate for around the rest of the
counters.

Right now I have tile all around the entire L of the counters - but
that's coming off, not to be replaced anywhere. Above the sink, the
backsplash that's part of the counter meets the bottom of the window
sill.

N.

I hope I can afford tile -- or, I should say, the installation of the tile.
Tile is so nice for swiping clean. DH and I are really sloppy cooks. The
back of the stove sometimes will be splattered; he's incorrigible -- I'm
not!
Thanks for your information, N.
Appreciated,
Dee Dee

Dee Randall said:

I hope I can afford tile -- or, I should say, the installation of the tile.
Tile is so nice for swiping clean. DH and I are really sloppy cooks. The
back of the stove sometimes will be splattered; he's incorrigible -- I'm
not!

I hate tile. It is hard enough to make a slipped dish shatter. Will the
grout stay nice looking when you slop a little tomato sauce on it? It
just would be my last choice in a counter.
Goomba

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From just the tips I have got here, I think you are definitely right that

one should go with a company that measures and installs and guarantees
the
fit. It sounds to me that HD did that all for you and guaranteed it,
correct?

HD/Expo Design took the order and scheduled the installers to come out
and measure. The installers were subcontracted by HD and only worked
with Silestone. They took exactly the amount of time they claimed it
would take, which was measuring within 2 weeks, and installation within
another 2 weeks. The sale price we got was for only a few new colors
they were promoting, and luckily one was exactly the color we would
have picked even if it wasn't within the sales selection. It was a
very good deal, and there was no hassle at all regarding delays or poor
installation. Again, maybe I'm one of the lucky few. Definately take
the time to shop around and check all of the kitchen design stores in
your area for upcoming sales. I have quite a lot of countertop square
footage, and doubling the cost would have put Silestone out of our
price range.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>From just the tips I have got here, I think you are definitely right
>that

one should go with a company that measures and installs and guarantees
the
fit. It sounds to me that HD did that all for you and guaranteed it,
correct?

HD/Expo Design took the order and scheduled the installers to come out
and measure. The installers were subcontracted by HD and only worked
with Silestone. They took exactly the amount of time they claimed it
would take, which was measuring within 2 weeks, and installation within
another 2 weeks. The sale price we got was for only a few new colors
they were promoting, and luckily one was exactly the color we would
have picked even if it wasn't within the sales selection. It was a
very good deal, and there was no hassle at all regarding delays or poor
installation. Again, maybe I'm one of the lucky few. Definately take
the time to shop around and check all of the kitchen design stores in
your area for upcoming sales. I have quite a lot of countertop square
footage, and doubling the cost would have put Silestone out of our
price range.

Since HD did such a poor job of scheduling, replacing, scheduling,
replacing, scheduling our hot water heaters, sounds like your testimonial is
too good to overlook.

Any amount of countertop when replacing is a lot of countertop -- :-))))
Filed and saved!/saved and filed
Dee Dee

"Goomba38" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall said:

I hope I can afford tile -- or, I should say, the installation of the
tile. Tile is so nice for swiping clean. DH and I are really sloppy
cooks. The back of the stove sometimes will be splattered; he's
incorrigible -- I'm not!

I hate tile. It is hard enough to make a slipped dish shatter. Will the
grout stay nice looking when you slop a little tomato sauce on it? It just
would be my last choice in a counter.
Goomba

My last choice for a counter-top would be tile, also. I had a counter top
made of tile in a house we owned for about 8 years. The grout was not fun
to keep bleached and cleaned -- at the time I worked and still bleached
those tiles -- how did I ever do it -- or why? is the big question.
The tile I have is on the walls behind the counters. So far the grouting
on the walls' tiles have not been a problem as far as cleaning up the
splatters; whatever grout they used is very good.
Dee Dee