Originally Posted by The Bad Guy (Post 9510586)

I have black quartz countertops and love them. My brother has granite and hates the staining and maintenance.

Originally Posted by mr. tegu (Post 9511048)

So what will happen to my granite if I don't care for it? What exactly am I supposed to be doing?

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud (Post 9510995)

... Anyway, they installed the cabinets and they looked great. Then came the time to install the pulls (handles). Well, the drunk guy did them and on every single cabinet and drawer, they were crooked! Every stinkin' one.


Good luck!

Originally Posted by Phobia (Post 9510939)

If I knew then what I know now, I'd have heated the **** bench too. I still love your bathroom. When you're old and start wintering in Florida, I want to house-sit for you. That's one helluva master suite.

Originally Posted by Iowanian (Post 9511121)

Interesting.
I threw up a flag a while back because I'm building a house and looking for counter tops, flooring, tile and a few other items/services and crickets.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with counter tops right now. It seems like place to trim now to something cheaper to keep the house in budget and then upgrade at a later date with what I really want...when I figure out what that is. If I had my way, I'd probably go with concrete counter tops with some in-set fossils.

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz (Post 9511062)

apply clear sealer on it every 6 months

Originally Posted by BWillie (Post 9511215)

Whoops...I haven't applied anything but polish to my shit and I've had it for 6 years. What about marble? I have a ton of italian marble tables and I don't want to get them worn down.

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud (Post 9510995)

Always get at least three bids when doing any renovations or home improvements. If there's a local granite supplier/installer, be sure to contact them as well.

Lowe's and Home Depot are great because of the insurance they carry. It's been pretty well documented over the years but I've done a ridiculous amount of renovations to my home over the past ten years. I had a bad situation with Lowe's but because of their insurance, it was resolved to my satisfaction.

In July 2003, we hired Lowe's to install our kitchen cabinets. We had torn out a wall in order to expand the kitchen by 12 feet and I basically designed the room myself. Lowe's came out, took measurements, then put them into their computer incorrectly and had to come out again. The cabinets were ordered (the same exact cabinets at a local business cost $5k more) and they sent our their installers.

I had several crews working that day and was managing everyone. One of the Lowe's guys smelled like he had been drinking, which wasn't good. Anyway, they installed the cabinets and they looked great. Then came the time to install the pulls (handles). Well, the drunk guy did them and on every single cabinet and drawer, they were crooked! Every stinkin' one. So I called Lowe's and they sent out their head contractor.

He checked everything out and agreed they were a mess. So, Lowe's ordered all new doors and drawer fronts, which took another month. So by October, my kitchen wasn't complete. Finally, the cabinet and drawer faces came in November and another crew was sent out in which they were "mostly" put on correctly. So more faces were ordered and I finally had the manager out to my home to check everything out. He agreed that the work was shoddy and offered to refund my entire installation fee, which was $2500 dollars. I agreed and we've had a fully intact kitchen since late December 2003.

I've had some absolutely terrible experiences with contractors, where they don't finish the job or do it so poorly that the work has had to be re-done. But thanks to Lowe's and their insurance, the job was finally done correctly.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 9510972)

Thanks; I'd like to throw some business your way, but A) I'm a few hours away and B) You seem to do higher end work than I care to worry about with this house. Sorry.