Picking out a Slab

We were introduced to Trevor of Centerline Stone Inc. for our countertop fabrication.  Trevor works very closely with Mario (our cabinet maker) so we don't even need to be the middle person between the two trades.  Trevor will know when our cabinets go in even before we do.  That is cool because it means one less thing to worry about.

We decided to go with Quartz for the counter against the wall and granite for the island.

Quartz in Nougat
Photo courtesy of houzz.com

Ice Brown Polished Granite
Photo courtesy of luxedistributors.com
I love the randomness of this pattern and the contrast of the dark brown against the cream.
It reminds me of coffee at the point when you add cream to it.  Perfect for the kitchen!

Trevor took us to the workshop in the back of the showroom to show us how they cut the granite and taught us how to test for the granite's quality.  If you run your fingernails over the granite and feel nothing but smoothness, then it is very good quality granite (grade A).  If you feel some roughness or nicks, then it is C or D grade quality.  Overtime, those little, minute nicks will become bigger and bigger which is not what you want.  It'll take some willpower for me to resist running my fingernails across any granite surfaces I may come in contact with!  :)

We were then sent off to pick out our slab for the island.  Because each quarry will produce very unique patterns of granite and colour, the same granite may look totally different if they were from two different quarries.  So we were instructed that if we see something we like, we need to tag it to place a hold on it because if it is sold out, we may never find one that looks exactly the same.  

In search of the perfect slab.
   

This one is called Alaskan White.  Love it!  Too bad it was sold out.

I love this Stratuario marble slab too but it is high maintenance.  You have to wipe up spills right away or else it would seep into the marble and would be impossible to get out.  I can't imagine what this slab would look like after a week with my three kids.  It certainly won't be white anymore!

Excuses, Excuses...

There must be a book out there called "101 Excuses for Contractors" because they seem to be using the same excuses for when they don't show up to work.  We've been lucky to have met and worked with some very trustworthy, hard working and honest people.  Two so far, have not been very pleasant to work with.  In particular, the drain and concrete guy caused us a 3-week delay.  When he did show up to do the work, he did a very good job so we continue to put up with him.  These are some of the excuses that he gave us:

1. My truck broke down.
2. I hit my hand with a hammer.
3. A family member is in the hospital.
4. I've got some personal problems that I have to deal with.
5. My wife wants to leave me.

I wanted to tell him that we want to leave you too but we just want you to finish the job!  In the end, when Scott called him to tell him that we were firing him, he asked for another chance.  We had given him another chance when he gave us Excuse #2, 3, and 4 and it was time we put our foot down and cut him off.  We have not seen him since that day.  I'm beginning to think that he really did have real personal problems because he never came back to get his wheelbarrow and shovels.

The second contractor with excuses is the masonary.  He doesn't actually do the work but contracts it out so we have to deal with him.  Most of the time, these guys will take many jobs at the time but they don't have the manpower to handle the many jobs so they have to juggle them all.  We are on a time crunch so when his masonaries don't show up, we got our project manager to call to find out why whey were not there.  These are some of his excuses:

1. I thought it was going to rain so I told the guys to stay home.
2. The guys had to go for safety training.
3. One of my guys had a doctor's appointment and they can't work without him.
4. Someone stole their hammer.
5. They went out for lunch and didn't come back.

We know that's a lie because his workers never go out for lunch.  They always bring their lunch and they've even made themselves a makeshift kitchen in our hallway.  Take a look for yourself:

A table and three chairs:

Again, these guys do very good work when they are here at the site so we put up with them.  We figured that we only have to deal with them for a short time longer and will not have to see them again.  It is too bad because we would never refer them to anyone and that is the best form of advertisement that he has lost.