Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Kitchen and Bath Update - Sneak Peeks

So it's taking everything in me NOT to post all of the progress pics.  Granite got installed yesterday, and it's so freaking gorgeous.  OMG, y'all.  You're gonna flip when you see it.  The tile is being installed today, and already from the progress pics Husband has been texting me, it's going to be amazing.  It's already just spectacularly gorgeous.  But I'm fighting it!!  I'm not going to post pics until it's totally done.  So, instead, I will tell you the dramas of the granite, and show you what we've purchased, and show you teeeny sneak peeks.

Dramas

So, as you probably remember from my previous post on what the kitchen would look like, that we were supposed to get this sink:

Me and Husband both loved it.  It was awesome double-fold, because in addition to being very aesthetically pleasing because it wasn't the generic rectangular sink, it was deep on the large size and shallower on the small side, making it easy to thaw hamburger or soak something if necessary without filling up an entire ginormous sink basin.  We were both psyched.  We confirmed twice the model number of the sink we wanted, plus pointed it out in a brochure, and nodded enthusiastically when the lady writing everything down said, "Oh yes!  That's a nice popular one."  Yes, it would be perfect.

Imagine Husband's surprise when the granite guys were laying it out, and there was a big rectangular hole. 

After my initial hissyfit, I realized that there was little-to-no chance of having it fixed with any expediency considering it took three weeks just to get them to cut the granite the first time.  So despite being super bummed about it, I put my big-girl pants on and told myself that hey!  It's granite!  Granite is pretty.  Plus the sink itself is larger than the one we ordered, and deeper, so I was focusing on the bonuses in the situation.

Except when I got home and saw the sink installed (Husband had not seen it yet), I kind of blanched again.  Because the sink wasn't the right size.  So, not only did they not cut the granite for the sink we ordered, they also didn't bring the sink we ordered, and they didn't bring the same size sink as the hole they cut for the granite.  What?  Really? So now the granite sticks out over the sink in a very noticeable way.  Fail.  (Husband called the guys today and they are "investigating if it will be easier to bring out the sink that fits, or cut the granite to fit".  The problem is, the hole they cut only fits one sink, and that sink is three inches shallower than the original sink we ordered.  Why would I want a six-inch-deep sink?  No.  So, there's going to be problems if they bring out the short sink.  I'm recommending for all vital body parts to remain intact, that they cut the granite to fit the bigger sink they brought us that I didn't really want anyway, but want more than the little sink they will probably try to bring out.  (Insert me turning off my rant button now.)

Drama two was smaller, but as I went around inspecting the awesomeness of the new granite, I was polishing the fingerprints and dust off the granite that the granite guys didn't bother to clean off before they left.  So as I was polishing the powder room granite, I noticed an area that didn't want to rub off.  As I got closer, I noticed that the granite in one spot had a very noticeable gash in it.  The overhead light hit right on that spot in a very visible way.  Great.  (Thankfully, the guy came out and said all it needed was to be filled with some epoxy and buffed out.  Win.)

New Purchases

1) So for the few of you who have already been privy to our home, you will remember that the downstairs toilet was....less than new, less than stellar, less than in optimum working condition.  The toilet itself was like a dingy off-white, the entire interior of the bowl was stained permanent orange despite the amount of cleaning products used (giving the impression that we just never bothered to clean our toilet), and there were myriad other cosmetic issues.  Topping this off was Husband's sudden discovery that some valve thingie or seal thingie (official terms!) was broken, meaning we couldn't regularly flush the toilet - we had to flush it, let the basin fill up, then turn the water off to the toilet...or else it would leak.  I'd already resigned to purchasing another toilet, but since we'd have to be removing the toilet anyway for the tile to get put down, it was time for the purchase of a new one.  Thankfully toilet prices have dropped in recent years and high water efficiency is in (thank you, tree huggers!).  So we got a dual-flush high efficiency toilet, in white, elongated tub, comfort height (which means it's higher than a regular toilet)...for $100.  What? Yes.  I tried to convince Husband to purchase a second one for the upstairs (it needs it too) but I got vetoed at the moment, considering there's nothing wrong with the upstairs toilet except the toilet seat doesn't want to stay on and it also is afflicted with rust stains.  Hopefully some Rust-Away or whatever should do the trick. Hopefully.


2)  Considering we just got two new sinks and we bought Moen shower fixtures in brushed nickel, we needed to purchase matching fixtures for the dual sink vanities that just got installed.  Y'all, why do they supremely overprice these things?  There are basic bathroom faucets for upwards of $300.  ITS ONLY JOB IS TO PUT WATER ON YOUR HANDS.  WTF.  I'm used to faucets being like, $40.  But after the initial rebellion against purchasing anything over $50 and realizing I couldn't find anything cheaper online, we just sucked it up and purchased some (gorgeous, IMO) matching Price Pfister faucets:
Price Pfister Pasadena, $79 at Home Depot

3)  I purchased a kitchen sink online.  Again with the super-overpriced.  This one, at least, I understood.  I needed a single-hole faucet that also had the pull-out sprayer and was a good brand and was stainless steel (can't be chrome, because Husband insisted it wouldn't match...despite that they were $30+ cheaper than the stainless steel - which, I agree, but when you're talking about $200+, it makes a difference).  After agonizing over the price, I chose one that was cheap and had good ratings online.  It was not a brand name I'd heard of before, but the reviewers had nothing but good to say about it.  Except...when it came, it wasn't metal.  They forgot to tell you that it was made of plastic.  No wonder it was $60 cheaper.  So it went back into the box for return (I love you Amazon Prime for not charging me return shipping!  Actually, I love you Amazon Prime for just being you.) and we went to Home Depot.  I asked around to people who had sink faucets I liked when I was at their houses, and they both said they had Moen.  Moen is a winner for me anyway, since I've traditionally loved their stuff and they consistently have products that have not only not done me wrong, but stood the test of time.  So my choices were narrowed down to the Delta product (which was more expensive but had the "Magnatite technology", which was essentially a magnet that brought the pull-out sprayer back securely to its home) or one of like three Moens.  I played with them all, talked it out to husband, and then gave him the say to choose.  Was the magnet in the faucet worth the extra $40 bucks?  Apparently it wasn't.  Husband said to me, "I am not going to use it that often.  You will.  You choose."  So I picked the one I wanted the most. It looks like a swan!

Moen Solidad in Brushed Nickel, $199 at Home Depot

4) We also purchased a few other small things, like new air vent covers to replace the old cracking and yellowed ones that are throughout the house.  I replaced one already:


Sneak Peeks

Get excited, y'all.



Bonus to being able to see the overhang of the granite in the last pic.

So...hopefully I can post tomorrow with the full completed picture!!

3 comments:

amanda said...

Boo it didn't post my last response! Love the sneak peaks. Can't wait to see the fixed sink :)

Jessica said...

Granite looks pretty! Can't wait to see the whole deal! :D

Lori said...

I wish I could see the house. :(

...oh yeah...I WILL TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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