O/T: New kitchen counters

[dtel's wife]

We were computerless for a few days,,,,,

Dtel had been asking for a few weeks what I wanted for my birthday, which was Christmas Day.[<)][^] I really couldn't think of anything I wanted.

A neighbor friend, who installs tile flooring, countertops, etc. came over Christmas Eve to show us some tile he had left over from a previous job. The tile was beautiful. Very muted colors, with a textured surface. I have to admit that I know very little about tile, but this stuff is gorgeous. The colors match our house perfectly. The colors are somewhat "sage green" and "bone", with light smoke grout.

After a few minutes I looked at dtel and said, "I know what you can give me for my birthday".

The neighbor friend then said, "Look, I am not going to charge you for any of this, I just need you (dtel) to drive my dumptruck for a few hours if the neighbor down the street accepts our bid." (The neighbor friend also owns a trackhoe and dumptruck, which he uses for small jobs)

These countertops were long anticipated as the renovation of our kitchen took place two years ago. We couldn't decide what kind of countertops we wanted, let alone what colors we wanted.

As it turns out, the tile is "Italian Porcelain". The neighbor did a custom pattern on the counter and our island bar. The tiles are 12 x 12 sage green and bone and 6 x 6 sage green and bone, with "light smoke" grout. The pattern incorporates "picture framing and diagonal design". It is awesome. Hopefully, we can get some pics in a few days.

As I stated earlier these tiles were left over from a previous job. According to our neighbor these tiles and grout were selected by an interior designer for the previous house. It's obvious when you see these tiles with this grout.

The tile portion is now complete, we still have to decide on the "trim" and what or if to seal the tiles. This is the only part of construction on our home that dtel and I did not do ourselves.

Anyway, I am so glad I picked these countertops for my birthday present. It's probably one of the nicest birthday presents ever.[G] I could not have asked for a better match for our house.

[Arky]

That sounds very similar to what I have, very nice indeed...and functional.

JT

[fini]

Sounds very nice! You won't have to seal porcelain tiles at all. The grout needs it, though. I've had great luck with AquaMix products, especially Sealers Choice Gold.

[dtel's wife]

One of the things I really like about "Italian Porcelain" is the color is consistent throughout the tile. I.E. if it chips you don't notice it because the entire thickness of the tile is colored. The texture on the tile adds to the ability to handle chips without noticing. This makes the tile truly "functional", which we desperately need in this house.

We accidentally dropped a couple of the the 6 X 6 tiles on the cement floor and it did not break or chip!!! We actually dropped two or three tiles during the tiling process and no breaks or chips.

I need to find out what kind of sealer to use, if any???

I have dropped Corel dinnerware on cement and it shatters into a thousand small pieces.

[fini]

Christy, I mentioned sealer in my post above. You can get it at Lowes.

[dtel's wife]

Sounds very nice! You won't have to seal porcelain tiles at all. The grout needs it, though. I've had great luck with AquaMix products, especially Sealers Choice Gold.

Fini, are you serious!!! The sealer was my only other concern. I love the muted appearance of the "Italian Porcelain". I was afraid I would have some "glossy looking" sealer and I did not want that.

This stuff is awesome. It is called Leonardo???? All the writing on the box is in Italian.

So...I only need to seal the grout, correct Fini?

[dtel's wife]

Sounds very nice! You won't have to seal porcelain tiles at all. The grout needs it, though. I've had great luck with AquaMix products, especially Sealers Choice Gold.

I love Fini.[{][}] It's okay, dtel knows I love Fini.

[Jay481985]

sounds like a great steal I mean deal for free!

[fini]

I love you too, Christy (it's OK, because EVERYBODY knows!).

This is probably way more than you need, but I found the Ceramic Tile Installation Forum when I was redoing my bathroom, and the folks there were extremely helpful. They even have a goofball there (who rarely posts) named Gregg (obviously a made-up name).

Let's see some pictures!!

[oldbuckster]

Go Granite...............the only way to go, buy it once, lasts a lifetime..........install it once.........expensive, but it's well worth it...................

[Arky]

OB

They aren't having to buy the product, it's gifted. Tile, patterned, really looks very nice.

[oldbuckster]

OB

They aren't having to buy the product, it's gifted. Tile, patterned, really looks very nice.

OOOOPPS, Sometimes I don't read so well, I must have missed that point....................Sorry!!!!!!!!! Old Fart can't see even with glasses on............

[oscarsear]

We are in the process of getting our kitchen counters redone in granite. I've done this before but this time I've got a problem. We have a cabinet that comes down to the surface of the counter called an "appliance garage". Because of this one cabinet we've been told that we'll need to have it pulled which dominoes into an adjaecent one as well. These cabinets are ash and very neatly installed and they abut up to silk wall paper that also was professionally installed. We don't want to move the cabinets. The reason we're given is that the thickness of the granite (3cm) requires that this cabinet be cut and that the demolition would be very difficult otherwise. 1st off the thickness of the existing countertop is greater than 3 cm so, if anything, I'll need to base trim this cabinet afterwards. 2ndly I've got a friend who'll do the demolition and he says we can do it without moving the cabinet (won't be easy though). I've delayed on this through the holidays but will be getting going next week. Any input from those in the know would be helpful..

[fini]

oscarear,

I used to do A LOT of kitchen and bath cabinetry installations. What type of cabinets are these? IOW, are they custom built-in-place, or are they individual cabinets screwed together? How old are the cabinets and countertops? What is the layout of this section of the kitchen (i.e. does the countertop run from wall to wall, or open on one end, etc.)? Would it be possible to post a picture or two? You're of course more than welcome to email me, too.

[oscarsear]

Fini.. Thnx. Here's some pics of the section of cabinets in question. They are custom and the house was built in 98'. The cabinets come to a soffit at the top but we think that the crown molding covers about a 1/2 inch gap between those elements. I understand that these appliance garages can slide up and own (once free form mounting scews). Well here go the pics. I have to re-inservice myself every time I go to post pics here. Edit...pics follow on next 2 posts...jeeesh.

[oscarsear]

Pics I hope

[oscarsear]

Pic # 2..what a pain this is...... (You'll notice the stack of CD's in the foreground of pic # 1...just part of the collection).

[fini]

Very nice kitchen! Can I get you to take another picture for me? Remove the doors in the corner (the one above the garage, and the glass door next to it), or if that's too much of a hassle, just with the doors open. I'm trying to see if that corner cabinet is detachable from the glass-door cab. Often they're separate boxes, screwed together. You mentioned they're custom (so no brand name on the hinge caps, right?), so perhaps they share a side. IF it is a separate box, removing it might not be as big a deal as you think. Depends as well on how and to what the crown is attached.

IF the cabinet cannot be removed, I have an idea. You could three-piece the new countertop. Demo out the tile (careful to not damage the appliance garage). When the granite fabricators come to measure and make their templates, ask them to make joints under the walls of the appliance garage (basically, they install that piece first), then butt the two "wings" to it (with a miter in the middle). Actually, it would be easier if they made the joints at the outer edge of the box, to aid in installation of the side pieces.

Like I said, you could email the photo, if that's easier.

[oscarsear]

Since I do most of the cooking I really enjoy this kitchen. My stereo sits at the end of the family room opposite the cooktop wall about 50 feet away. The whole space is open but separated by a double sided fireplace. I see what you're asking about the glass door cabinet. It's screwed to the garage cabinet through the side of the face board only. No screws go from the inside of the garage into that glass faced cabinet. Four screws attach the garage from the inside to the other side cabinet holding the shelves. The top of the garage holds a lazy susan. One exists undercounter beneath it as well. Pics woudln't really show what you need I think??? I'm interested in your thoughts about splicing the granite at this point. That undercounter lazy susan will need to be top anchored to the bottom of this granite. Would what your suggesting allow for that? I believe that this thing can be gotten out from just the shelving side. But you can see where that wall paper sits. All around the crown molding and that side of the cabinets. Any where it tears poses great porblems. I have nothing to repair it with. Also that crown molding is nailed to each cabinet as well as corner nailed (mini-brads) to itself. It is tight. I had to remove just one piece of trim mold this guy installed around the fridge. With much effort the wood trim came off leaving every nail behind. I've no doubt that pulling these from their installation will damage them at the least. White tile with white grout and that black and white checker board back tile trim. The decorator must have been having flashbacks that day. (I bought the house on resale.)

[fini]

Typically, there is a plywood sub-top under the granite. We use 5/8", screwed to the cabinets, which provides room for the adhesive. With the granite, again typically, that adds up to a 1-1/2" thick countertop. You might have to go thicker though, since you have tile (which may be installed on a mortar bed). You probably won't have to worry about supporting the top bracket of the lower lazy susan. If it came with the cabinets (usually the case), they'd be supported internally, most likely by bracing. Take a look inside that cabinet to see how it's currently connected.

The crown molding in the picture looks a lot like a kind we installed, where the crown comes attached to a carrier rail (in, like 8' pieces). It's miter-cut, and attached to the uppers with screws up through the top of the cabinet. A brand of cabinetry we used a lot was Downsview.