The Conclusion of the Countertop Cronicle

The saga has come to a satisfactory end!!!!!! After two weeks of living without a sink, those days will be over soon. We are finally at a point where we can continue with the kitchen renovation. I wish I could adequately convey my joy via the internet, but you will have to trust me when I say that I am thrilled with how things turned out.

Here is a look back on the process. First, we started out with hideous mismatched laminate and badly polyurethaned wood counters.

We chose Hi-Macs solid surface counters from Home Depot and anxiously awaited their installation.

Alas, when the counters arrived, they were not the material that we had chosen.

We had to wait almost a week before Home Depot decided how to resolve this issue. The representative that we were in contact with was helpful and determined to help us to the best of her ability. I cannot thank her enough for all that she did for us. In the end, we were told that they would replace the counters at no cost to us, however, we would have to wait another week and a half for the material to be ordered and the counters to be fabricated.

I was extremely anxious since I was not going to be here for the installation. I am a stickler for details and little things bother me much more than they do Douglas. I am not sure that he would have even noticed that the first counters were not what we had ordered if I had not been home that day. Luckily, just like last time, we had a snow day, and I was home for the installation. Thank goodness for snow!

I could not stop pacing the house as they removed the erroneous counters. I was nervous that something would be wrong with the new ones as well.

I should not have worried. The counters were exactly what I had chosen, and this crew was better than the one that we had the first time. I wish that I had taken a better picture, but there was a visible seem in the first counters that were installed. One of the reasons that we had chosen solid surface is that there is not supposed to be any visible seems. It was not easy to spot, it did not even show up in the pictures, but I could see it.

Here is the seem on the new counters. Can you see it? I cannot!

As they were finishing up the installation, I realized that the counter to the left of the stove sloped down in front. Here is a picture of the old counter that had the same problem. You can see that it is lower than the counter to the right.

Unfortunately, it was because the cabinet was not level. I asked them to place shims in the front to straighten it. They did as I asked but were concerned with the gap that was left between the counter and the cabinet. This is something that we will have to come up with a solution for, but it bothers me less than the uneven countertop. It is at least not visible while standing, even for someone short like me.

Fortunately, the counters passed inspection by the toughest critic of all.

Here is the glorious new counter. Please, ignore the mess that was the backsplash.

Alright, I know that in pictures it really does not look that different than what we had, but trust me that in person it looks much better!

I cannot wait to get back to work in the kitchen! Here is where we stand on the to do list, with one new addition due to the gap between the cabinet and the counter

• Remove the countertops (view post)
• Install new countertops
• Move electrical outlet
• Tile the backsplash
• Patch wall (view post)
• Paint
• Paint door
• Caulk moldings
• Polish cabinets
• Polish hardware
• Reconfigure cabinet storage
• Clean everything well and put it back
• Fix gap between cabinet and counter

Happy Homemaking!

P.S. The Homies is a competition for blogs over at Apartment Therapy, and I have been nominated for two! I would love if you would go over and vote for me or one of the other bloggers in Home Projects and DIY and/or Home Design & Inspiration. I do not expect to win, but it is nice to be recognized.