Let's Talk Remodeling

[shovan]

Bill, Just my 2 cents too. I have no idea how that will hold up, but it sure is pretty! I'd be worried about it scratching. If Miss Jasmine has the same product in black though, it should be fine.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

I have a similar product, not the exact same. And it's quite scratch resistant, which is one of the benefits and reasons we bought it. Bill, here is mine, scroll down to see in the Anthracite: http://www.blancoamerica.com/_Sinks/513-430.htm?tmp=sink

 

[BillSears]

Ok more sink questions. I see everyone has those under the counter sink mounts. I've never owned one, darn I've never really seen one until I started looking at kitchens a couple of months ago.

What holds them in place?

Do they leak to the side if you fill them up to the countertop or slosh water around in them?

What's the big deal about them? I've been perfectly happy with my normal sink mounting.

 

[shovan]

I have a similar product, not the exact same. And it's quite scratch resistant, which is one of the benefits and reasons we bought it. Bill, here is mine, scroll down to see in the Anthracite: http://www.blancoamerica.com/_Sinks/513-430.htm?tmp=sink

Bill, check out the product you purchase for scratch resistance too, if it's not the exact same type of product as Miss Jasmine's. I know the newer products probably have improved over the last couple of years, but our dark Corian scratches pretty easily. It can be buffed out, but now here in Nola, I'm having trouble finding anyone who's willing to come out just for that.

Something I do love about the Corian (latest product like that would be Silestone) is the molded sink! No seams, cracks or crevices for crud to get into! The sink can be any color you want with those products, but they did inform us that the lighter colors can be scrubbed with any kind of cleanser, so I went with an off white sink color.

 

[sm4987]

I have a question for all you remodelers. Has anyone added crown molding to existing cabinets??? This is a picture of our kitchen that is a few years old. As you can see the cabinets are very plain. Short of buying all new cabinets I was thinking of dressing them up a bit with crown molding. I don't know where to start. I don't know if I should check with Lowes or Home Depot in the kitchen dept. and see if I can order the molding. The cabinets are 20 yrs old so I think it would be hard to match. Just curious if anyone has done that project.

I have crown moldings on top of my cabinets. It came standard with our cabinets with out builder.

I have been lurking around here for a long time, and I can say that all this converstaion is truly enlightening.

Black sink, beautiful. I'm thinking about putting one in myself!

My husband works for a high end builder here, and staining lots of the trimwork is something lots of people prefer to do. We live in the dfw metroplex. All that dark wood is not for me. Even though I just moved in a couple of months ago, I'm dying to paint and or lighten up my cabinets somehow. I had to do it in my last house, and as much as I thought I could "deal" with it here, I just can't!!!!! So I might be joining in on the renovation thing. I think what is great for me is that I brought through my husband's builder as a spec., so I knew I would want to make a few changes.

In the next couple of weeks, I'm painint the media room, the kids rooms, the powder bath (which has a beautiful hand trowel texture in it) and looking to lighten up the kitchen. They push this stain color on all of their clients, and for me the look is to dark!!!!

http://www.grandhomes.com/index.cfm?id=67&design_id=205 Here is the link to the floor plan for all those who like to look at these. There is also a virtual tour if you want to see what the house looks like. I would love to paint the downstairs of the house, but with the open floorplan, it is so tough to find a coloer that would have to go around the whole house.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Ok more sink questions. I see everyone has those under the counter sink mounts. I've never owned one, darn I've never really seen one until I started looking at kitchens a couple of months ago.

What holds them in place?

That's a very good question! I'm wanting to say that they are set with epoxy, to the bottom of your countertops, but I'm not sure.

Do they leak to the side if you fill them up to the countertop or slosh water around in them?

Caulk! You caulk the gap and make sure you keep a good seal on it. My contractor put clear, silicone caulk in there, but we didn't like the way it looked, so we re-caulked it with black silicone caulk, and it blends in much better with my granite.

What's the big deal about them? I've been perfectly happy with my normal sink mounting.

Sleeker look, and nothing beats being able to wipe down your counters and swish everything into the sink!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

http://www.grandhomes.com/index.cfm?id=67&design_id=205 Here is the link to the floor plan for all those who like to look at these. There is also a virtual tour if you want to see what the house looks like. I would love to paint the downstairs of the house, but with the open floorplan, it is so tough to find a coloer that would have to go around the whole house.

Very pretty! I love the floor plan!

 

[BillSears]

http://www.grandhomes.com/index.cfm?id=67&design_id=205 Here is the link to the floor plan for all those who like to look at these. There is also a virtual tour if you want to see what the house looks like. I would love to paint the downstairs of the house, but with the open floorplan, it is so tough to find a coloer that would have to go around the whole house.

Thanks for the link! I think I've found the color for my living room in it. I've been thinking about a light golden brown, something warm that makes me almost think about sunsets. But I've been worried about going too orange or red. This color here looks pretty good to me without overpowering the larger space I have.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Sleeker look, and nothing beats being able to wipe down your counters and swish everything into the sink!

Yes!! That is the very best. I have no ideas about the other questions. All I know is it doesn't leak.

 

[sm4987]

Very pretty! I love the floor plan!

It is a beauty. My husband worked in this model 4 years ago. I never told him how much I liked it. Imagine his surprise when I went walking houses with him, came across it again and then the next thing he knew, I said let's get it!


Bill, my walls in the whole house is very similar to this color. It is very beautiful around the house and it does not overpower.

 

[DisneyPhD]

I wish I could say how much I like my black sink, but so far it is still sitting on a crate of cabinets just waiting.

Since I have to wait until the countertops are in, I will get back to you in about a month on it.

 

[SplshMtn99]

Bill, the undermount sinks are held up by clips & screws. Mine is still sitting in the box too. Along with all those parts & the drain.

I picked up my faucet & soap dispensers today. Think I've found a filtered water dispenser faucet I like. Need to order that.

They come tomorrow to template for the Silestone. They use laser, so we did not have to remove our old countertop yet. Less disruption to the kitchen while waiting for delivery.

We moved the new black slide-in smooth top range into place today...and moved the old almond electric coil range out. Now, I have all black appliances in place. Can finally start to see what it might look like. Sort of.

Still a long way to go. Remove border, paint, molding, sew new valances. Need to find a new under-cabinet TV. We have a white 10" tv with a great picture, but it looks out of place now based on color. We would like to find a nice small flat panel one we can hang on the wall under the cabinet on a swing out bracket that also swivels. It would be grey or black most likely & would blend in. All of the so called "under cabinet" tvs that flip up have tiny screens. Don't want that.

Need to definetly decide about keeping the new frig or not. And get an ad placed to sell old "new" countertops/sink/faucet & old stove & maybe old frig. I think I'll start with an ad by the condo mailboxes since the counters will fit the condos here already.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Bill, the undermount sinks are held up by clips & screws. Mine is still sitting in the box too. Along with all those parts & the drain.

I picked up my faucet & soap dispensers today. Think I've found a filtered water dispenser faucet I like. Need to order that.

They come tomorrow to template for the Silestone. They use laser, so we did not have to remove our old countertop yet. Less disruption to the kitchen while waiting for delivery.

We moved the new black slide-in smooth top range into place today...and moved the old almond electric coil range out. Now, I have all black appliances in place. Can finally start to see what it might look like. Sort of.

Still a long way to go. Remove border, paint, molding, sew new valances. Need to find a new under-cabinet TV. We have a white 10" tv with a great picture, but it looks out of place now based on color. We would like to find a nice small flat panel one we can hang on the wall under the cabinet on a swing out bracket that also swivels. It would be grey or black most likely & would blend in. All of the so called "under cabinet" tvs that flip up have tiny screens. Don't want that.

Need to definetly decide about keeping the new frig or not. And get an ad placed to sell old "new" countertops/sink/faucet & old stove & maybe old frig. I think I'll start with an ad by the condo mailboxes since the counters will fit the condos here already.

Tell me how the siltstone template goes. I was wondering if we could put our appliances in before they do (or at least before the counter top is in.) DH thinks they sometimes take the sink with them. Is this true? do we install the sink or them???? ( I know we do the pipes and drains.)

 

[mickeysgal]

http://www.grandhomes.com/index.cfm?id=67&design_id=205 Here is the link to the floor plan for all those who like to look at these. There is also a virtual tour if you want to see what the house looks like. I would love to paint the downstairs of the house, but with the open floorplan, it is so tough to find a coloer that would have to go around the whole house.

Wow, yikes, thats a lot of house!

Regarding the undermount sink, make sure you specify if you want a edge reveal (sp?) or not. I didn't know enough to ask to not have one and we ended up with a slight edge showing. Its ok...for a minute there I thought they had done the undermount and granite cut wrong.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Wow, yikes, thats a lot of house!

Regarding the undermount sink, make sure you specify if you want a edge reveal (sp?) or not. I didn't know enough to ask to not have one and we ended up with a slight edge showing. Its ok...for a minute there I thought they had done the undermount and granite cut wrong.

So should I say I don't want one???????

 

[SplshMtn99]

Tell me how the siltstone template goes. I was wondering if we could put our appliances in before they do (or at least before the counter top is in.) DH thinks they sometimes take the sink with them. Is this true? do we install the sink or them???? ( I know we do the pipes and drains.)

This company measures template by laser. So when scheduling the appointment, they said the cabinets & any appliances needed to be in place. Also, everything needed to be cleared off the counters. We also took down our under-cabinet TV just in case it hung in the way. Its not a fold up kind.

I was told to have my faucet, sink & any other fixtures present at time of templating. I know they will take the sink template with them, but I doubt they'll be taking the sink or faucet. Just faucet hole sizes. A decision maker needs to be present (ME) to decide where any faucet holes go.

Also, my stove is a slide-in, so that definetly needed to be in place. I'll also have the stove paperwork that gives all dimensions for the size of the stove area cut-out.

At the times of delivery, they will attach the undermount sink, but we will be on hand (or your plumber) to attach faucets in the countertop holes BEFORE they put the counters in place. Its alot easier to put faucets on before than trying to do it under the sink later. We'll just have to make the plumbing connections later.

Just an FYI, other things needed to be decided before we even placed the Silestone order. We had to know what kind of sink we were going to use (stainless or other, above or undermount), going to have a reveal on the undermount sink or not (I decided no), the edge type of countertop (I decided plain normal pencil edge), how many faucet holes would be drilled, Silestone backsplash or not (I decided none), and obviously your rough measurements & what sides touch what walls. All that went into pricing & placing order.

 

[Syrreal]

We close is three days. Then the remodeling will begin. It's excting and a little scary (with so much more to do to the new house than we did to the one that we live in now)

BTW, that us a very nice floorplan

 

[SplshMtn99]

So should I say I don't want one???????

I'm NOT getting a sink reveal. All the displays at the store showed a reveal. I said its just another place that gunk collects & I need to clean. The kitchen guy agreed with me, but said some people like the looks of them. ?? He agreed with me to NOT have a reveal.

My sink cardboard template shows where to cut if you want it with or without.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

It is a beauty. My husband worked in this model 4 years ago. I never told him how much I liked it. Imagine his surprise when I went walking houses with him, came across it again and then the next thing he knew, I said let's get it!

He must sell new homes. I did that for awhile! It's hard work!

 

[angel*lady]

Subscribing - this is a great thread!!!