Nix the 'Tufa for bonding stonework. You simply need a good basic mortar mix that maybe has a high content of Latex modifier and is sealed well. Take a look at the Glossary on the page below for a definition of mortar. It is basically Portland cement, sand & water, usually with a little extra lime for stickiness and to lower the strength of the mix below that of the material being bonded. Any admixtures may be added to address specific concerns such as freeze/thaw or water penetration. All My Best --- Tango Here is a link that might be useful: Cement, Concrete & Hypertufa Glossary

Nevermind the question 'cause I notice posts haven't gone responded to since then & 'cause hubby's decided to put down brick expect for a 1-ft edge on both sides, so I can plant whatever I want there, without worrying about weed-barrier. =)

It's hard to tell from the pictures you have posted but it may actually be a load bearing wall. My suggestion is to open it up CAREFULLY and have a look. You do this by cutting out the existing drywall. Start by measuring down 3 inches from the point where the wall intersects with the ceiling. Draw a 36 inch horizontal line on the wall using a soft pencil. At each end of the horizontal line draw 12 inch vertical line and then connect these two vertical lines with a final 36 inch horizontal line . You should have a faint outline of a perfectly true 36 x 12 inch rectangle above your opening. Get a sharp utility knife - I like Olfa brand but anything that is good quality will do. Buy a box of blades. Using a metal straight edge as a guide, trace carefully around the outline of the rectangle. Don't apply a lot of pressure. Do this a few times until you have a very thin channel that the knife stays in. Now - using gradually increasing pressure continue tracing around the perimeter of the rectangle until your knife has penetrated the wallboard everywhere along the cutline. If your rectangle has screws through it holding it to studs, you are going to have to determine where they are and cut around the head of the screw or nail carfully with your knife. This will take a long time - a couple of hours at least - but eventually you will end up with a clean-edged opening in the wall and a perfect sized patch of the original thickness and type of wallboad that you need for the repair. Take a flashlight and look inside the hole to determine which way the joists run. If they run in the same direction as the wall you are hoping to remove part of - chances are that this is not load-bearing. If the joists are running perpendicular to the wall you have removed the patch from - it may well be carrying weight. This is the time to call in an outside opinion. Unless you open the wall up, or there is some other way for the professional to actually see the contruction, they are going to have to do something similar to what you have just done. If they take the time to do it neatly - your're going to pay them a lot of money for their time. If they make a mess - you're going to spend hours and hours trying to repair what they did. I have removed a fair number of walls in my time but I have not made a determination of this kind on my own. If you spend money on nothing else (and you probably won't have to) get an architect or engineer in to look and tell you what is going on. Even if it is load-bearing, you can do what you want to, but you need to compensate on either side of the opening with jackposts or additional timbers. When/if you need to close the hole up again you need to get some drywall screws, some plywood scraps about 1/2" thick and a drill or electric screwdriver. Cut the plywood into three inch wide strips. Two strips about 32 inches long and two about 10 inches long. The lengths are not critical - you can use several smaller pieces if you need to. Take one of your strips and hold it against the interior surface of the drywall so that 1 1/2 inch is behind the drywall and 1 1/2 inches show. If you can - ask someone else to hold this for you, otherwise you'll just have to wrestle with it so that the the plywood stays in place as you drive screws through the drywall and into the hidden part of the plywood strip. Do this every four or five inches so that your plywood is held firmly in place. Continue until you have attached the strips around the perimeter of your hole. Now replace your cleanly cut patch ( the piece you cut out ) and drive drywall screws through the patch and into the plywood behind it. Note that you should not use too much pressure on your drill/screwdriver or you will tear the drywall. Let the screw bite into the wood and physics will take over. Make sure that your screwheads make dimples in the drywall so that you can patch over them. About 1/8" deep is good. Finally - hold your knife at a shallow angle and cut away about 1/8 inch of the paper on either side of the cut. Go slowly and carefully again, or you will crack the existing finish and be stuck with a much bigger repair job than you need to deal with. When you are finished, you will have a shallow channel of bare gypsum that the spackling compound will adhere to nicely. Go ahead an apply very thin costs of spackle - buffing or sanding slightly between coats until you have a perfectly smooth surface. It usually takes me a couple of days to apply a small amount of the drywall compound, let it dry and then sand it a bit beofre putting on the next coat, drying and sanding, etc., etc., Don't rush - because it is entirely possible to make an invisible repair, but if you chew it up, it will always look like a patch. Good Luck !!!

Mine is a bit unusual, given the shape of the sink, and my dislike of garbage in the cabinets. I have a pail which can go under the clean-up sink, but if I have actual garbage it comes out, and I kick it over to the island if I want it there. The island is small however. About 5'x1m. On the right hand side of the picture you can see a brown dot in the middle which is the pull for the prep sink cabinet. The cabinet is just wide enough to accommodate the sink, which is 16" in diameter. It's as far to the edge as possible to have it well supported and cut well out of the stone. The middle drawers are 24" fridge drawers. The drawers on the left are exactly as wide as my old wire cutlery tray, which holds gadgets in the lower drawer, knives in the upper. Colanders, graters, and bowls in the others, wraps and hardware in the two drawers on the far side. Small, but it works. The far side of the trough is actually a useful landing area, as is the space behind the bowl.