You can have your marble rehoned in place. I have about 145 sq ft in my kitchen. I had to be rehoned after installation because the original fabricator did a lousy honing job. it's a wet process, but the crew taped and tarped everything up. they cleaned up very, very well...you couldn't tell it was done. I have a lot of marble...I think the cost to rehone was about $2,500. So...I say, get it live in it and forget about it. The etching won't ever really bother you unless you dump a whole bottle of vinegar on the counter. If you feel you must do something to sell your house at a later date, then have the marble rehoned. Not a big deal. I have had my marble for six years, beginning when my four kids were 4-10 years old. We all LIVE in the kitchen. I have a few etch marks, but not anything anyone else would notice. I love my marble and would easily do it again. I have one chip where DH tossed his car keys onto the counter. Very small. I have deep ogee edges (the easiest to chip) and I don't have any issues on my edges or around my sink. Good luck with your process!

I did. I found a source for a stone that I couldn't source locally no matter how hard I tried. Loved the photos, had a sample sent to me that I could abuse to be sure I was happy with it, then had a second sample sent so I could see a bit more of the colour variation possibilities, then ordered two slabs which were shipped to me from across the country (several days drive or many hours of flights+car rental were both out of the question for me). I had issues with the fabricator which is totally unrelated to ordering the stone without seeing it, but the supplier was excellent and the stone was exactly what I wanted, even better than I thought. It was risky, but necessary in order to get what I really wanted (a hard enough soapstone in a large enough slab with a dark enough base) I had no other choice. And FYI, I was relatively flexible about the colour variations that I couldn't see the details of, and my soapstone is quite dark - perhaps not as affected by different lighting. To me the hardness and the size were the most important features, neither of which was related to the stone in person. I was on pins and needles waiting to actually see it, and had several "what the heck were you thinking" moments along the way. I think I'm pretty lucky that it was even more beautiful in person than I had hoped. If you can't take that kind of stress, and if the drive/childcare situation is feasible it might be worth seeing them in person.

So I sent the following msg to the fabricator. I'm thinking he's being rather non-responsive. Or am I being too demanding? Q: I have another question. Since I'm having to special order this slab, do you think they're building in additional shipping costs? If so, I'm wondering if it might be worth my while to check out other yards that are further away (i.e., out of state) since I'll have to pay shipping anyway. Or, do you know the shipping schedules of any of the yards in the area, such that I could pick out a slab and then wait for it to be placed on a truck already on an established schedule. Is that information you would have, or do I need to check with each yard? Do you have customers that get marble (or any other stone) from out of state? A: Shipping is a non-factor. If you have more flexibility on your stone selection, the price would come way down.

I bought my faucets overstockdeals.com because I knew it was the faucet I wanted (we already have it here, bought same faucet for our new house). If it was an item I had no clue if I'd like, I would go somewhere else with a better return policy. But since I was only worried about defective issues, I was good to go with Overstockdeals.com. And writersblock, not that I care, but how do you know overstockdeals.com wasn't around before overstock.com? I've bought from overstock.com and had both very good and very bad service with them...sometimes it's catch as catch can with online retailers.