When you said 'national builder', do you mean that you are purchasing a house in a subdivision being built by that 'national builder'?

If so, then I can understand the restrictions you are under.

Well, You are more fortunate than I was drewem.

When I designed my kitchen, (2005) I did not yet know about Garden Web-so- I did it completely "On my Own".
I made TWO, "REALLY BIG GOOFS"

Things worked out great, except for a very fancy,
36" semi circle electric cook top I bought and had installed into the granite,
(at great expense too, due to the exacting cuts needed for a flush fit for the 36" semi circle). The Granite folks did a terrific job,and it looked great!
They did try to get me to reconsider the cook top) but I wanted that fancy cooktop!--but wait-- There's More!!!

Goof 1
In less than 2 years that fancy cook top died and the company that made it was out of business! Nobody else made a 36" semi circle cook top--so had to re do the granite!!!!

Goof 2 (more related to what You "almost did")
Being a "Techie" (Electronic Engineer), The same company that made that fancy cooktop made a popup down draft fan for it. The controls for the popup were built right into the cooktop, fan speed, lighting, etc. How Kewl is that??
Well, 1st I asked the cabinet guy will the popup fit OK in the granite (the cooktop is in a corner at a 45 degree angle). Cabinet guy said , no problem, I asked my handiman that was helping build the kitchen, again "No Problem".
I even asked the Granite folks and receive the same reply, "No Problem"! Wife looks at the popup, she says "That Ain't gonna fit". I said I had 3 different people check it and they all say it will fit-----IT DID NOT FIT. The company that made it took it back but gave me "Pennies on the dollar for it, even though they needed it to complete another order near Seattle I shipped it there, myself!

So a "Long winded way" to show the value of Garden Webb and the folks that participate here. I'm sure they would have warned me about cutting a 36" semi circle in my granite and to only have one option for a cooktop to fit "Said hole".
Second they would have probably pointed out the "shortcomings" of a popout vent, There was no reason to do one, cept I thought it was Kinda "Kewl" and I knew nothing about the performance of pop up vents.

Anyway all has ended well, All the other decisions made in the kitchen have been good ones, appliances, lighting, cabinets, granite, etc etc etc.

Thanks to the folks on GW the story has a "Happy Ending".
They introduced us to Induction, The fancy cooktop was replaced with an Elux Icon Induction Cooktop and wife Luv's it!

I'm glad the folks were able to "SAve Ya" before ya made the mess I did!!!!

Gary

Yes, weedmeister that is exactly right. It's our 2nd new build. The last one, different builder, the company went bankrupt, killing our 10/2 year warrenty, not following through with paving driveway, we didn't get final street trees, or final coat paved roads until last fall (We've been here 5 years now). The company emerged from bankruptacy and is now selling houses to suckers who don't do their research. So, interesting lesson learned!

Gary, Thanks for your input! That's why I am so glad I found garden web. Although to be on your side, I agree that first cooktop sounds neat! I bet not many people had it.

When you redid your granite, did it wreck the cabinets? That's another issue I'm having with the builder. Baiscally I want Bianco Antico, they can't get it for me, but it's going to lead to me replacing the granite in a few years. We are trying to avoid that step, but not sure if they will come through for me.

Thanks again!

I got lucky with the granite. It is "Arandis Gold" and supplies of same are plentiful. I was able to pick up half a slab at a granite yard, and then hired a building contractor that builds kitchens to cut and fit the granite. It actually sits atop the old granite and "to us" looks great.

Here is the old "FAncy Cooktop" It had real timers for every burner, You could "bridge burners, etc etc but It was a "Bugger" to clean and wife never used the timers or the bridging.

Here is the redone granite with the Elux Induction cooktop, a "Piece of cake" to clean (well actually a "Piece of paper or two)!

Gary

You don't say what part of the US you are in, but a little searching turns up lots of suppliers of Bianco Antico Granite.

Here's a couple of them:

http://www.marble.com/materials/granite/Bianco-Antico

http://www.granitegurus.com/2011/03/slab-sunday-bianco-antico-granite.html

The granite goes by several names as you will see when you check these web-sites, also one web-site claims it is one of the highest selling granites (Quantity Not Price).

If you care to list what part of the US that you are in , I can concentrate my search in that particular area.

Good Luck!

Gary

Gary, we are in SE Pennsylvania. I know of several local distributers who have BA, but the builder's distributer does not have it. And they are unwilling to use a different distributer. The area mall even has a display stand for a granite company, and it has it! It's so fustrating that they are not willing to work with me. Although 'they are looking into it'. ugh.

Thanks again for your help, and the pictures! I might change out the gas cooktop for an induction when we change the granite in a few years. The paper towels don't catch on fire?

high heat for long periods will cause the paper to scorch. I routinely fry bacon or brown ground beef with little or no scorching (depends on how long I leave the towel there).

as to replacing granite, it depends. If it is epoxied down to the cabinets, the cabinets can get damaged when removed. I think some installers just let the weight of the stone hold it down, or use a different adhesive (like silicone).

The fact that they are doing gas in the kitchen means they will not run an electric line for a future electric stove/cooktop. I've dealt with builders like this and they are not very flexible.

You could try to get them to not install a stove and give you credit. (I'm not sure you can get an occupancy permit without a stove in place.) Or simply go get the stove you want and install it after the fact. Sell theirs on Craigs List or some such.

I've never built a house from scratch so I can't comment directly on what's involved but it amazes me to see people on these forums who are building houses being told by builders what they can and can't have. Most likely it's a budget issue, but if I were building a house now, I would come in and say, this and this and this is what I want, please bid on it and I would go with the builder who could meet my requirements and budget.