Okay, I'm here! The thing is, apparently my saying we had been waiting more than two years to have this exact granite on a big beautiful island got to him. He told me as such three or four times just today. He had to push the install off by one day to make sure he had enough guys and was prepared for each step of bringing the slab into the house again. And crazy as it sounds, he took the original slab back out in one piece, too. So clearly it was do-able. And yes, he knew he still had my parents' job to do, so he could have lost a lot more money than just our business... And he also wants to do more business with our builder, so he really needed to get this job right. Here's the best picture I have of the whole slab. Sadly, it is when the new slab is leaning against a wall waiting for them to remove the old slab. Here's a long shot before the raised bar went in. Another long shot. With the raised bar. And a horrible blurry shot. We go back tomorrow (with DH in tow) so we hope to get better pictures. He's better at taking them than I am, so I'll come back and post again. I have step-by-step pictures of them bring the new slab in and reversing the process to take the old slab out in one piece. I also have video of them raising the new slab and setting it in place. It was quite a procedure and I will have to admit that several times I let out a gasp (and maybe one or two "oh sh*t!"s before they were done. The damn slab wobbled side-to-side a couple of times and scared the hell out of me. But in the end, they did it and it's gorgeous. Talk about a center-piece! The fabricator said he will also come back and fix one of the seams after I pointed out I wasn't happy with it. He had already fixed the other seam. And as he said to me, he's only working with three local custom home builders right now, he can't afford to have an unhappy customer. He IS trying to make things right. I can't say I'm completely thrilled with how he handled everything, but we're on the right track. Thanks to everyone for the advice. I know some of you said we should split and move on with another fabricator, but it would have been a huge deal on our end. If we HAD to, we would have, but we had hoped for a good end result without doing that.

Annz, No... it does NOT state that he'd work my in around other customers. In fact the fine "standard" print states "will do the job proposed in a timely fashion. " His "defense" is that I delayed the project. Orignally signed contract 2/27 with plans to start mid March. I found out two days later that I needed surgery at that time... so we pushed it out to mid may start. He totally agreed to that. COntract had no start or end dates listed. Revised contract did state May 15th as start. He "blames" my delay now since he took other jobs. He also says that I didn't have all materials on time which caused delays -- NOT true and I have proof of delivery on them. Ran out of tile and needed to order more but other work here that could have been done at that time. One plumbing part that needed to be reordered.... since plumber drilled holes before confirming that the valve was adjustable. Again, not my fault and other work to be done. He IS licensed. We have already voiced the concerns in person and via email. I have set out an expected deadline (two more weeks) to finish this phase... tile mudroom, paint mudroom and tie up loose ends... and my desired start for next phase a month from now. He replied that he is tired of me trying to tell him how to run his business! What I paid the electrican and plumber so far is for work that they HAVE completed. however, I feel that the contractor should have paid them, not me... since it was in my bid amount ... and the amount that I gave him half down on! The contractor IS the painter also. He does that himself. He gave me the info to get his discount for the paint. Again, though something I had to go and do myself... and pay out of pocket! Thanks for your input... any other thoughts on my answers?

Thanks everyone. We were supposed to sign the contract with the GC this past Sunday. I asked him to send over the contract in advance (we DO, in fact, read the contracts we sign...they loved us when we bought our house!) He sent it over to us on Sunday morning. We had plans and didn't get home until shortly before we were supposed to meet. He called before he came over and I asked if he was going to bring along the rest of the contract (i.e. exhibits) when he came over. And he said "That's all there is. You talked with the cabinet maker and the price is based on what you talked about." (Ginny - you already know some of this story, so skip this if you're reading it! haha) We've already had some areas where he's said something and then something else winds up happening. In our initial talk, I told him we wanted frameless, full-overlay cabinets. His initial quote didn't have either. And, it turns out that the Amish cabinet maker doesn't do frameless, period. So, we got through that and decided we could minimize the frame portion and still be okay. Next, we talked to the GC and asked about a cash discount. Which he said he offered and that it was "x" % of the total. So, we factored that in when deciding who we were going with. Turns out that he now says that our kitchen is too high in price to offer the discount. WHAT??? In my own business, if someone is buying more, it gives me more of an opportunity to offer a discount. Also, while we were meeting on Sunday, we asked about him painting the walls after the cabinets were in place because the room will reflect light differently once all the cabinets and lighting is in. He agreed that he could do that. He now emailed and said that he doesn't feel comfortable doing that. Ginny - when we visited with the cabinet-maker, it wasn't really supposed to be our final plan but instead to get a fairly accurate quote. I had what I've drawn up and was still perfecting (it's posted on the forum here)...not to mention that I'm certain my dimensions aren't exactly perfect. As to the Amish, there's a sticky area there for them in regard to powered tools, etc. Each sect is governed by similar but different rules. Most of them will talk on cell phones, but they won't have them in their home. They will ride in vehicles, but don't drive them. But, the religious leaders from each community set the rules and those within the community abide by them and don't question them. The GC said that we will get a detailed drawing when we get closer to the date that the cabinet maker will start. But, in the meantime, we need to give $1,000 with a very rough detail of what is and isn't included. My worries are that things will be forgotten or disputed. And I admit, there are a ton of details in our kitchen...I can't keep them straight myself sometimes! Honestly, I don't know what we're going to do. We're back in touch with our "runner up" and I'm still trying to work on a friendly letter to the guy that we thought was going to do our kitchen, but may not be now. Ah, my head is hurting and we haven't even started yet!

Whether or not it is "foolish" to piecemeal the project is why I'm asking questions. We've heard plenty of stories of folks who install it after the fact, once they have the cash to do so, (and often save a bundle) after all the more immediate cash needs are addressed (e.g. landscaping). It's only somewhat of a cost issue, because if we can get a better deal at a later date, then great. It's also a "don't want to finance it" issue. The cost goes up significantly when interest is tacked on. The house will also be significantly more energy efficient than our current house, so we have some questions as to just how unbearably hot it may (or may not) get. As you can see, it's not a total slam dunk either way. Hearing that the "prewire + line set" option done by the builder, and followed up with installation by a "certified dealer" (of course) of whatever appropriate condenser unit may be unwise is helpful. Why would the unit's warranty not be filed by the tradesman? On a related note, just got word that the builder's chosen unit is a Rheem 13 SEER. I will go do my own research here shortly, but any thoughts on this brand etc would be appreciated.