nancy_in_mich:

It sounds like you've got a lot of custom work on your agenda. Custom and unusual is expensive.

That can be true, but since I may need a wheelchair at any time for short periods or long periods, I have to plan for it in this remodel. This is our only full bath and we are not moving as we have ramps in and around our home and have made flooring choices in preparation as well. Besides, if we move, we still won't find an ADA bathroom. And in our price range, we are not going to get huge bathrooms.

We prefer to live well below our means day-to-day, and splurge when it is time for remodeling on things that please us, like Marmoleum floors or a custom vanity for this counter top. I save in other ways. My kitchen cabinets were a 24 year-old Quaker Maid kitchen that I got for $3600 and refinished. I am purchasing as much of this bathroom as possible from Craigslist.

Does anyone know if $325 is a good price for this vanity top?

The Brockway sink solves some problems for me. I am stiff in the morning and cannot bend to wash my hands. The elevated faucets will be a blessing. The basin is a great plus for handwashing my specialty bandages and braces for my condition. It will also make bathing my dog much easier. So I am looking forward to the Brockway sink, but would love to place it in such a pretty setting as this top.

Would having 4" on either side and leaving 4" or less on the front edge in front of the Brockway make this vanity top make sense to buy? Is it a good deal? Am I likely to find a stone worker who will cut it for me? I have never worked with stone. I am looking for the expertise of THS on this one.

Someone is coming to see the top at 1:00 on Wednesday. If I want it, I have to get it before then, or take a chance it will be gone.

Changing that top will not be cost effective. You would do better by going to a fabricator who keeps remnants on hand and picking one of them.

Exactly, his labor rates will be considerably higher modifying a top you bring in than if he is selling you the material as well, even a remnant.

I did not find anyone selling remnants cheaper. Same pricing.

Live Wire Oak, That is what I was wondering. Millworkman, this was my fear, if I was not buying his materials, would I have to pay more for the fabrication? Thanks you two, for giving me this information.

Snookums, that is good to know, too. It is a good price for a vanity top. If I did not need additional fabrication, it would be a good buy.

Thank you all!

Hi nancy_in_mich, you mentioned bathing toddlers, but we have a Brockway 36" and I really think it would be suboptimal for that. Not sure I even would want to bathe an infant in it given the way the faucets are placed. Perhaps you were just providing a size example, but I just wanted to mention this in case you were being literal about your intent and had not yet seen the sink live.

Sounds like it will be a lovely bathroom, good luck!

(If you want to go a different direction than the rough plate Kohler faucets, Chicago Faucets makes other ones that work with this sink.)

Oaktown, no I have not been able to see the sink live. I would prefer the 4 ft one, but cannot spare the floor space. Luckily for my plans, no infants or toddlers are in our future. I was wondering about the faucets getting in the way. I was planning on buying the Chicago Faucets already because I never liked the looks of the rough body on the Kohler. Then I learned that the Kohler are now tagged as for non-potable water only due to higher lead content. Chicago Faucets pass the lead testing, plus have their patented ceramic Quaturn valves. Thanks for your info, though. The Brockway is going to be the only bathtub in the house!

Have you seen the other faucet that Kohler makes (or made, I don't know if it is still available) for the Brockway? It is called the Calder. It is the same body as the Cannock, used upside down, with the rose spray connected right to the body, without a spout. So the spray is closer to the back of the sink, not projected out on the goose neck. The Calder also does not use a chrome wall flange to bring the faucet body further away from the back splash. So the whole faucet sits tighter to the body of the sink. I find myself wondering if I like this faucet almost more than the Cannock-style, which is going to force me to put the medicine cabinet extra high. What do you think of this Calder faucet? I have never seen one in use. I wonder if they are brand new?

Here is a link that might be useful: Lower left, Parts & Service,

Hi nancy,

I did not see the Calder faucet when we were looking, but I don't think it would have worked for us anyway.

Couple of things on the Brockway since you have not seen it live:

1. There is no overflow, so if you are planning to give your dog baths (as opposed to just a rinse down) you will need to be careful, and also be sure to get the appropriate drain fitting for your use.

2. Consider mounting the sink higher than shown in the installation sheet. You already will be doing that if you have a countertop installation. I don't recall the exact numbers, but we measured in advance and felt that if we followed the suggested installation height it would have felt like an elementary school sink. Ours is wall mounted and we did place it a few inches higher.

You really have to ask the fabricators in your area. Some might be perfectly willing to offer you a good price. Show them the picture and what you need done. They might or might not be interested in the work. Sales might still be down and this job welcomed.

I think you should call a fabricator and try to find out how much it will cost to retrofit that piece. What you want done is not very complicated and statuary marble is more unusual than Carrara so it might be worth it trying to use it. It's really a pretty piece of marble and there is no reason in the world for people not to try to recycle when they can!

I agree with jerzeegirl. I think you need to see what a fabricator will charge to retrofit the piece and then calculate the total cost per sq ft compared to a new top with fabrication included.

I do think that based on what you described you are barely going to see that marble countertop. 4" of countertop on each side is not much. And it sounds like you are going to have a small strip in front as well. I don't have a visual of your room but it sounds like that sink may be overwhelming for the space.

In that situation, I would just do a marble tile counter. You're paying a premium for something that really isn't adding any utility or decoration to the space. The space isn't really big enough to pull that sink off if all you've got is 4'' to either side. Only 4'' of counter space isn't really big enough to shoehorn in a toothbrush caddy.

As long as you can tile it yourself. Tile quotes here for small jobs, like a backsplash, are astronomical.

But it would be a real shame to waste a beautiful piece of stone for 4" strips!