Thanks for the responses. Rhome, I agree with you and I have trouble imagining what it would look like when done. It might look good, but it might also like it doesn't fit. The way it's laid out, the big upper corner cabinet with the 2 smaller cabinets attached becomes one of the focal points of the kitchen. One challenge that they face is that the 2 smaller cabinets are different sizes, which is not always apparent, depending on where you stand in the kitchen. Because the kitchen is big, your eye tricks you into thinking that the cabinets are the same size. Creekylis, I like the idea of having different counter heights, probably because I am tall and it hurts my back to lean over and work at the shorter surfaces. Not sure that they will go for that idea since all the base cabinets are in already and my friend was complaining about the cost of everything while I was there. The small piece of granite doesn't show the extent of the movement that the slabs have. I should have taken a picture while we were at the granite yard. It's beautiful and has a lot of movement. The slabs on hold are "book-matched", if that means anything to anyone. Does anyone have pictures of long stretches of granite with movement that has seams that would be willing to share a picture of the way the seams look? BTW, vjrnts, thanks for the pix of your butcher block. I've had a hard time finding pictures that focus on the granite-wood transition areas. Any other ideas (aside from wood) that they could consider to break up the runs of granite? The granite yard is scheduled to template next week. I've forwarded this link to my friend hoping he will forward it to his SO, but not sure that she will get it (they only have dial-up and are not big computer users). I'll print it all out and overnight it to her if I have to. Thanks again for your thoughts. Dan

I think that the difference is that scratches disappear after reoiling and deeper scratches can be sanded out of soapstone. You can't repair scratches like that with laminate. Also if you get a harder variety of soapstone, it probably won't scratch much at all. Visit a soapstone place, get some samples and try to scratch them, whack them with a fork or the edge of a can opener (to simulate dropping things on it). Then re-oil or sand.

sw_in_austin - It should be OK. I haven't applied enough tung oil for it to start forming a hard surface. I already rubbed down one rough patch with plain mineral oil and 000 steel wool, and it soaked in just fine. bayareafrancy - With pure tung oil, five applications takes five days. I have trouble getting her to leave her cats for a three day weekend away :-) With twelve applications of tung oil the old countertop looked like a piece of furniture. That was fine at first, but after we left a wet copper pot on it overnight (making an interesting green circle) and messed it up in other ways it started to look a little shabby. In contrast, a 35+ year old butcher block island at the church has never been treated with anything and never babied and it has worn well, like an old pair of jeans. I'm shooting for something in between the two effects.

My husband would prefer the local marble be used around the perimeter, which may need to happen because there's a chance the butcher block manufacturers won't ship it with the sink hole cut as it may not be stable enough, and then we're back to the same place we were at with the Ikea countertops. Well not quite, but still needing to find a finishing carpenter willing to make that cut. It turns out that not even the butcher block makers like cutting undermount sink holes. BUT... the marble would be standard 1.25" tall, and our cabinet boxes are 34" from the floor. The minimum height of the cooktop surface of the induction range we've purchased is 36". I feel like a 3/4" difference between the counter height and cooktop is more of a deal breaker for me than the chance of the butcher block getting gunky around the sink. I can get the butcher block at 1.75" so there would just be a 1/4" difference between the cooktop and countertop.