As of a year ago when I worked there... :) Home Depot has a One Year Installation Warranty. If you call them, ask for either the specialty manager, or the kitchen expeditor. Explain to them that you are having numberous problems with products which were installed by them. They should put a call into a dispatch center, which will get a Field Services Manager to come out to your house and take a look at your issues. The FSM is employed by Home Depot, and they can't charge you for him coming out. His job is to look at the situation and determine if your issues are caused by their installation, or "natural" causes - i.e., settling. If he thinks that this was not caused by their install, he should still be able to get you in contact with the Silestone company to set up doing what they can do. There may be a charge for this - but if it goes through the H.D. where you bought it, it might be cheaper than trying to contact the company yourself, and if you get the manager on a good day, they might be willing to help you out with the price. As far as template vs. measuring - if it was a square/rectangular piece, I think measuring isn't totally out of the question. Even with templating, they don't necessarily scribe the countertop to your wall, but they might make the top deeper and recess it into your sheetrock so that there are no gaps. I think that I would have the FSM come out and look (if your H.D. is willing to work with you) As far as something that you can do yourself, to chip out the offending grout, and fill with silicone at this point, wouldn't be too difficult, at least to get one thing solved and out of your hair :) Hopefully, things haven't changed too much and that I've not led you astray - but I think it's worth following up!

i am open to all comments. I know the diagram is confusing. That is because we have been changing the designer's concept. (and we start demo on Monday!) We have a 1920's house with a small kitchen and a smaller breakfast room that is essentially useless. We wanted to open it up into the breakfast room and put a breakfast bar/counter between the rooms. I have a large okeefe and merrit town and country vintage stove against a yellow subway tile alcove, which really makes the kitchen. I want to keep the stove (which takes up a great deal of space -6 burners, and then a tall rack of ovens, but is very cool) and re-do the yellow subway tile theme everywhere we can. Let me try to clarify the plan: There will be an archway into the breakfast room and a breakfast bar/counter between the rooms. We want to make that opening as big as possible. In the original plan, they put the fridge to the right of that opening. WE CHANGED THIS and are now putting a counter with uppers and lowers in that corner. The doorway to the right leads into the hallway toward bedrooms. The refrigerator is now at the botom left of the diagram. We will put a vertical pantry next to that. The door below in the plan (D2 leads to the laundry room (we are taking some of this space for the kitchen). The NEW door to the outside will be just above the fridge in the diagram , after the wall jogs to the left. it says "door" outside the wall. Above this is a small counter, the sink, dishwasher, cabinets, and then the opening into the breakfast room. The dotted line door near the stove that confused buehl is the current wall and door into the laundry room that will go away. I hope this clarifies. I am definiitey open to suggestions as we seem to be a work in progress. Thanks for your help everyone!

I would swap the location of the pantry near the sliding door and the fridge. It is nice to have the fridge closer to the eating area. Also if you can bring the microwave closer to the fridge would be good as most food travels from fridge to the microwave. Similarly, utensils, places, bowls, glasses should be close to the microwave and the dishwasher. So maybe you can keep it in drawers close to the dishwasher towards the end of the counter. That will keep it close enough to the microwave and the family can set the table without getting in the way of the cook. Trash should ideally go near the prep sink as ,ost trash is generated during prep. Or maybe even do 2 trash loacation. I would nudge the induction cooktop further down so that you can pivot and reach the cleanup sink. I like the prep sink but you want to have a landing space for the fridge and he microwave before the prep sink. If you plan filtered water etc.., I would do it at the prep sink. I guess the man thing is to look at the traffic flow patterns. What is the aisle space between the 2 counters? I would recommend at leat 5 ft as it is a through traffic area with the barndoor at one end the sliding doors and the access to family room at the other.

Yes, I do. In fact, I have upper cabinets that are 3" deeper than standard (15"D) and prep in front of them on counters that are standard depth (25.5"D) -- no problems! I don't when at my mom's Kitchen. Which do I prefer -- neither/both. I have no preference, it's all the same to me! The Key is to have good under cabinet lighting. Now that I think about it, I have better lighting than my mom has b/c I have under cabinet lighting and do not have to rely on overhead lights that cast a shadow on the counter when I'm standing at the counter. At night, it is a bit dim in my mom's Kitchen despite the overhead light. Natural light is all well and good, but what about at night or a dark and stormy day? The best Kitchens have both natural light and good artificial lighting.