I just found out on another thread that the Pegasus tempered glass top is not a good option. They both show scratches pretty badly. Yes, a number of us have sticker shock on the price of the countertop. One thing I'm thinking of checking out is with a local granite/marble shop to see if I can get a remnant and not have to pay for a complete slab and waste material. Here is a link that might be useful: Info on Pegasus glass top

I love #1 and that cute little girl! Please post picture of your kitchen when the cabinets are installed since I want to see Polar White inset cabinets in another kitchen and not just the show room. I only saw one other poster with the Polar white. I still have not given up yet on the Shiloh Inset Cabinets that I love and if I can save enough for them, then I am not sure between the Polar White and the Soft White. In the showroom the Polar White seemed to be a touch darker than BM Cloud White. In pictures, it seems to white. I loved it in the show room.

Are you talking about using either 2 cm or 3 cm slabs? I've never actually seen them measured in inches. Presuming that's what you mean, there are a lot of threads on that topic here. Type "2 cm vs 3 cm granite site:gardenweb.com" into your search engine and you'll turn some up. The bottom line is that you can use either for your islands. The 2 cm slabs are placed with a plywood underlayment and generally have another 2 cm strip of granite laminated onto the edge to give a nice edge finish and cover up the plywood. 3 cm slabs don't need an underlayment and have a nice fat edge for finishing built in. 2 cm slabs are more popular (i.e. more available) on the west coast and 3 cm more popular on the east coast, but that is not a universal comment on availability. I live on the west coast and I have 3 cm granite. Functionally you can go either way and be comfortable about your decision. When you're looking at costs, be sure to factor in the extra fabrication expense for the laminated edge and the extra expense of fabricating a stone that eats up the fabricator's saw blades like the really hard quartzites.

with no cutouts they shouldn't be all that fragile and 3/4" m,aterial is roughly 12 lbs per sq. ft. so your parts should be managable by 2 adult males. handle them upright like glass and be careful when you tip them down to flat, thats when most breakage occurs. If you want to be extra careful take a couple of "C" clamps and clamp a piece of angle iron to the outside edge using tape or wood shims between the clamp and the stone to prevent scratches. we have customers haul parts like that all the time in the back of pick ups without breakage. again, if you want to be extra careful ask a local fabricator if you can borrow an "A" frame. not sure how it would be in your area; around here almost any fabricator would loan an "A" frame just for the goodwill. maybe offer to leave a deposit.