It depends on the contractor. One should hope that a contractor who works with stone would know stone better than a homeowner who does not. But, I would agree that this can much more a hope than a reality. The contractor has to work with it. It would be quite annoying to have a homeowner pick out stone that is hard to work with or because he thought he knew more about it than someone who works with it everyday. It could be add difficulty to the project, weaken the structure, and even seem a little insulting on top of that. I would suggest that you might be diplomatic by saying that you would like to go along and see what is available with him. Are you paying him to supply the materials, or are you paying the supplier directly. A lot of guys do not like to reveal their sources in order to protect their sources, especially if supplies are limited. Another question is whether it costs more to waste stone or to pay a mason for time picking each stone. Usually the labor is what kills you.

"...It's possible to make a car that does not break. Period..." Really? Even LEXUS owners have problems with their cars! And my old boss bought a new S class Mercedes. (S500) And it was eventually declared a "LEMON" and was replaced. Automobiles are still assembled by humans. And those huumans can have bad days and miss something on the line. It happens. And yes, not too long ago all American automakers built crap. But the quality has improved a great deal. So a Buick that's over 10 years old is not even in the same league as a Buick that's 2 years old as far as engineering goes. As a matter of fact, in 1999 we rented a brand new Park Avenue while on vacation. My wife called it a piece of garbage compared to our '88 Volvo. The power seat controls came off in her hand! Yeah, garbage! But I'll guarantee that the Lucerne is light years ahead of that Park Ave! In both quality and engineering.

Yachter, My original plan was to set a special tablesetting once a week, but this week I did it 3 times and since Sunday will be our anniversary I'm doing it one more time. But after this I'll only do it about once a week, especially during the spring and summer when I want to be outside. And no, DH isn't into my tablesettings, his birthday is coming up and he wants a tablesaw. LOL Your dishcloth bunny is so cute. And isn't your DH a real sweetheat for bringing them home to you! I would love to make some of those, but I can't tell from the pic how it's made. Can you tell from looking at it how it's made? Karen, If setting a pretty table makes you happy then go for it. I believe you said you don't usually use your dining room so you could play in there with no one to shove stuff out of the way to read the newspaper. ;~) Now, the kitties may still give you some trouble!

Okay paintguy and brushworks.... you have both helped me with paint questions before so I'm trying not to get bristly here... but you are reminding me a bit of the software geeks I used to work with. God forbid somebody untechnical should ask them what kind of pc to buy. They'd invariably convince the poor person that they had no business even THINKING about buying a pc without first earning a degree in a related field. Is a youtube video going to turn you into a professional painter -I would hope not! But most of us are visual learners and it is much easier to watch someone do something than to just read about it and try to apply the knowledge. Sometimes I think experts cannot remember what it was like to know nothing about their field of expertise. It may be because I am a teacher, but I think when the op asked for some basic paint help, we should take her at her word...and pointing her to a few videos is certainly a step in the right direction.