LWYD, No I haven't got my Bain Ultra tub yet. I have finished the second bathroom, and am loving it. The third and final bath is on our to-do list for this year. (2015) One piece of advice re pricing..they are very expensive, but there must be some room for negotiation...my plumbing supply place matched the best offer I could find. Some places quoted an all-inclusive price, others charged extra for drain and overflow (hundreds extra), so make sure you are clear what the quote includes. I've changed my mind, and am now planning on getting the Thalassa 55. Once I looked in the catalogue, I realized there is actually more inside room though the tub dimensions are narrower.

I'm in the middle of trying to figure out whether to go 2cm or 3cm, and I didn't even realize that granite came in two different thicknesses until recently. I wish my fabricator had told me that I could decide because I just learned that the slabyard has both thicknesses available in the stones I'm considering. The funny thing is that I moved to So Cal from Connecticut about 5 yrs ago and have renovated kitchens in both places. In CT, it was never a question, I just got the 3cm and there was no laminated edge and conversely, when I moved to So Cal 5 yrs ago and renovated (yet another!) fixer-upper, no one ever asked which thickness I preferred, I just went to the slabyard, picked a slab and it happened to be 2cm. I never realized that there was a thickness option, or that there even was a difference. Duh!! What should've clued me in was that in So Cal there was a lot of discussion about which edge detail to choose. Because I had black honed granite in CT and like a simple, plain look, I chose the same when we moved to So Cal (and, to make matters trickier, at that time, plain black honed granite was pretty unheard of around here so I don't think the fabricator knew how to deal with it well). He asked me how I wanted the edge, and I told him that I wanted nothing fancy, just a plain eased edge....I was SOOOO disappointed when the counters were installed and I saw this thin seam running through the middle of the edge. I had no idea that they would put an edge over the slab and didn't get how that could happen. Of course, the fabricator, thinking this was standard and thinking I knew what I wanted, having done it before, didn't really explain and warn me strongly about the seam issue. For awhile, I couldn't understand what happened and what was the difference between the way my counters were made in CT vs. here in So Cal. Now I get it. This renovation (yes, we've moved into yet another fixer upper - last one!), I'll go with the 3cm, but from what I understand, I need to warn my cabinetmaker that I'm using 3cm because I've heard he needs to adjust the cabinets tp accept 3cm. That's another difference between east and west coast situations...in CT, the cabinetmaker assumed I was using 3cm, but here in So Cal, the cabinetmaker is assuming I'll use 2cm and needs me to warn him if I use the 3cm. Just something to think about for those perhaps in similar situations - remember to confirm the size of granite with your cabinetmaker, in case he doesn't ask.

We have somewhere around 140 sf of granite in the kitchen; big kitchen with big island plus a buffet separating kitchen and family room. So the $14k price from the second place is about $100/sf (for both material and install). This is a quote for the exact type of granite we chose - we went to yards to look at various slabs and chose the Blue Eyes as the one we liked the look of best. Then our GC sent out the dimensions of our requirements to the two shops for quotes for our specific requirements. From what I have seen/read the Blue Eyes is on the expensive side, it reads more as a gray with blue highlights than blue, but it does have the blue which I guess adds to the expense. But DH is in love with it... The Costa Esmerelda slabs are cheaper - $8500 installed for 4 slabs. I think we're about 110 sf there (quote includes slab granite for shower walls in addition to counter and tub) so about $77 per square foot. I think what we've chosen is on the more expensive side for granite; funny how it seems to work out that way. Original allowances from our contractor were $10k for kitchen and $4k for bath, so we're over that (bath one was for granite countertop and tile shower, but I'm really leaning towards the granite for both and no grout!)

Thank you for all the info. I purchased the Creative Memories Cutting System with oval today. I haven't used it but I'll start in this weekend. I found a consultant on the Creative Memories website for my area. Very nice woman and helpful. The cost was $38.00 plus tax. She left me a catalog for other interests I might have. She asked if I was interested in classes, etc. and at this time I'm not. She was fine with that. Good experience. Can't wait to try my new tools.