Ever since I've had my kitchen remodeled, I'm not happy with the gaps between the stove & countertops but when some of my friends/family see it, they say it's no big deal. I know I'm picky but how would some of you feel if this happened to you? I have about 1/2" gap on either side of the stove after the granite was installed. The cutout for the stove was 30 1/2" and I have read where it should only be 30". I feel that my GC allowed this mistake as the granite people say they just install the granite flush with the cabinets. It would be a lot of work and money to have another piece of granite cut and installed and possibly messing up my new cabinets and walls in the process. I guess what I'm asking is...has this happened to anybody else and if so, how was it handled? I'm just torn about this. It's really upsetting when you have a visual look in your mind about how something should look and then it doesn't. The GC did not say that this was a mistake but I've read alot about the specs for the opening and they all say 30". I bought those gap fillers [t strips] and they don't look all that great. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

We had our doorbell box on a conspicuous wall like that in our family room. My hubby was able to move it to the wall directly behind where it had originally been so that it ended up in my kitchen, just above some cabinets that housed my double ovens. We could hear it just as well and you never saw it again unless you were standing high on a ladder working up towards the ceiling.

Good news. But the situation with the leveling is still there. If you wish to leave the tiles there, you will have to put some money and muscle and rented machines into this. It will probably take 2-3 days longer than if you hammered out the tiles. But if you insist, here are the list of instructions: 1. Rent sanding machine and purchase pads/belts for stone/concrete/tile 2. Tent off the kitchen with plastic sheeting; as well as air vents to prevent dust from getting into the ducts 3. Sand/rough up the tile (take the shiny finish off so that the next steps have something to grab on to). 4. With shop-vac, vacuum up the dust created by the sanding; wipe clean with water; allow to dry 5. Purchase primer AND Self Leveling Compound (SLC); make sure the two products are compatible....usually working with the same manufacturer is the way to go. 6. Roll on the primer onto the roughed up surface of the tile 7. Allow to cure (probably 1 day) 8. Mix recommended amount of SLC to cover your tiles in the MEDIUM amount of product allowable (read instructions to find out the MAXIMUM and the MINIMUM thickness and then pick an amount in between) 9. Trowel on or 'float' the cementatious material over the tile...remember to check for 'level' every few minutes (remember: SLC is NOT self-leveling = you will work very hard to keep everything level) 10. Allow to cure (24-48 hrs depending on your manufacturer) 11. Check for level. Mark the 'high' points and begin sanding those areas down 12. Vacuum up excess material; wipe down with lighting damp cloth 13. Allow to dry 14. Begin installing the floor. Whew! If you hire this out, you will pay $2/sf for this type of job. If it is a small kitchen, then you will pay a 'minimum job' fee which could look a bit more like $3-4/sf. If you remove the tiles you will pay $2/sf (same applies above). But the height variance between the two floors will be easier to deal with. You only need to 'lift' the kitchen floor to meet the REST of the house...which is much, much much smaller area to deal with.

It is honestly my fault for not realizing that I was getting double crown (crown at cabinet and at ceiling), although I wasn't told there would be 3" bulkhead extending past the cabinet crown. Apparently, that how they do the double crown. Right now, the bulkhead is framed, no cabinets so its not like you can see the bulkhead extending past. I was wondering if anyone had a picture of something like or could tell me what I want instead, lol. The cabinet crown molding is in with the cabinets I guess from the manufacturer, and if I want a different molding I would have to reorder from the cab manuf, have him redo the framing, etc. I just don't know what I want! And yes, I need the bulkhead because of venting or something, but I also wanted a way to extend the cabs up to the ceiling. The framing for the bulkhead is 10" tall and 30" depth above my counter depth area (for pantry and fridge) and like 18" above the regular uppers and vent hood.