This is very very helpful. Thank you so so much. With the exception of the Miele Dishwasher, all the other appliances (36" Wolf Range, 42" Wolf Vent Hood, Miele Refrigerator, and Sharp Drawer Microwave) have been delivered and are on site. There is an island in front of the range and the width of the walkway between the island and the range is around 40" so I was a little bit concerned about trying to slide in the range once the counter top was installed and if there was enough room for easily maneuvering it in place. The appliance store was going to send their installers to install all the appliances, but at appliance delivery time, the installer came along and said that they do not install 42" wide vent hoods, so I am stressed out about finding someone to install just the hood for me. I just didn't need this hassle in an already extremely difficult remodel that I am going through. Any helpful hints (or something that I should watch out for) about vent hood will be greatly appreciated as I am clueless about that part of the job. And does anyone tile behind the range (heat considerations) or is drywall good enough?

Thank you for all the help. I have read over the older threads and it has given me a lot to think about. These were helpful and thank you for posting them. I really liked the trash bags on the counter idea to see how it would look. Can anyone explain to me the difference in honed or leather Absolute Black? The leather Absolute Black would give it the rustic look we want. rgps can you tell me which quartz that is. Soapstone would be my number one choice but it really is not an option. Soapstone looking quartz could look very nice. RightDi I don't know the name of the granite slab, but I can find out tomorrow to let you know. Thank you for your help.

Joseph Corlett, the existing edge profile is eased. Is it more difficult to seam to finished edges? Will there be cutting/grinding required in the house? I imagined that they would get the two pieces cut to size and attach them, maybe with some supports underneath. Is it more complicated than that? Should I just get a new countertop instead of considering this patch job? damiarain, thank you for all the links of the drawer units under induction cooktop. I am aware that there are clearance concerns for the top drawer. However, all photos there also show new countertops under the cooktops, which brings me back to the original question of how required a new countertop is for a cooktop install. This discussion is telling me that this new cooktop installation is more complicated that I originally imagined. I thought replacing 30" range with 30" cooktop would pretty standard. I need to consider leaving the range in place until I get enough money to get a new cooktop, drawer units AND a countertop.

I’ve only skimmed the comments, but I was just about to say the same thing as Chessie—that the range you’re describing where the sides of cooktop sit on top of the countertops next to them used to be known as drop-in style, but nowadays some slide-ins—like the dual-fuel Bosch mentioned above—also have cooktops that sit on top of the countertops, so the verbiage is a bit muddled these days...or maybe it’s my brain that’s muddled. :) Edited to add that as far as cleanability (Apple is telling me that’s not a word because it’s underlined in red dots & is suggesting it be changed to “clean ability,” but, whatever) goes, a conventional slide-in (i.e., the sides are unfinished, controls are in the front and the cooktop sides do not sit on top of the countertop) or freestanding range is about the same or maybe even better in that department: With a slide-in or freestanding, crud goes into the crevice and you do your best to keep it kinda clean until you slide it out during your annual or semi-annual deep cleaning. With a drop-in, crud goes underneath the overlying cooktop sides and then gets pushed into that crevice while you’re doing your best to keep it kinda clean until—wait!: You can’t slide it out; it’s on a freaking platform—well, mine is, anyway. :/ P.S. If anyone was able to pick up what I was laying down in the preceding gobbledygook, I’m impressed.