Thanks to all for your input. Today is the day! Buehl - Buffalo is the land that time forgot. They have been in a recession 'forever' when you talk to the natives, so the major economy swings are more like blips out here. One would think that the prices would come down, but they don't. On the flipside, one would think that the customer service aspect would be better due to competition. We had a very hard time finding a contractor. They either wouldn't call back or would walk in spouting: /snotty High Tea accent on/ I do most of the Bills and Sabres kitchens.... /snotty High Tea accent off/ Due to the fact that subs don't call back or are unreliable from the other jobs we've needed done, we opted for a GC who was one stop shopping. He is awesome. He wasn't the most expensive and he wasn't the cheapest. But we feel (now that we're almost done) he brought a ton of value to the project. Should your mother decide to do her kitchen, I wouldn't hesitate to give you the name/number of this company. They've been in and out of our home for 4 weeks and it's like having my brothers roaming around.

That's just beautiful stone! I'm so envious.... I was looking for a white granite just like that! one of the suppliers I went to (three states away, even, I was on a HUNT!) had a tiny sample, but no slabs and no idea when they'd get any. I looked everywhere! I ended up with Carrara Marble, which I love, but your granite is exactly what I'd originally envisioned. Can't wait to see the finished product! Are your backsplashes slabs as well? Interesting templating. That is what my husband does in boatbuilding (and has done here when cutting cabinetry parts to fit wonky old-house walls, like the cover panel for teh refrigerator!) But our counter installers used a computer program: they took digital photos with special labels affixed to the counter area, and used a program to lay it out.

What beautiful granite! We had to take our appliance garage out before our granite install....but it looks like yours can accomodate the height of the slab. Ours were existing cabinets and hubby had some work cut out to remove the garage and get it re-installed! Hope you post pictures after the granite it is.

As a Fabricator, I am always open to having clients present on the day of templating. This is good for both of us for a number of reasons - Like your project, IF there are more than one stone being used, which one goes where? Preference of overhang dimensions, radiused edges, pop outs (or bump outs - whatever you want to call them), etc. As far as the stone color goes - if there are areas of interest to the customer that they either DO or DO NOT want in areas of prominence - THAT is WAAAAAYYY good to know = BEFORE we cut the slabs up..... :0 When it comes to seams, I decide where they will go, and my customer accepts my decision. They look to me to advise where the semas should go, primarily because I have been doing this for 23 years now....... We also do things pretty "visually" to show our customers where the seams will be (with a layout drawing showing where the seams will be, as well as overhang dimensions, etc). We are also working on using a slab optimization program where we can shoot a digital picture of the slab (to scale) and then overlay WHERE the individual pieces that will make up the kitchen (or whatever the project is) will lay out on the slab. THIS is pretty critical in showing a customer that may not ever have had Granite before - what their vein matchup - or lack thereof - will actually look like BEFORE the slabs are even put on our water jet. Here's an example of what I like to call "Perpindicular Vein Match" - two pieces of Santo Cecillia that made up a 90 degree inside corner - we could not do a 45 degree mitered corner. The customer was cool with this, and we proceeded..... no problemo - happy customer!!! Bottomline as far as I am concerned is this - Should you be there on the day of Template? ABSOLUTELY Should you have the opportunity to have a say in what pieces get cut of where on each slabs? ABSOLUTELY Should you be cool with where the seams are going to go? ABSOLUTELY I have this saying: "If a customer KNOWS exactly what they are getting, (in your case - your Granite countertops) they won't be SHOCKED when they get it.... (once it's installed in YOUR home and you are loving it)" the more you know about the product that you are investing in before you make the investment - the more happy you'll be with your decision Hope that helps ya kevin