If you are getting a wood top, I would definitely finish it with Waterlox (on both sides) or some other type of waterproof/food safe finish. We installed butcher block with just a mineral oil finish 4 years ago. I love it on our peninsula but we are now going to replace the counter around the sink area with soapstone because of the water issue. My husband and I really tried to be diligent about oiling it all the time around the sink, but it became much too challenging with raising 3 small kids as well! Metal rings also happen if you leave a can on the counter too long so it became a stress for us. At family parties, people try and help with the dishes and then there are water spots everywhere, despite recently oiling it! The mineral oil finish was just too tough to maintain around water. HTH!

momof2doxies: thanks for the photo! That helps me visualize. I think if I do BB there I'd have to do something contrasting -- either striped like yours or end grain. shanghaimom and ci_lantro: reinstalling the Jenn-Aire as a functioning cooktop is not possible. We have a stone house and the exhaust vent to the outside is already covered up and re-stoned, so I can't hook it back up. (We had a lot of stone work/patching done before we moved in and had the vent patched at the same time, before we really discussed options for dealing with the big hole!) This is a strange and quirky house, so the patched counters will just have to be one of its charms!

We went from laminate to granite and we are very glad we did! We actually had no problems w/our laminate...but I was careful not to put hot pots directly on it. My big complaint was the "look & feel" as well as the "feel" under the edge of the laminate....it was rough like a "torn" piece of particle board. It was even shredding in a couple of places. We had a gray speckled laminate so the stains we had did not show. The granite has been great! No sealing ever required (we have Absolute Black Premium w/some silver inclusions....very few though). Yes, dust is noticeable if the counter is not wiped off for a few days, but since we generally wipe off all counters each day, it hasn't been an issue. We also have a stainless steel sink. Our old kitchen had one as well....for 12 years. There was only one recent rust spot that I remember when a steel can was left in the wet sink overnight...but it was not that noticeable (I now know that Bar Keepers Friend would have removed that stain). It did, however have scratches....but after a year or two it developed a "patina" as the scratches melded together to form a "finish". It was very easy to keep clean! We decided to put another stainless steel sink in with the remodel and we have no regrets...undermounted this time! As to "breaking dishes and glasses against the undermount sink edges"....most likely the sink had a "negative" reveal (countertop extends past sink edges so you don't see the edge of the sink) and, yes, I've heard that can be a problem w/that reveal--at least until you get used to it. We went for a positive reveal b/c of that plus I didn't want to have to feel or crane my neck to look under the reveal to see if there was any "gunk" under there. BTW...we have not yet broken a single glass or dish on our granite [knock on wood!]...and I was prepared to deal with it until we got used to it! We ruled out Corian/solid surface very quickly as I think it looks "plasticy"...but that's only my opinion. If you are that concerned about the structural integrity of you house...then I really think you should have a building/structural engineer (correct person?) look at your house to see if you have anything to worry about....and not just for granite (think of water in a bathtub!). You might also consider 2cm granite instead of 3cm. This is your kitchen, though, so go with what you are comfortable with and like! Good luck!

I also heard that one of the Korean companies was making microwaves. Sharp and Panasonic for sure. All microwaves degrade from the jump. The magnetron (is that what it's called? Too early for me..) degrades with use. Search the forum, and you'll get good explanations from Kas about this. Investing a ton of money in a microwave, therefore, doesn't make a lot of sense. OTOH, that part will last a heck of a lot longer than a few years, if you get a kitchen grade microwave (as opposed to a desktop cutsiepoo unit for which I have no data at all). The thing that makes so many microwaves "disposable" is wear and tear. If you have family members who SLAM the door, PUNCH the buttons, etc., and constantly fiddle with it, starting and stopping and opening and closing, and just using it a lot for one mug of hot water, the box is going to wear out long before the magnetron. If you're nice to it, and use it a couple of times per day rather than all day long, it could last 20 years or more. One of the things you can get with a more expensive unit, along with looks and snooty badge, is potentially a sturdier housing. It is also potentially possible to have a built-in unit repaired (I can't imagine it being worthwhile to repair a freestanding unit). There are people who do microwave repairs and they do make replacement magnetrons. The only situation where that seems like a possible good idea, however, is when you have the beautiful built-in that matches your beautiful kitchen which still looks like new. Re convection: The initial convection microwaves didn't work well as ovens, and also didn't meet the expectations of the buyers. That was before convection ovens themselves were well understood in the US. In the time I've been researching appliances and hanging out here (coming up on ten years), the general tone from users of them has gone from not worth the money to acceptable second oven. Again, I don't know if that's a change in quality or in user expectations. Convection ovens cook with circulated hot air. They do a good job roasting. Great for "cooking" or "baking" a casserole. Even baking a loaf of bread. For small things, like cookies, a lot depends on the pan, the cookie and whether or not it really wanted bottom heat. For most, it'll do an acceptable job. Some outliers really do better with a proper baking mode. Egg rising things like angel cakes and soufflés really don't like being blown about. If you can arrange the angle of the pan to the blower just right, it's possible, but still iffy. The heated air can also bounce off the surfaces in unexpected ways leading to uneven cooking/browning, contravening the evenness that you otherwise get from the movement of the air. It's likely that there are still poor ones out there, especially at the lower end. There must also be good ones. Just familiarize yourself with the features and abilities of the unit, and use that to sift through the consumer reviews to know whether it was the oven or the user, and make your judgment from there.