I used services of Michael and Sons to clear a plugged toilet. They came out within an hour, told me upfront what the charge would be to auger, and were very efficient and careful. A little pricey, but I would use again.

Julie- We are located in western Loudoun Co. and we are considering soapstone as well. We are looking at having Bucks County Soapstone in Perkasie, PA build us a sink, and fabricate and install countertops and a beaded backsplash in our new construction kitchen in September. We visited their showroom on a family trip about a month ago and loved everything we saw. Bucks County offers unique finishing techinques that no other fabricators that I have researched are offering. They offer a "Franklin edge" for countertops that is softer looking than a traditional edge and gives the appearance of being worn over time. They also use the same technology to offer a "scooped" edge on their slant front sinks, and can also provide a recessed drainboard that looks worn in, in addition to the runnels that you see more frequently. They offer other unique carving/engraving services as well. Scott does have a minimum dollar figure for it to be worthwhile to have his people make the trip twice, once for templating and once for install. He also offered to fabricate from drawings and to package the stone for DIY pickup. After seeing the lovely work that they do, we're willing to consider having him come do the install. I know that you asked for more local sources of soapstone than Bucks County is, but I thought I would mention what we are doing, on the chance that you would want to have them do your install on the same trip as ours. I'm sure it would save us both money. Something to consider, anyway. They are about three and a half hours away from Purcellville, VA. Best of luck with your kitchen. Here is a link that might be useful: Bucks County Soapstone

The KD we had at EXPO in Columbia, MD, has become an independent KD. However, I do not have her contact information right now. As far as design is concerned, she is very good...just don't let her do the final measurements! I would definitely use her again as long as someone else did the measurements. She does her best to do what the customer wants but is not afraid to tell you why she thinks something may not work. If you want it anyway, she'll do it. When we began planning, I had insisted I had to have an island. She pointed out to me that I didn't really have the room, but I insisted. So, she drew it up for me and pointed out the 22" aisles I had b/w the corner of the islands & the window area. I realized she was right with that design so posted here asking if anyone could me come up w/a design w/an island. Everyone here worked very hard to come up with an island plan (and there were some very creative ideas!) but in the end they made me realize an island just wouldn't work... So, I asked both my KD and the folks here to start from scratch and redesign...both my KD and all of us here came up with very similar designs in the end. The main differences were (1) she had put in cabinet pantry cabinets but we had a corner pantry (which is what I stayed with) and (2) I added a "mini peninsula" that my KD didn't have and wasn't totally happy with...but she told me to mock it up and if I was OK with it she would go ahead with it in the design...I was OK with it (I loved it!) so she put it in. The problems I had with her later had more to do with EXPO policies that she had to follow and, of course, the measuring mistakes. (It took an anonymous GWer's intervention on my behalf at Home Depot Corporate to get our local EXPO to make good on the measuring mistakes without charging me.) [I just asked my DH and he agrees with me on all points!]

We are in Leesburg and are working with Kitchen Intuition in Warrenton. It's a bit of a hike, but Andrea Rexrode is the owner/designer and is fantastic! I went out to her office once and haven't had to go back again (she's so creative and works well via email if you don't want to go out their too often). I should also mention that I worked with another kitchen designer for about 6 months and was near tears. My builder recommended I contact Andrea and within 2 weeks we were done with the house. She's fantastic (and, we have the same name, so I like her even more!) ha! I'm recommending her bc she actually works with custom cabinet makers and carries a few brands. She's been able to do our entire house for a very reasonable price using a variety of them (high end kitchen with some custom items, but maybe less expensive items for mudroom, laundry, etc). She's definitely worth a call - 540-347-3871 (and, I'm glad to send you what she did for us as well)