This discrepancy should have been caught when the countertop guys templated the countertop. Are your walls that messed up, or is it because of a flawed cabinet installation? Regardless, a 1/2" gap is ridiculous. You can have a new top properly fitted. Bingo, problem solved. Is there a backsplash to be installed? That can hide a gap, with the exception of the gap at the end of the countertop. Depends on if that edge will be visible or not. Everything else is a compromise of sorts in that you can reduce the gap in the back but you overhang in front. You can slide it back but then your cabinet overhang at the front of the cabinets will be skewed. You can scribe the countertop as is, slide the entire thing back 1/2" to close the gap on the right. That'll give you even reveal on the front overhang, but it'll be 1/2" less front cabinet overhang than you have now. Or you can do a fraction of that 1/2". Slide it back 1/4" for a 1/4" gap on the back left, and lose 1/4" of overhang at the front of the cabinets. You can notch the drywall on the back right wall and slide the top back. Same effect as the previous recommendation, but you're notching the drywall instead of scribing the countertop. Another alternative is to use mud to float out the back wall. Essentially you're making the back wall "thicker" to bring the wall forward to meet the countertop. It'd have to be done in several steps, and you'd have to feather the half-inch thickness down over the run of the wall. But that also depends on windows on the wall and how the existing window trim will be affected. There are fixes and there are band-aid repairs. Mongo

On the other sidde of your question, most tile used in backsplashes is 1/4" or 3/8" thick, plus you have the thinset behind that. You can probably allow 3/8-1/2" for your splash, but I agree that 1/4" variations are probably more than norm that unusual. Hope you love your marble. I thought I was going to have to tell you that I had the first stain on my marble, but I think they were actually on the sealer. They came right off with some cleaner add I will reseal the counters soon -- it's about time anyway. I think you are more likely to love them for several years and convince someone else seeing them in a used state that marble isn't so scary that to lose a sale. Worst case, someone wants to replace the counters -- or get Dry Treat applied. ;-) For now, they are yours to enjoy. I like your slabs. The speak to me -- kind of like mine did. Mine had dark lines and squiggles against a background that reminded me of da Vinci sketches on old paper. My son has done reports on da Vinci for school and we have enjoyed talking about his incredible visions and ideas -- and laughed about the line in "Ever After" where da Vinci takes a locked door off the hings and tells them that he shall forever be remembered as the man who opened a door. I think that set me up to love my slab, but yours has a wispy quality that is unusual and I like that too. Enjoy your counters, and if you have any concerns 3 years from now -- well, no certainty that I'll still be here or have the same email address, but I'd be happy to help you get them ready for a resale over a cup of coffee and talk about what your next counters will be (these are it for me -- DH says he's going out of here in a box -- LOL) Love your marble!

I would call your $/sf very pricey. In Des Moines Iowa, its around $133/sf, I believe according to a quick look on the internet. National average is $175/sf. Anyway, I have marble in my bathroom and have been happy with it. Its not subjected to intense chemicals. No nail polish. Just toothpaste, hairspray, and soap. I love the marble. I have it honed. I also have a medicine cabinet that I think is terrific. Though I don't use it as much as I thought I would. I have drawers in the vanity for most things. I do love the large mirror. The history of my medicine cabinet is that I aquired the mirror for free back in the early 90's, before I knew what I had. I thought it was a lower cabinet door for a fancy home bar. So when I was redoing my one bathroom 4 years ago, I noticed mirrors in the show room that reminded me of the mirror I had stored in the basement. It was a Robern fairly large mirrored medicine cabinet mirror. So I had my wonderful carpenter make me a cabinet to go with the trim and cabinetry in the bathroom. I love it, and I think it's pretty.

These cabinets are in a 30-year old condo; the cabinets are about 15 years old and are in good condition. It is a starter/rental condo so I will only be replacing the countertop/sink/faucet, etc. It has a knee space with the sink on the left side so the sink is not centered. Currently it has just a cheap beige laminate. The counter is about 74 inches long. Would I be able to put granite/quartz on top of this? I know that there is a metal bar that can be put across to support granite but the cabinet is between walls. Would there be anything to support it on the right side? Or should I just go with laminate or something similar? Since it is an unusual size, it would have to be custom and laminate would still not be all that cheap for custom. We live in an area with many granite fabricators/sell remnants so I could probably get a granite/quartz countertop for around $1000. (Recently had a 48" one for around $600). Thanks!