by self locking I mean that many foam boxes, if you stay in the one design, will stack together with little bumps and grooves and crenulations and whatnot so that when they are stacked on a truck they don't move around. My preferred box is called a 'brocolli box' here and is 1'x1'x2' without holes and with a lid. They have 8 pegs moulded into the tops and 8 matching dimples in the base, and you can stack vertically, or any kind of stretcher bond (because the pegs make two squares). They are strong enough that you can fill them with water and stack them 5 high without collapsing. They're getting hard to find though, as growers seem to have switched to some kind of reuseable polyethylene or polypropylene crates. The subsoil I use is clay with granity chunks in it, and it sets fairly hard without cement, but slumps when wet. Adding 10% cement powder makes it rock hard. Trying to remove the surface often resulted in the polystyrene pulling apart rather than the surface. (When we moved I had to dismantle the wall, and I ended up using a hammer to break the surface up, even then I only removed enough to get them apart) Part of the magic is the technique of splatting the mix on rather than troweling. The force drives the cementy mixture into the cracks and forms a strong bond with the foam. You also get a far more natural finish than trowelling approaches. This process could be automated with a concrete sprayer. I found it helpful to rub over the surface with a cloth with some mixture on it. Originally I thought this was to wet the surface, but I now think that what was happening was that the gritty mixture scratched the surface giving a better key. I think polystyrene and a tensile element is probably one of the best structural materials out there for this kind of work - PS and mylar film is still the material of choice for ultralight mirrors used in cloud chasing. Look up 'tensegrity structure'. My prefered method is PS with fibreglass mesh and acrylic-cement basecoat. Then you can go nuts with whatever tufa you like. They make buildings out of PS foam with plywood coatings now http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_insulated_panel and cementboard coatings http://www.thermasave.us/

Like I said before, your support and suggestions gave me the strength to continue on with this problem and see it through to a positive resolution. I don't enjoy conflict, but when needed I can "woman up!". What a crock tho to have to go through. In the whole scope of world issues, it's a minor blip..but it made my life difficult for the past 6 weeks and it wasn't necessary. What irritated me the most, was the customer service from the top...absolutely horrible. I found out from the installer that the man I emailed 3x's and sent pics to and never heard anything back except a terse text five days later at 8:45pm saying the original installer would be at my house the next day (really you text a customer less that 18 hours before sending someone out? Hello! I work!).......get this......is the owner! I can't wait to post pics of my almost finished kitchen, since GC is going to install & hook up all my appliances. That's the best Mother's Day gift I can get! Will be having brunch for my mom at my house at 9:30am..too bad you all can't join me. I'd love to meet you and talk "house"....or maybe not talk house :)

The cost per square foot wholesale has the same relationship to you as knowing what the meat wholesaler charges the restaurant for the filet that you want for dinner. The important thing is how well the chef prepares that filet. All you really want to judge is that final bill, and what it covers. If the steamed broccoli is a side, or included with the meal is irrelevant if one restaurant is known for serving shoe leather. Any prices in this thread are going to be completely irrelevant starting right about now. Expect a minimum 15% price increase, due to the tariffs. Some will have more than a 15% increase, as the labor of stone fabrication has stayed fairly stagnant now for over 10 years, and this is the time to rectify the labor market. It won’t be just quartz that is affected either. Most stone is imported. Most tile is too. Almost everything construction related is already high due to the hurricane rebuilds starting last year, and we now have another massive rebuild staring us in the face as well.

I just found this thread and it is very helpful to what I am working on now but first and foremost, I would like to share my condolences on the loss of your husband. I lost a husband many years ago and still recall how difficult it was. It is a journey, with ups and downs, but you will find a new normal life for you and your family. I am working on a condo kitchen reno and was trying to decide if I should recommend Dekton vs Silestone to the client. They really like the new Silestone - Ethereal Glow that has some warm gold veining in it. HOWEVER, she is not the best housekeeper and I wonder about stains and they also had a counter for 25+ years in their old house that was heat proof (can't recall what it was but it was not concrete). Based on this conversation I took a quick look at Dekton REM and it might be a better solution. What is the recommended edge for Dekton? The only other kitchen/bath reno I have done is a kitchen with a Cambria - Berwyn counter.