Please be patient in reading all of this as I think it will help you understand and deal with the situation better. To start, range width can vary. The vast majority of low to mid priced (and sized) ranges are 29.9 inches including Frigidaire, GE, Whirlpool, Samsung, LG and many more. Some are 30 including Bosch. The higher priced ones tend to have a bigger oven and they stretch them to the full 30. Even if they are 29 7/8, 1/8 inch split between both sides is not enough room to move the range without damaging it or the counter. That means a standard opening should be at least 30 1/4 and your's is 30 1/2. So, it's 1/8 more on each side with the vast majority of "standard" sized ELECTRIC ranges. You just spent many thousands getting your kitchen done. You have a range that's a more unusual 29.5. Also, ones that size are usually at the lower end and here you have it with a beautiful new kitchen. What happens when you want a new range? It's probably going to be about 30. A 30 won't fit in 30! What happens when you want to sell the house with a range gap that won't fit the vast majority of ranges?! So, do you really want this GC to "fix" your counter to be 29 3/4-30? As far as blame, if we want to get picky, for probably no reason considering the above, in my view, it's shared. Did you tell him your stove was a more unusual smaller size? Although, he could have asked too. In my opinion, he did you a favor by making it the best "standard" size possible, possibly 1/4 (only 1/8 on each side) more than necessary but not 1/2 to 1. With what he's done, he has ensured you can fit almost any electric range ;) The majority of your gap (1/2 inch) is caused by your unusual range. I'm hoping what I've said helps you be happy with your new, beautiful kitchen :) This post was edited by gfinale on Sun, Dec 2, 12 at 12:12

These are the shims you want. $1.65. If the top has been rodded or the sink has been strapped in place, no shims are necessary. Don't force any shim in too tightly; you don't want to knock the top out of plane.

It is very common for counters to be shimmed if your cabinets were not level. The stone is stronger level than if it was to be placed flat on an uneven surface. But this all depends on how high it was shimmed and the support it is given.

You're mixing different terms, and that's causing confusion. A Bertazzoni is very much a consumer range and most definitely not a commercial range. You would never see it in a restaurant kitchen. The dimensions just wouldn't fit. And it probably also wouldn't stand up to the daily abuse. Also, most professional chefs would be put off by the small amounts of BTU. Professional cooking is all about speed. Most ranges start at about 30kBTU for all of the burners. What you have is a residential range that has been styled to look more like a commercial range and that has some of the features that would be useful to both a professional and a home chef. But it still has all the safety features and the dimensions of a residential range. That's why you can install it next to kitchen cabinets and why you can get away without a fire suppression system. And yes, there are plenty of those brands. People frequently refer to them as prosumer, as they want to establish a clear distinction from lower-powered conventional consumer models. But calling them commercial is highly misleading, as that expression is already in use for something very different.