My experience with a 'sear burner' is that it really isn't 'all that'. I watched a video of someone cooking two steaks on the same grill, one side with a sear burner, the other with it's 'normal' burner. Both steaks turned out the same. When I was searching around several years ago for a grill I saw that there are mostly 3 levels. Those from $99 to around $999, those from $1000 to around $2900, and those above that. The lower level used cheap steel, cheap valves and cheap burners, all of which would rust to death in a few years. The middle level used better components (stainless in more places, valves that actually had a low setting, stainless tube burners), but there construction was a bit less (screws instead of welds). The higher end used 304 stainless throughout, heavy stainless grill surface rods (instead of porcelain steel that will eventually crack and rust), welded seams throughout the firebox and lid. So it really depends on your budget. What I would look for: 1. stainless steel cooking grates over porcelain. Cast iron is going to rust unless you take constant care of it. There are some stainless grates that are 'non-stick', not a coating but a special way they are made. 2.alternative lighting system. Pretty much all have electric start, either by spark or by glowplugs. The alternative "emergency" lighting Ive seen uses a 'flame tube' where you hold a match over it and the flame flows down to the burner. Nice to have it the batteries or power go out. 3. Decent rotisserie system. Look for how much weight it can support and how big the burner is in relation to the whole cooktop. 4. Lights. Sometimes good to have at night but they do get sooted up over time. 5. Easy opening/accessible splatter tray. Cover with foil and cleanup is a breeze. 6. Stainless tube, stainless cast or brass burners. They should never rust out on you. 7. Some gas grills come with dividers that separate the grill sections for each burner. This allows you to cook at different temperatures on the same grill. So one section for steak, one for burgers and one for chicken. This can come in handy. BBQ grill source

If I perceive your granite shape correctly, it is a single rectangular slab with a rectangular "bite" (for the grill) taken out of one side ...? Others have already remarked on the long, cantilevered overhang. It seems to me that the shape itself -- where the center of the rectangular slab is weakened from the cutout piece, is under too much stress on account of the overhanging portions. As Rev says, you're asking a lot of relatively thin piece of brittle stone. I think you have to redesign and support the cantilevered pieces. In addition, if the ends were supported, you could double-prevent the potential for cracking by splitting the stone slab length into two pieces, so that there is already a joint where a crack would likely form.

@nycbluedevil_gw You said you have the infrared sear zone and 2 normal grates---can you use the infrared zone for anything other than high-heat searing? The Alfresco person told me no--that's either on or off--so now I'm wondering if the space on the 2 standard burners will be enough room for everything else. Or if you sear on the infrared and then turn that one off, might that be used as just a warming zone for food that's done or food that needs indirect heat? We aren't a big steak family, so now I'm wondering if I should get the sear zone! We do mostly turkey burgers (sometimes hamburgers), chicken, vegetables....the occasional pork butt low and slow. I know I could just sear on standard burners with very high heat--is the infrared that much better for that sort of thing?

You can build your own enclosure or buy the ISOPANEL enclosure to support the grill. In either case, Wolf is telling you that the deck beneath the enclosure must be "level and flat and support 300 lbs". Wolf is just warning you not to put the enclosure in your yard on, say, grass or gravel or dirt or another surface not strong and stable enough to support the heavy enclosure and appliance.