Not DIY. Supposed to be one of the best fabricators per a few references. But the slabs where different thickness as you can see by the picture. he said he can fix it during install with shim's, variance, etc.. he said very normal with countertops.

That's exactly what I thought jerzeegirl. It's like a bunch of patterned diagonal lines then a blob in the end. The blob on the second picture is the end of the topmost stain line on the first picture. At first I thought the surface was absolutely glossy and perfect (it appeared so in natural light) but tonight I can see it's cloudy and hazy on the surface. It feels smooth to touch though. I am not sure what you mean by "under the surface" (sorry)? I can't figure out if it's a scratch or an etch or a watermark. I think my closest answer would be that it seems to be a surface mark and not something that is "seeped" into the stone -- but what do I know? I've never had granite before.

I was considering calling today, but realistically speaking, what is that place going to say? I don't have an invoice for the purchase and installation of the soapstone, and it's not like they would come and replace the countertops with different soapstone now. I'll probably still try calling this week out of curiosity. In my case mineral oil made the surface really shiny like polished granite, and the shine remained until either the dust settled on unused portions or an area of countertop would get used or have water splashed on it. Then that area would look messy. If I used a sponge to wipe crumbs, water, and food messes, then the sponge would remove some mineral oil, which would be very obvious as smear marks and duller finish. I finally gave up on mineral oil completely. It's such a fussy finish, never giving uniformity for a kitchen that's in use daily. I used blue Dawn detergent to remove any and all mineral oil I could, but the pitted areas were too obvious. So I just decided to scuff up the rest of the counters, so to speak, with the same acidic cleaner that caused the pitting. I spread some Lysol Lime and Rust cleaner with 10% hydrochloric acid on the counters using a sponge--really not much, like maybe a tablespoon per counter. Let it sit for a minute, and there was a metallic smell. I figured that was a reaction with the gray inclusions in the soapstone. Then I quickly washed off the surface and ended up with lots and lots of etching. It's a kind of busy look now, but I'm growing to like it. I imagine it will darken a bit over time as new patina develops. The new finish is more matte and thankfully busy enough that scratches and imperfections just blend in until close inspection. I now see lots of scratches that used to be covered up by mineral oil. One of the counters--overall look. The later images have enhanced contrast for visibility, it's not so contrasty in person: Close ups: Scratches: Light etching from the brief application of acidic cleaning that exposes all the gray portions or at least etches them matte so they look brighter/lighter. All the gray parts used to not be this bright, prominent, and scratched-etched looking pre-application of the acidic solution. Any gray inclusions--both veins and specks--close to the surface got etched: Earlier, much deeper pitting that at least is now not so visible on the background of the busier surface (plus some water stains). This is the same pitting as shown in the first post in this thread, labeled "1" :

Tar paper is the underlayment of choices according to the various cedar shingle associations. Tyvec works well too. That said, that is not a good location to learn the cedar siding trade and is best left to a contractor (not a painter) http://www.cedarbureau.org/installation/sidewall-installation-manual/ Underlayment - The CSSB recommends No. 30 felt (ASTM D226 Type II or ASTM D4869 Type IV) underlayment material. Apply it horizontally, with a staple gun, starting at the base of the wall, with a 2" horizontal overlap with each succeeding course, and a 6" overlap vertically when starting a new roll. Wrap the felt underlayment 4" each way around both inside and outside corners