Yes, it is a ficus! I'm going to attempt to paste a picture! [URL=http://img356.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficusdisease2hj3.jpg][IMG]http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/5716/ficusdisease2hj3.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img356.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficusdisease1hp5.jpg][IMG]http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/7313/ficusdisease1hp5.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Well, gee, that didn't work! Uy!

eliza -- 1. go to photobucket, get a free account 2. upload your photos 3. choose the images you want to post by checking the little box 4. go to bottom of page and click GENERATE HTML (it will take you to another page with 4 boxes to choose from) 5. click the 2nd box, it will say copy after you click 6. go to your post and type what you want then hit paste and picture HTML should appear 7. hit preview message and you should see your type and pics goodluck, keep trying if you don't get it the 1st time.

Yeah, I know about those. And I admit those would be easier to get level (and they'd be fewer holes, of course). But I have some like that elsewhere, and I don't like them much. I especially wanted to avoid them for this space, because this will be deep storage, with boxes or plastic bins, and I was hoping to create little "cubbyholes" that the boxes/bins would just slide right into without a lot of wasted space. For that kind, the triangular brackets take up vertical space (especially since the depth of that alcove is something like 18", and I need brackets that extend about 3/4 of the depth of the shelf). That'll make the back part of the triangle pretty tall. 3.25 inches, according to ClosetMaid. That would mean I'd lose about 2.75 inches for every shelf I have, since I won't be able to slide the box all the way back. Considering that the alcove goes way up to the 9.5-foot ceiling, that's about 15 inches of lost storage space--that's a whole shelf. (Plus, I've found that I don't do well if I have short little gaps on top of boxes; we all end up sticking junk in there, and then it's a pain to get the box out. I avoid that like the plague.) Maybe I'm too picky, or too greedy for every inch of storage, I don't know. But I was hoping to use the kind with the much-less-obtrusive clips, since I do have the opposite sides that I could work with for them. I've got a baseboard around the bottom of the alcove, so I'm going to see how level that is; and I was thinking I could just set the bottom of the standards right on that baseboard. (And of course, draw a vertical line using a level, so they're straight up and down.) Sure, that means the bottom-most slots are unusable, but who cares? At least the standards would all start on a level spot, horizontally. Or, level enough--given that it's a closet, and not on display, being off by 1/8 inch really won't kill anything, I don't think.) And the upper section, I can just set the top standard flush with the one below it. I thought I'd try with the bookcase-style--if the first standard seems too hard, I can always ditch it and switch over to the style you suggest; I won't be out much (I'd probably use those standards some other time, in a bookcase). But I didn't want to give up before I even got started. Lots of times, it's just a matter of thinking it out, planning carefully, and taking your time. I'm willing to put in a lot more work to get something that's more powerful of a solution for me. (Sometimes that's just because I like the challenge.) I suppose the other way I could deal with this (my dad suggested) is to get a piece of plywood to line each side of the alcove with, and attach the standards to that w/ nails (and use anchors and construction adhesive to attach the plywood), but that seems sort of convoluted. Plus, it loses me 1.5 inches of space side-to-side on each shelf, LOL! (talk about greedy for every inch!)

I think some type of shelf brackets would work- metal or wood. You could either silicone the granite to the bracket support (is it going to be polished underneath or are you going to have a wood veneer hiding the unpolished stone?) or I imagine they can drill a screw through the support into the granite? Using special bits?