Thanks for the nudge Breezy and Fishies! It's long over due. See my link below... drbeanie2000 - you better believe it! Yes, I love my kitchen (and the rest of the house) mostly because it's all mine and we are settled. All the little things I agonized and fretted over don't seem so worrisome now. Actually, all the little things I own and will go on the "in the next house" list. ha! All in all, I am happy will all my choices and am thoroughly enjoying it all! What more could I ask for, eh? Here is a link that might be useful: my full spec reveal post

I'd slap a fence on the Raptor and cut the tops down in the house. The inside corners and ends that butt to cabinets and walls would have to be freehanded. The masking and cleanup bill would be about as much as the work itself, but it could be done depending on the size and configuration of the job. Of course this is assuming the edges lip over the cabinets; you can't cut the edge off and expose underlayment. If not, you're back to replacement. Here is a link that might be useful: Raptor

It sounds like you're keeping the cabinets, but replacing the countertop and backsplash -- is that right? We pulled out our cabinets, too, but I think I can offer some advice. When you pull off the laminate, you could find anything back there. Maybe drywall, maybe plywood nailed to the studs, maybe plaster and lath (we have found all three in different houses). My suggestion is to rip out whatever is back there and start over, rather than try to put another layer of something over it, then the backsplash. If you add a second layer, your wiring/outlets will have to get pulled forward (or extenders added) through that layer, and also through the backsplash tile. Depending on the materials you use, that could add up to an inch of depth. And sometimes in older houses there isn't a lot of wire back there to work with. As far as whether to do it before or after the countertops, I suggest before. Otherwise the backerboard/drywall is going to take up 1/2" of the depth of your countertop. And having it already installed will give the counter measurement guy a clean smooth wall to use when making the template. Otherwise he's going to by trying to make a template just against the studs, right?

Mechanical support with sink support brackets, or some other custom metal support underneath, screwed into the wood sides, and not screwed into the countertop material anywhere. Then, the counter is not affected ever by any future adjustments happening underneath it. 2cm quartz doesn't need plywood underlay. You prefer flexibility and would like a sink installation that could be removed "without destroying the counter" and I guess that means also without cutting into the wood sides at all, not even to make room for a sink that might need a bit of shaving the wood down. Then, 28" width will be just right, and at that size, installing brackets only onto the sides will be a small challenge for whoeever does it. It IS a big sink already at 28", so you won't gain much by looking for a special sink one inch wider, and not at that price level. A wider sink would require the lip on one side to rest on a cabinet side, and then you have a small challenge putting spacers onto the other cabinet sides to match and raising your counter slightly. Not a lot gained.