We did something similar. We didn't lay tile, and although the patio was your typical small one that comes with most houses, we wanted a much larger area attached to it. There was also a sidewalk we had to incorporate into the design. No concrete matched any concrete due to stains and age differences. We hired someone to pour a new concrete patio next to the existing sidewalk and old patio. Then someone else came and painted all the concrete light gray, laid strips of tape to form stones, used 3 colors of stain, lifted the tape, sealed it all, and it is gorgeous! One big flat patio! Our job totaled $10,000 here in Southern California. Here is the ugly stained patio and the sidewalkHere it is after the work And here is the long view of the entire thing:

We did oak on our island and stained it dark (Early American mixed with a little Jacobean from Minwax) and then wiped on several coats of Old Masters finish. It looked great - for years. We ate at it, rolled dough on it and generally used it the same as a table top (because essentially that is what it was). We are also in the middle of nowhere (just north of you) and had a carpenter make it for us. I think it cost $500 but that was 12 years ago. Our recent island is made with maple butcherblock and I didn't want it stained so I left it natural but finished it in Osmos instead. I might sand it down and do the Old Master's again as I prefer that finish but the Osmos was easier to do. ETA: We thought we would not finish the new maple top at all and just oil it periodically. That turned out to be a PIA and so we did the Osmos after a few months of trying the oiling.

My apologies for taking so long, you have had time to just go and buy one by now lol. The DW had me doing honey doos this weekend so this is the 3rd time I have sat down to try to finish this. I have listed a few I read about. Keep in mind there are so many that there is no way I could list them all. I have tried to select well reviewed units. I have listed two additional units. Only two because these stood out to me for one reason or another. I list power in watts just like on the spec sheets. Keep in mind this number is the maximum out put in "boost". This mode is usually allowed for a Maximum of 10 minutes on any given hob. Also if you were not already aware generally 30" models have two generators that power share usually the left side and right side are separated. Meaning if you boost or use high power on one hob the corresponding hob on the same generator will not be allowed to use high power or boost as long as the other is operating at high power. This requires a new strategy to cooking if you were not already aware of this. The one exception to this on some units is if the units are bridged (for griddle use for example). I have a 36" cook top that has a bridged unit. with three generators. I can use high power or boost on the bridged unit using two separate pans. Again strategy when faced with this limitation. I often use three or more pans when cooking so my old 30" unit was very frustrating dealing with this. PHS930SLSS Ok the unit you chose IMO appears to be a good unit. I personally am a fan of power so that is a major factor in my case which this unit has a boost output of 3700W on it's largest Hob and a decent 2500w on both 8" burners. It relatively well reviewed and I read an article that suggested this is one of the best units for it's price point (take with a grain of salt of course). Actually I think you would be happy with this unit and believe you have made a good choice. I am a fan of knobs, however if I had to choose an touch interface this is the one I would choose. Here are a couple others for you to look at though. Bosch HII8056U This one is just a hair over your budget on AJ Madison, but felt it was a worthy mention. It is a good looking unit and would may compliment your kitchen? It appears the control interface requires you to select the hob you wish to control and then manipulate the power level. I could not confirm this based off photos or any material I read. I am not fond of this type of control system, but that's just me. This unit outputs 3700W on both of it's rear burners on boost! I could not confirm, but it appears that the rear burners on are separate generators so you can boost both at the same time if needed. I prefer the larger hobs in the rear so you can still manipulate smaller pans if you need to use them. Since you specified no preference, I took the liberty of looking at units with this configuration Jennair JIS1450DP This is an interesting unit. This is actually a free standing, but it looks like a slide in. just as powerful as the other units. 3600W on it's 11" hob, you are not likely to notice the 100w difference. Reviews are mostly favorable. Most everyone complains about the low volume level of the timer. It's a good looking unit and within your budget. $2569.00 on Plessers.com. I just thought it was cool that it is free standing disguised as a slide in. Whether or not it appeals to you or not, I guess you can let me know. Bottom line as far as I am concerned you have chosen a good unit and I would just go with that. Get the warranty if it makes you feel more secure about the purchase. Make sure the retailer has a service department if you choose to go that route. For every bad review there are probably 5 or more people who get trouble free service out of their (insert brand here) whom we never hear a peep out of. My opinion and I pulled that number out of my you know where for anyone who wishes to pick apart my post. I hope this helps.

Looks like Bianco Carrara marble but hard to tell from the pictures. Appears to be very very thin so it's hard to say how it broke. Make sure the stone is fully supported underneath. The information provided by krissie55 is showing a process often used for travertine and with the right epoxy product, process could be similar. I would go with a clear product. The challenge is two fold, thin enough product to get into the crack and then you have a challenge of the residue left on the surface, depending on your finish will determine how much it shows. A professional can polish it our for you but for a small table, probably not cost effective. As indicated in the video, you can probably use a 0000 steel wool to help remove the residue and hopefully blend in.