As always, thanks for your help Bill. It is 3cm stone. Should the wood shims have been used? The tub deck was already level before the marble installation and had a nice solid mud base. (Even if it wasn't level, should wood shims ever be used for this?) Is there anything we can do to salvage the marble without it remaining at its current height? If it stays at the height that it is now, there will be a huge visible caulk line around the inside of the tub where it meets the marble. The fabricator said he will have to use white silicone there instead of the clear that he normally uses. Presumably, this is to hide the shims which are visible if you are at eye level with the marble (i.e., sitting in the tub). They still have my second choice slab just in case something went wrong with this one, but are supposed to make the vanity top from it. What should we do? Also, would anything have been wrong with using thinset instead of the silicone caulk that you mentioned? Thanks Bill.

Weissman - this post has dragged on for a while, but I have heard enough dissenting opinions here that I have concluded, as Palimpsest said, the quote is "pricey, but not gouging". I gave the go ahead. Hi Lascatx --- no worry --- tone is to hard to read here. I didn't think you were saying that, I was just letting you know that I understand you get more bees with honey etc etc etc..... Marcolo, Funny, both you and Rococo mention rising costs and I have not heard that at all from anyone. I do think you are being just a tad harsh, now --- much of the labor is indeed quite skilled, not chicken pluckers. And in this area, we really don't have hungry contractors. I am told the lesser ones folded, and the 'good" ones are doing work for all the people who would move but dont want to sell into this market. BLfenton - as i mentioned in my post, part of it is the "change order" terminology. Inspectors telling me I need a steel beam is a change order ... conceding to paint the whole house instead of just the new construction elements is a change order .... replumbing to accommodate a taller washer and dryer than what was there is a change order... electricians' time to rewire european fixtures is a change order ...KWIM? We are not indecisive dilettantes dreaming up new ideas as we go. And this is part of the research now ... questioning this item. By the way, this item does not put me over my allowance for counters, so in that sense I did "know the costs before starting". But just because something comes in within allowance, doesnt mean I dont want to understand it. Thanks Pharaoh, But, if i get it right, wouldnt that mean every slab of the same size would have the same fab cost? Whether I cut it into 10 peices or 2? That seems counterintuitive.

Well now we're back where we started... Originally planned marble but when I refinished it, the wood came out just stunning. The pic doesn't show it off well. It's walnut I think; so DH says lets just leave it Because if we put the hinges back in the top to either side of the sink you can tell better she was a melodeon. I said I'll throw it to GW. Much simpler to leave well enough alone. Move on to the rest of the house. I am keeping the faucet. I know it looks a bit gangly in the picture but it does clear the mirror now and it is pushed back to the wall. It will come out about 4-5 inches forward when installed. It is a vessel faucet. Does anyone know why Ipad pics come out sideways? I always take with button to side or bottom depending, and still sideways... Thanks you all for the opinions. You guys have such good eyes and such a help to clarify.

Oops - I just realized that my post above might seem like I was "dissing" Carrara when I said it was "common" , lol! I just meant that when you recommended the gray caulk, you were probably assuming that I had Carrara, since it is so popular and typically used these days! I love Carrara, but my existing bathroom wall tiles, which we couldn't afford to change, were a 1980's " bone" color , with a bone and white mosaic tile on the floor, so Carrara just wouldn't have coordinated well. The arabescato venato has light caramel colored veins as well as some light gray on a very white background, so it worked much bettter for me. It also helped that the price of was so reasonable , but I had to drive to many, many Home Depot's, and open lots of boxes, to find ones (I needed two!) with just the right colors ( some were almost all white, some only gray and white, etc) and a pleasing, uniform appearance, with no cracks or ugly black specks or other defects! That is the difference between buying mass produced vs custom when you are dealing with something with lots of natural variations like marble!