they'll be coming up on thursday to do the digital measuring to make the template that their computerized waterjet saw will cut out. then tuesday august 6 they'll come to install it.
the guy mentioned that its going to be a tight fit to fit everything in on the slab.
-they have a year warranty on the installation, and MSI surfaces has a limited lifetime warranty on the quartz (that does not include heat damage, which MSI showed me examples of, not that i've ever set hot pans on the counter, having always had cheap formica counters before).
-they've been in the location up by me for 9 years, and in their original eagan location for longer. so they're not new to this.
-he said in most suburbs, mine included, they do not need to apply for permits or inspections because they are not doing anything to the stucture of the house, they're adding a counter on top of the cabinets. some cities do require permits to be pulled, one of which happens to be my parents suburb, thus why my dad suggested this question.
-he explained how the digital templating works and how it maps any humps or unevenness in the walls and their saw cuts that out so it fits exactly. so we dont have to worry about that one hump we know about.
-the guy could not tell me where the seam in the extra long dishwasher/sink/peninsula side countertop will be, he said the template guy is the one who decides that onsite, and would be able to tell me that when he's there measuring.
-they did not have a sample of a seam in a quartz countertop to show me. this was the only negative i found.
-i asked if all the drawers and doors needed to be in? or would they get in the way and should i take them out? (half the kitchen has the drawers in and filled up, the other half does not). the guy said either way is fine since they arent removing old countertops so they wouldnt be leaving that mess behind.
-i asked what if the cabinets arent level enough? i'm a little worried the peninsula cabinets that are screwed to the floor might be just a teeny bit off from the other two cabinets hanging from rail on the wall, and the most logical place to split the countertop is right there. he seemed to think they could shim it, but again said the template guy would have a better answer for me on that.
-i asked about the faucet. they install the undermount sink (which they include for free, so i can return the one i got). they cut as many holes for the faucet as you need (and ask that you have the faucet on side when they come to do the measuring). i asked if they put the faucet in and they said no. they do not connect the plumbing underneath either. they had told me that you have to wait 10-12 hours for all the sink and countertop adhesives to cure before attaching the plumbing. which isnt a problem, i can do that myself. i wanted to clarify about the faucet, that i'll be installing that as well.
-i asked if there would be any other potential extra costs that could pop up and the guy said no, other than potential minor measurement changes that get made when they digitally measure it, which i was already aware of. he did a change of like 1/2 inch deeper on all sections of the countertops and the price changed by $48. minor when the countertops are going to cost $3300.
these countertops are marked at $73 a sq ft. which is within $100 of home depots quartz estimate at $50-58 a sq ft! and within $100 of ikeas quartz estimate at $62 a sq ft! funny how that all works out to be about the EXACT freaking SAME. i had avoided going to a countertop specialty place because i thought they'd be ridiculously expensive. and i didnt initially get an estimate from ikea either because they were charging more per sq ft than the home improvement big box stores. but it turns out each place charges differently. maybe the countertops are less, but they nickle and dime you. the big countertop specialty place didnt do that. and they're the ones doing the measuring and cutting and installing.
so its all picked out and ordered and too late to change my mind. i went with calacatta botanica. (the middle sample)
next i have to start working on figuring out the backsplash. i peeked at some samples at the msi surfaces place and while they're lovely, they're quite expensive. some were marble. $18 a sq ft. i dont think i can afford that. but i need to do some measuring to figure out how much i even need. i have no idea other than a lot.
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