Wow! Four months without any counter tops, a kitchen sink, a stove top, and a dishwasher (not a big deal for Cassandra and I, but the girls are hating that part!). The date has finally arrived for the Granite to be delivered! What an exciting day this is!
Just a couple of weeks ago Cassandra and I went to the stone yard to pick out two slabs of Granite that would become our counter tops. We arrived at KBR to meet with our stone consultant. They had us dawn some very stylish safety gear and out to the yard we went. I was hoping to get a tour of the factory, but all we did was walk through a part of it to the back lot where rows and rows of stone slabs were set up and organized by material and color. After having finding the first slab that we liked and having them use a fork lift to remove a second, we finally had our stone! We found a special slab that had a ton of character in it. The veining was beautiful and there was a lot of variation in the material (e.g. quarts deposits in the Granite). The consultant marked where we preferred to have the peninsula cut from and what to avoid on the slab. It was such a rewarding day.
I woke up this morning with a lot of anticipation. The installer had called and said they were on their way! They arrived at the house at around 8:30. It is always comical to see delivery people when they get their first gaze at the mountain that is our driveway. They were unable to get their truck up the drive without scraping so they parked at the bottom of the drive and began their work. They lugged the stone up the drive and into the house. They would bring the main counters into the house in three pieces. The hole for the sink was already in the stone as it had a complex curve in it. They hadn't cut the hole for the stove top as the slab would have surely broken during transportation. They had pre-cut four small holes at the corners of the cook top, from which the installers would complete the cuts to expose the remainder of the opening.
The installers set the stones in place, and then used some shims to make sure it was absolutely level before mixing up some special epoxy that would join the stone pieces. It was an awful smell! They got everything perfectly level, and then pulled the pieces apart to squeeze the epoxy between the joints. They then pushed the pieces back together and adjusted until they could run a razor blade across the seam without catching. One of the workers used markers to color the epoxy with the pattern of the stone around the seams. He made the seam appear to be a natural part of the stone. It was interesting to watch him grab one color and put a spot here, and another to match a color there. 
The next thing to go in was the sink. They put some fast drying epoxy on the rim of the sink and pulled it up from under the sink hole and held it with clamps. They placed some braces under the sink for support and it was done. The under counter mount Granite composite sink was in place. I would have to wait at least two hours before plumbing and installing the garbage disposal.
The installers then placed the other slabs on the coffee station and the butler's pantry. The last task for them was to cut the hole for the cook top and drill the holes for the faucet and soap dispenser. They pulled out a water cooled stone cutter and went to town. In just a few minutes they were done! They placed the stove top in the opening and packed their equipment. It seemed like only an hour or so. They were fast and very meticulous! Great job KBR!
Cassandra and I just stared in awe! We had counters! I was working so I had to try and keep track of them while coding fixes to software. I was dying to get the plumbing in and wire the cook top, but I had to wait. At lunch time, I connected the wiring for the stove top. It was awesome to see the lights on the cook top for the first time in months! I also placed the faucet in the hole and connected the water lines. The drain plumbing; however, would have to wait until after church. I needed a electrical connector (not included) for the garbage disposal and I had conference calls right up until 5p when I needed to pick up the girls. It was killing me to wait!
After church I got right after it. I wired the garbage disposal and connected it to the flange that I had installed earlier. I connected a series of PVC pieces that when correctly connected is supposed to drain water. It was like putting a jig saw puzzle together. I finally got all of the pieces in the correct configuration and tightened it all down. Now was the moment of truth. Turn on the water and look for leaks. I turned the Hot and Cold water one and waited for water to fly...nothing...no way! That can't be...there is no way I put this together without leaks the first time. That just doesn't happen. And of course I was right! Under the dishwasher I could see the slightest drop of water forming on the connection. I turned off the water; removed the fittings; re-wrapped them with plumbers tape; reconnected the fittings; and tightened but not too tight (causes leaks). Then I turned on the water again. Viola! No leaks! 
It was time to check the water. I turned on the faucet! What a beautiful site! The water looked awesome flowing from the spray nozzle into the deep basin sink. There were no drain leaks either. The garbage disposal worked like a champ too. Another small victory on this journey! It was then time to check the dishwasher. I turned it on for a normal cycle and started it going. In the mean time I just wanted to see that faucet go one more time... 
I pulled up on the handle and heard the horrible sound of water spraying under the sink! Ugh! What have I done?!?!?!? I crawled under the sink to see that the sprayer hose had become disconnected. Hmmm....i must have missed something. A quick review of the install guide revealed that I had forgotten to attach a little clip that kept the sprayer hose from disconnecting from the water supply under pressure. I placed that part in the right position and all was good. The dishwasher had completed it cycle with no leaks. I buttoned up the cover on the bottom of the dishwasher and declared that job done...what a long day...time for bed!
We still have a lot of flooring to complete and the stone work behind the cook top so stay tuned!
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