Places We Go : My Kitchen

I'm about as excited as I can be. I have new quartz kitchen countertops and backsplash. And the whole experience took less than 3 weeks. My head is still spinning a bit. Here's what happened.

While I loved our Ceaserstone backsplash, there were problems with the Silestone countertop. As you can see, a bad seam was inches from the sink. The counter has completely discolored on the other side of the seam. And the edge seam is clearly visible everywhere. This counter is 15 years old and I thought it would last as long as me. I knew it would be hard to sell my house with a nasty counter so why not replace it now so I can enjoy for, hopefully, the next ten years? I wanted a pattern similar to the backsplash only brighter.

First, I had to find the quartz. Tom and Kim, my Portland contractor brother and sister-in-law, told me about MSI. They have about 50 showrooms across the U.S. I'd had such a negative experience at Ceaserstone and other showrooms, I gave MSI a try. Wow! Their quartz is beautiful with lots of pattern choices and their customer service outstanding.

I chose Cashmere Carrara.

Now, I had to find an installer or "fabricator." After contacting several companies who do countertops, I was getting nowhere. "No, you don't need a contract." "You can buy the quartz through this guy. Oh, his phone number has been disconnected? " "We'll take out the exiting counters and get back to you as soon as possible." "When? Well, it depends how busy we are."

Finally, I found Amazing Stone in San Leandro, CA and called to see if I could come by with my measurements. Jany, the owner, knew what she was talking about and after getting her quote, I had my person. A signed contract, too. They would remove existing quartz counter and backsplash and install the new the same day. A few days later, Jany emailed me photos of the slabs. She had gone to MSI to confirm the product.

A week later, on February 14, the fabricator came and measured. Last Monday, February 28, in just 6-1/2 hours, I had new quartz counters and backsplash. The team made some of their cuts on site, setting up a workshop in the driveway.

I went back to MSI to doublecheck my selection. Oops. I emailed Amazing Stone - could the fabricator avoid the dark smudges in the slabs? They would try and they did!

The day before the install, Tim, the handyman, took out the sink faucet and induction stovetop. He also unhooked the garbage disposal and dishwasher air gap.

The fabricator arrived on Monday, February 28th. The correct quartz was on the truck and I was raring to go.

The island went first.

In went my replacement sink -a clay sink from France. I loved my old sink so it was nice I could get the same one. They only difference is that in 15 years, the price had gone up almost $500. Yikes.

After the counters were installed, the backsplash went up.

Clean mitered edges and almost invisible seams.

Here's the team - Luis, Mario and Nico. As they were finishing, Jany, the owner of Amazing Stone, called to ask if I was happy. "Yes, I was."

Next, I was going to replace the kitchen faucet with the same one but it had been discontinued. In fact, faucets had changed in 15 years. When did they get so high? And why are faucets so expensive? I just couldn't justify buying a $2,000 faucet. Here's one of four I bought home to try.

I chose this $300 more modern Delta faucet and I love it (so far!).

Tim came the day after to reinstall stovetop and sink stuff. While it's only the counters, it feels like a brand new kitchen to me. Here's to a carefree project. Who knew that can actually happen?

MSI Q Surfaces :https://www.msisurfaces.com

Amazing Stone - https://www.amazingstone.com