Runaround Roundup

I know it doesn’t seem like it here on the blog, but I’ve been feverishly trying to get stuff finalized for the various components of the house. The construction drawings are still in progress, but I think Bob has enough to go on with regards to stuff I’ve already picked out.

For the past couple of weeks we’ve been struggling with the plumbing details, some of which I talked about in the last post. There are a multitude of faucets and trim kits and shower heads and other crap, and I am totally overwhelmed. Part of my problem, I think, is that any number of them (or even all of them) will work just fine, but I need to balance cost vs. the aesthetics which are at the moment only hazily defined.

And then there’s the kitchen. It is impossible to talk to anyone about designing a kitchen without hearing “have you picked your granite?” Nothing about the cabinets, nothing about the style, it’s all about the stone — and if it’s not granite, it must be soapstone. Granite isn’t really appropriate in a chem lab setting. Soapstone might be but it is way too expensive. So we’ve been going around and around with alternative designs. Frequently these design excursions occur because we see a cute sink and think “I like that!” but then realize that it really doesn’t have any “labbishness” to it. Then there are the incredible variety of stainless steel sinks. I am really enamoured of the zero-radius sinks, but they are pricey (they’re typically handmade rather than stamped) and are apparently available only as undermounts. An undermount sink isn’t a problem unless we end up with a laminate countertop, in which case…

One day last week I went to a couple of kitchen shops. They weren’t really useful visits, except for getting a couple of brochures. I’ve been looking for an independent kitchen designer to give me a couple of hours of advice, but it seems that all of the designers are associated with builders or kitchen stores.

Anyway, today I went to Dexter Cabinet and Countertop almost on a whim. When I mentioned to the fellow in the showroom that I was planning a kitchen that looks like a chemistry lab, he perked up and said “We just did a lab. Want a sample of that countertop?” “You bet!” said I. And so now I have a 4×5 inch piece of black phenolic resin countertop (backsplash, actually) of my very own. I then spoke to Josh about the options for a matte black surface. He thought the phenolic might scratch a little too easily, but said he’d be willing to try to price it for us (we’ve been having problems getting lab supply houses talk to us). He also showed me a sample of Richlite in Slate Black that is also a possibility. Richlite is made from paper and phenolic resin. Josh will also try to give me an idea of pricing for that, too. I figure that these will all be in the “Corian” range, which is still pricier than laminate, but typically less than stone. He will also find out if I can have an undermount sink.

Other trips: I went to the Rock Shoppe to chat about stone veneer. Basically, real stone veneer will run about $15 a square foot (not including labor). Concrete stone veneer could be as low as $8/sq ft, depending on style, color, etc. I’m looking for Michigan Basement/Foundation, which are typically granite cobbles. I think I’d like a split-faced granite cobble, but that’s a bit more expensive. The Rock Shoppe has a list of masons they recommend, if we decide to act as our own GCs.

Bill and I also visited the current project for Living Space. It was an interesting trip, and deserves its own post.

Updated to add: I nearly forgot that I went to a local glass shop to see their (rather teensy) showroom of shower enclosures. A budgetary price for any sized 3/8″ thick glass (not “neutral” but greenish, and not etched or patterned) enclosure is $55/square foot including the hardware and the installation. The lady behind the counter said that 3-sided showers weren’t a problem.

Updated 7/29: I spoke briefly with Josh about the countertop pricing. Richlite (and it’s competitor PaperStone) are way out of the budget (well over $100/square foot). He’s still waiting to hear about the lab tops.