Here is mine..."Oh...You don't want soapstone. It's porous."

BTW, I have had at least 8 dishwashers installed in my lifetime and the plumber always hooks up the electrical components too. I have never heard such a load of you know what before. You must have a real winner!

Well, they only stood us up twice in a row... Saturday afternoon and last night. (We're obviously high priority.)

I think it's because they'd have to drill a hole through the floor to get to the electrical line, which the GC didn't want to pull through from the basement until knowing how the plumbers would situate the line.

I love "you don't want laminate countertops, do you? you should have granite - laminate looks so cheap. Let me price it - it may not be any more expensive" - heard just about everywhere (except the laminate place I ordered from!)

4-5 times the price. Too much of a commitment at this point (I can't decide on a flavour of tea each morning - choosing granite with that level of investment, well, I would have to be committed... lol) and not so great with a 10-mth old, a 3-yr old and a wonderful but sloppy husband :)

Cate - I feel your pain. I'd get them all there together and let them fight it out :) Good luck. Maybe the store you bought it from can recommend someone?

c.

Funny...not exactly, "we don't do that", but I had a plumber out last night for an estimate questioning me on why I would consider my clean up sink in my island. He asks: "Are you sure you're going to have enough space", "Lots of people like a clean island for entertaining". "Why don't you put a prep sink in the island instead."

Like I don't second guess myself enough!!

It's liability baby! That's why they won't touch one anothers work, and in some states, licensing will not allow them to do so. The issue is they are one the hook if something goes wrong for work another trade should be doing. Sometimes, their insurance may not cover it! Yikes, you don't want that problem either!

Not quite a "can't do that"; but I had an argument with the appliance sales person at HD when I asked about power sharing on the induction cooktop. All he kept saying to me was, "you don't understand... you don't have to share power because it won't turn on unless you have a pan on it". He topped off when asked about clearances with, "you don't need a clearance it sits on top of your granite". Poor guy probably needed a drink when he got home after me.

The person I was considering to plumb my sink (disconnect old before granite install and connect new) totally tried to discourage me from getting a granite composite. (People don't really like them, they like SS.)

I took it as a vote of "no confidence" on his part or even suspected him of supplying the granite fabricator with the free sink that I was declining. Either way I was determined to get the sink I wanted to live with and hire a plumber who could do the job and keep his opinion to himself.

C - It's the old dishwasher. I am going to let them fight it out, just as soon as I can get ahold of my GC. Kinda like "just wait till your father gets home!" At least, that's how it plays in my head.

Isn't it amazing how many people try to get you away from laminate? And Mahlgold, I empathize with your feelings last night. Our carpenter disliked our microwave placement (undercounter). He talked about it as he installed the cabinet - lol!

Mindimoo - *Groan.* I know, liability.

My contract didn't like my choices, either! I was told I would hate induction ("the controls are fussy and spattering grease will shut them off" - wrong!); I was told I wanted an airswitch for the disposal (wrong - I have a batch/cover control); He wanted to put my recessed lights 3 feet from the wall (not over the counter edge where I asked them to be put); I was told I would regret not having an OTR micro. Wrong!

Just do what I ask, sheesh!

When I told my GC I wanted an outlet behind my drawer (to plug in cellphones inside the drawer), I heard ''we don't do that; it's against Code.'' This was Waaaayyy Back in 2004, and no one I know of had done it yet, of course...surely it Must Be Against the CODE! I had to e-x-p-l-a-i-n...very patiently...and in Great Detail...why I was pretty sure it could be done. At that time, people were putting outlets in appliance garages (are people still putting AP's in?) but no one had ever yet tried to put an outlet behind a drawer box! To those of you with a tenancious spirit, please congratulate yourselves on surviving the ''experts''! I cannot believe I survived the Kitchen to remodel my bathroom; and Thank God That's Over. My basement needs attention, but at this time, I Simply Refuse to go down there...

When DH & I walked into a kitchen showroom in spring of 2003, we were immediately greeted by a salesman.

DH: "We have a mid-sized kitchen that we'd like to..."

Salesman: "We don't do any jobs that are under $75,000. But you're welcome to look at our displays."

At least he didn't waste our time with a sales pitch :)

When we built out home in 1975 I asked the electrician to put an outlet inside the medicine cabinet for DH rechargeable shaver. He didn't want to do it, said it "was hokey" (whatever that means). I just said, do it. He really didn't want to come back and put the cover on after the med cab was installed. This was also the guy who didn't center the entry hall chandelier, and later had to move it, after the drywall was in.