sending you lots of luck....

I understand about trying to save as much as possible but I have to be honest and say that I do think it's a reasonable price. Good luck though on your search to do better!

First off, fingers, toes and everything else crossed that things are looking up for you!
Might look at Daltile....I had some MOP samples from them last year, but don't have the price. Best of luck.
maggieq

$17/sf is a good price, but a less expensive alternative might be a mix w/ marble glass and shell @ $7/sf; it's a little thicker than your tile which will make it easier to mount. Individual tiles are larger than in your mosaic, and the colors are less grey and more brown.

Good luck finishing up!

Here is a link that might be useful: tile

wishing you lots and lots of good luck, blowing fairy dust into the california sunset on your behalf - not sure where you are located - can you see it?!

having had to deal with a bone head of a cabinet maker who i had to eventually fire, i can relate. it is very stressful but you are on your way back into recovery mode!

and no appliances / sink with an infant in the house? you deserve an award!!!

I was going to suggest Daltile as well. The collection of their shells is called Ocean Jewels and is a little bit less expensive than the ones you posted, but colors may be different.

My back splash came from the glass tile store also and I couldn't find it any cheaper, although it is not the same one you posted.

Whoa Nellie!

So you got us all involved in how to fire your GC, but you never said how it went.

The last we knew you were (against all advice) continuing to text back and forth. Advice here suggested you drop off the radar.

So. Enquiring minds want to know....
How'd you end up settling that mess?

Good luck!! Top priority is to get your washer and dryer hooked up - I would suggest, before tile or add'l work. Best, oldbat2be

Thanks for the luck and good wishes - could really use it!!!!! : )

I'll definitely look up Daltile as soon as I get on a proper computer - on my phone while trying to breast feed right now! I need another set of hands! : )
It's actually for a small floor in a bathroom, not for the kitchen.

Oldbat - we can't even order a washer dryer until the hood vent is in as we are hoping to get full size stackables and we don't know how much height we'll have after the soffit goes in (vents through the laundry room) and we don't want to buy a smaller efficiency model if we don't need to.

CEFreeman - things with the GC went very badly. I can't really post the details as much as I would LOVE to. What it boils down to is he tried to make good on his threats - cast a huge shadow over the couple of weeks leading up to our daughter's birth and we ended up with our own attorney and signed a 'no fault' release.
You don't know how much I want to post the details, but can't run the risk. Suffice it to say it was miserable to deal with on every level.

Once it's closed, there's no risk to you and we'll eat up the details.

Sounds like you got a real gem there. I'm glad you went to your lawyer, since they never expect to have to go that far and pay for that themselves.

Sometime down the road, I'd join Angie's list and just post your photos. i.e. a pic of that ceiling issue and a caption stating, "An example of what our GC said was 'just fine'".

It could become quite fun.

That's what I thought, but according to our attorney that's not the case. I asked if I could post a review of our experience with him and/ or report him to the attorney general and this is the email I got back yesterday:

"Remember that the agreement is signed without admission of liability by either party� while clients often want to "spread the word" about problems they may have had with a contractor or business, it is my strong suggestion that you not do so.� Even though there is no confidentiality provision in the agreement, you still run the risk of an already frustrated (GC) finding out about what you had to say and construing even a portion of it to be defamatory (i.e. untrue).� That will open another can of worms for you and (husband) that you really don�t need to deal with at this point (plus the added costs of defending a defamation claim).�"

It's annoying because it does feel like we're just letting him get away with it and there's nothing to warn other unsuspecting home owners from getting caught as we did. I would have at the very least liked to have posted something with his name that would have come up in a google search to warn people, but we can't. : (

Hoboken, I hope that, when the dust settles, you end up with the kitchen you want and deserve and that the GC is gone from your lives forever. I'd settle for that and count my blessings. One day, it will be a distant memory.

I haven't read your back story, but I truly hope you get the kitchen of your dreams. To answer your question, That price is very reasonable. We sell the same product in our NJ store for about 3 dollars more per sf. I would recommend you wait until the granite is installed and then order a sample before pulling the trigger on it. Best wishes for your continued renovation

Hoboken, this is way OT, and I don't intend to hijack. Just something to consider:

I have been blessed in my life to see Kharma in action. Everyone talks about it, but seldom recognize when they themselves are the recipient of their own Kharma.

There is a balance in the world and (I believe) that something in your past lives had you deal with that GC. However, something in his lives will cause him to rue his actions. I doubt he'll be attuned enough to recognize something he probably says himself, "What goes around, comes around."

You might not be blessed to see it happen, but have faith that things balance out. And in the meanwhile, you have a gorgeous kitchen, an amazing new little family, you're healthy and have your lives ahead of you.

So much for the philosophical angle, huh?

I'd use some sites that go with star ratings or overall rating and only state in the description you are not allowed to discuss the details for legal reasons. I'm sure that will give many people reason to be very careful considering yur GC, but not make any claims that can be disputed or interpreted as his fault.

Best of luck -- especially for the speedy resolution on getting some working appliances!

I share your GC pain. We are deciding if we want to pay our (expletive deleted) GC a bribe to make him go away. This despite the fact that he owes us tens of thousands of dollars in unfinished work.

As your atty probably told you, if push comes to shove a GC can pad what he is owed by multiples. No judge or jury will care enough to really figure out who owes whom, and they'll probably pick a number in the middle depending on how they feel that day. I suppose I should just be glad that i am seeing the underbelly of the practical machinations of the "justice system" when the issue is only money ...

I do believe in kharma. You can't be the only client he has abused. The next one might throttle him!

In the meantime, I hope you soon get to enjoy some progress, and keep enjoying that little one!

Hoboken - a big part of contracting business (at least in my area) is not what people read online, but word of mouth among friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc. People are constantly asking us about the contractor we are using...saying they need work done and do I like our current contractor? This is all done word of mouth with no paper trail. Word gets around that way so don't worry. So far we are happy with our contractor but if we weren't, word would spread pretty far in our area. Maybe your area is the same.

mtnrdredux I am so sorry to hear that you are going through something similar - we were in the exact same position, but it looks like the response letter from the attorney we were forced to hire has had the desired affect and he is now gone (with lots of our money but I digress).

What we discovered is that justice is for those with lots of money. We were advied that we would almost certainly win if he had sued us, but that fighting him would have cost upward of $30,000 which we may or may not have ever got back depending on the state of his assets (or lack thereof). If we had the money to spare we would have fought him through the courts and counter sued so he would have a judgement on file just on the principle of the thing, but really the advise of the attorney's was to get rid of him even if it meant paying him off. Absolutley sickening.

I believe in Karma too - and also in the word of mouth. Word is spreading around our community for sure... and we haven't had to tell anyone! I went to a neighbors house in tears after the last meeting with him and another neighbor came to the door and saw me upset. I guess they asked what happened because the next thing I know several other neighbors were asking if we were ok. Really our new neigborhood is phenomenal. The neighbors have been so, so wonderful since we moved here and have made us so welcome, it's the only thing which has kept us from just wanting out of this house and away from the whole nightmare.

I do hope GC gets his just desserts and I really think he will.

Inspection is tomorrow morning. Please let it all go ok!!!!

I hope everything goes well with the inspection. I hope you can put the nightmare behind you. It's not worth it to let it eat at you.

I also thought about posting some negative feedback on Angie's list, but I don't like their policy that informs the business owner of the poster's identity and allows them to post a rebuttal. I also decided word of mouth is best. While online info is taken with a grain of salt, real experience tales or even a simple "I'd stear clear if I were you" has more impact.

Good Luck!

We passed the rough inspection for the kitchen electric!!

The inspector knew all about the situation and didn't blink at the fact that the walls are already up and the cabinets in. He said our new electricians work is excellent and that we're clearly now in good hands.

Yay. : )

hoboken,
The only people that i have seen benefit from legal actions against contractors are lawyers that take their own cases...

I know two laywers that 'sued' the contractor or contruction related people and 'eventually' won. In these situations, they needed not pay their legal costs.

Do you know the book "Bleakhouse" by Charles Dickens? The entire estate goes to the legal fee when it finally settles after decades.... Nothing has changed in nearly 200 years.

I am sorry that you had this unfortunate situation. You were able to remedy the situation before it was unrepairable. I have no advice. Just wishing you good luck and more than anything else, enjoy that baby of yours. That is your blessing!

hoboken,
The only people that i have seen benefit from legal actions against contractors are lawyers that take their own cases...

I know two laywers that 'sued' the contractor or contruction related people and 'eventually' won. In these situations, they needed not pay their legal costs.

Do you know the book "Bleakhouse" by Charles Dickens? The entire estate goes to the legal fee when it finally settles after decades.... Nothing has changed in nearly 200 years.

I am sorry that you had this unfortunate situation. You were able to remedy the situation before it was unrepairable. I have no advice. Just wishing you good luck and more than anything else, enjoy that baby of yours. That is your blessing!