Bath Remodel Update: Quartz Countertops and Lotus Vessel Sinks

We received our quartz countertops at our house in Hawaii last week. I paid for and ordered the quartz in June. The installers said the guy who sold the quartz did not want to ship it until he had a full load. Which could be true. At first he promised me delivery in June, and then suddenly after he cashed the check he had a different idea. What would happen if the shipment was delayed and I had already left for Sacramento? He suggested August shipping would be better controlled.

Now that I ponder my previous conversation about the quartz countertops, I imagine he probably had more clients in August. which would reduce his shipping costs. However, that’s when Hurricane Lane approached Hawaii and all shipments out of Honolulu shut down. After a shut-down of a harbor like that, everything is delayed when shipping resumes.

Long story short the quartz countertops were delivered a few days before I arrived in Kona. Our wonderful neighbor from Minnesota let them into our garage to store it. It is really pretty, too. They call it popcorn quartz, sort of an almond with white exploding popcorns.

I learned it is all right to install quartz directly on the cabinet, if the cabinet will support the quartz. Not every cabinet will. One of the reasons to use plywood is to raise the countertop enough to allow the drawers to open. If we don’t need plywood, I’d just as soon not bring any termite infested product into the house. So we got the quartz countertops installed without plywood.

Once the countertops were in place, it was time to install the Lotus vessel sinks. When I spotted the Lotus vessel sinks with the waterfall faucets on Overstock, no question in my mind that the sinks were perfect. One of the stipulations I made was the contractor needed to install air gaps under the sinks. Well, I was out at Kona Haven Coffee talking story with a couple of friends when I received a text message from the contractor.

Somehow, he decided not to install the air gaps. He had his own ideas about it, and tried to tell me they were only necessary on faucets with reverse osmosis. Look buddy, there is a reason one of my most popular blogs about Sacramento real estate is How to Fix a Vessel Sink That Doesn’t Drain Completely. Because without an air gap, they do not drain.

So I sent him the link. Later, when the construction guys were preparing to leave, they mentioned that their boss finally read my blog. That piece convinced him, and he bought an air gap. Of course, when he shows up on Monday to be paid, he won’t be happy when I point out the medicine cabinet in the guest bath opens into the waterfall faucet. Nor will he like having to switch the hot and cold faucets that are mixed up in the guest bath. Hot on left, cold on right is code these days.

You cannot rely on construction workers to always do the right thing. Everybody has an opinion and workers are only as good as the number of jobs completed. Kinda like real estate agents. If an agent hasn’t sold a ton of properties, they don’t learn much. These guys do a great job installing quartz countertops, but vessel sinks seem to be a new learning curve for them.

Also, I bought 3 vessel sinks in case one of them was damaged in shipping but all 3 arrived intact. Now I have an extra vessel sink with a waterfall faucet for sale dirt cheap, under $200.