Just last month I moved into our new house which has about 56 square feet of stainless steel countertop area in the kitchen. The homebuilder simply contacted a local commercial stainless fabricator and it was handled like any commercial job would be. There are quite a few things to consider. Personally I wouldn’t order any of this online — after seeing the process, I would strongly recommend having them made locally and installed by the fabricator.

A commercial fabricator is probably not familiar with certain aspects of residential construction. In particular, homes tend to be a little more “loose” in their tolerances, so be careful — we had to get several areas re-framed because the stainless was very square and straight and the framing was not.

Get price quotes for different gauges of steel, as this will vary the price dramatically. I went with a thinner 14ga on the low-traffic surfaces and 12ga on the heavy-use areas.

Be sure to specify what kind of lip you want on the underside, or you’ll probably just get it cut straight. Also, be sure to specify cosmetic details like where welds will be done and how they’re finished, how corners will be finished, etc.

Get the plumber involved, particularly if the stainless fabricator is building the sink into the counter. We had a problem where the fabricator didn’t make the drain opening large enough to fit a standard sink basket, and cutting a larger hole is very difficult.

Good luck — they look awesome, and they’re great if you cook a lot!

Nashville, TN (November 11, 2003) – As Martina McBride walked onstage to pick up her third CMA Female Vocalist of the Year award Wednesday night, she also stepped into an elite group alongside Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn and Reba McEntire as the only women to ever receive three CMA Female Vocalist of the Year trophies. This is Martina’s second consecutive CMA Female Vocalist win. She also won in 1999. (more…)

Point and shoot, compact underwater cameras are not big and bulky anymore, nor do they require a waterproof housing to be at home in the water.  The best underwater cameras look no different than other point and shoot compact cameras, and also don’t cost an arm and a leg more.  That is why it makes no sense to buy anything but a waterproof camera.  At some point most cameras will be in the situation where they may come into contact with water, but if you have an underwater camera, then you won’t think twice about it.  People are catching on to the peace of mind that waterproof cameras can offer, and manufactures are catering to them by competing to make the best underwater camera.  Here we will discuss the things to keep in mind when deciding which one to purchase for your situation.