Yes I must have ;-)). I planned to post earlier but had to hunt out the tin. It says to leave for 24hrs between coats but that’s dependent on weather conditions/humidity. I managed to get 2 coats on in a day if I started early enough & did the 2nd late afternoon. Yes, it came from Bunnings. There are others brands such as Feast Watson but I found this one really good. Put it this way those benchtops of mine (in bathroom & laundry) have been in place for over 5 years & they still look great. Correct, if you’re joining the board, don’t coat the end grain but make sure you coat the grain of your sink cutouts & also silicone well around the sinks. Good luck with it!

Hi I just thought I would leave a comment about the visibility of joins in reconstituted stone such as Caesarstone tops on islands longer than 3 metres. From a patern point of view; by selecting a style that has a fine grain certainly helps with reducing the visibility of a join. As for the join itself, the technology and tooling used to make such joints has come a long way in the last 10 years; therefore if you use a Kitchen Manufacturer who uses up-to-date stone fabrication methods, then such joins can be next to near invisible. Below is a kitchen we made with an Island that is over 4.3 metres long and has a join through the centre; where the join actually has to be pointed out to be seen. We have seen Kitchen Manufactures use the two height method but you really don't have to do this to achieve a long island. If you would like a long island, then you should not be put off by having to have a join; careful selection of your material, manufacturer and planning can achieve great results. Hope this helps anyone reading this article and the comments above.

And it's done! I did not run to ikea to get a shorter vanity, I used what I had and here's the result, ta daaa! It still need some tweaks (tiles, pull too low, push back washing machine etc) and lots of cleaning (are bathroom renovation messy or what) but I'm content with it, it's an 100% improvement! And the plumber didn't think it was too long, nor too high.. Now onto some decoration, I do fancy some pops of coral in there, what do you think? Oh , and should I have a kick-board to hide the feet? Ps: Sorry about the bad photos, my phone doesn't want to focus anymore.

I think the answer to this question is actually in your current kitchen. Go and check to see how many coffee cups, plates, and clutter there is around your kitchen sink right now. Then imagine your kitchen sink as it is on a typical day in full view of anybody who comes to visit, and everytime you come through the front door. I would resolve a solution that conceals the messy bits of the kitchen in a simple, clean manner, without introducing extra wall treatments that will draw attention to the issue. Depending on the head clearance above the stairs I would consider extending the diagonal wall between the pantry and the stairs until it intersects with the full height wall behind the sink. This diagonal wall extension would extend over the lowest part of the stairwell void so you will need to be sure about head clearance heights. In this diagonal wall there should be an opening that is a similar size to the opening required for a door so if necessary you can retrofit a door separating the kitchen from the entry at a later stage. As this new doorway is on a diagonal wall to the entry you will get a glimpse towards the end of the kitchen island bench (which follows the same 45 degree geometry) instead of a panoramic view of your kitchen sink clutter. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls