It's not that the contractor didn't notice, it is that he isn't going to bring it up if you don't. You have to be responsible for holding them to the exact plan. It's crazy but that's the way it is. There were several things that I let slide that I should have insisted be redone. The painters were supposed to match a wood stain on a small portion of front exterior of the house. We gave them the exact can, but they instead used paint. It ended up being about 1/3 of the front of the house was painted and 2/3 of the front stained. It didn't match at all. They never brought it up - no mention that they were using a completely different product. The lead contractor was on site at all times but didn't say "boo". When I saw the finish and asked about it, they said it would take a while to "oxidize", literally this is what they said. It never would have matched - I could have waited til the end of time. I had to push on them to get them to admit that they used the wrong product. They agreed to "paint " the remainder of the house to get it to match, but I should have insisted, or sued, to get them to remove the siding and replace it so it could be stained. Everytime I think about it I get angry. The point of the story, is to make sure you get a resolution that is satisfactory to YOU. Don't compromise - they are the ones in error.

I married my husband this year after 6 years of dating. We are both divorced for many years with now grown young-adult children. At the time we met his daughter was 18 and my son 14. My son loves my husband and accepted him with open arms. His daughter struggled to accept me in her dads life. Her dad is a very nurturing, attentive, loving person. When we started dating he shifted all that to me and away from his daughter. And I do have to say....it must leave a void. I was concerned about his 18 year old daughter by herself when he would stay over my house, because she was all alone in his house an hour away. Her mom was busy living in an apartment starting her life and dating. That's all I know on that topic (no judgement). Moving on... It was a living H with her for the first 2 years. My husband naturally wanted to introduce us. She was busy, didn't have time, the venue wasn't interesting to her. Bless his patience! We finally decided to go shopping for her birthday. On the trip, she hijacked her dad. She would take him away from me within the store to look at clothes, and I was left on my own. When we left a shop, she would squeeze between her dad and I walking down the street, again I was pushed out. The last straw on our first meeting is her purposeful talk about past family memories that drove home I was so misplaced. Well, after that event I hated her. HATED this spoiled, bratty, immature girl. I don't feel guilty for saying it either. The next 6 years continued with different rude behaviors. We went on a group vacation with friends and she was hostile toward my son (16 at the time) because he woke her up at night with the television. Her hostility continued foe 10 days leaving my son uncomfortable and confused. He couldn't understand how anyone could get that upset over his blunder. Remember he was 16 and he is a boy. LOL When he got sick with double ear infections and she had to give up her room so he could rest in a bed (not a hide a bed with a thin mattress-he is a heavy kid and she is barely 100 lbs). oh boy you should have seen the commotion. That is probably the only time I got angry in the 6 yrs I have known her. Everyone in the condo was tip toeing around the idea SD had to move rooms but no one would tell her. An argument ensued about whether it was right to make her move after agreements were made. That is when I hit TILT. Instead of asking nicely, I laid out the new plan regardless of anyone's prior agreement or rantings. My son was very sick and needed to rest. When he was better they could change rooms back. Oh boy, she threw me stink eye for the rest of the trip. Add insult to injury: my son walked in on her while she was brushing her teeth in the bathroom and she cam out ranting. Oh.... The injustice! Enuf said. I hope you get the scene here. Flash forward to today. She got older and met a boy that she lives with. He appeared to be a good influence on her. Dad had to smack her hand last Xmas for her incredibly rude behavior toward me; when dad would leave the room she would start whispering with her boyfriend as if I wasn't in the same room. When actually I was preparing the dinner they were about to eat. Sigh! Now it's been 4 months since our wedding: we invited them wine tasting (something we wanted to do) and no response, dad calls and texts and no response, I see her on FB and I'll LIKE her posts on occasion to keep the oar in the water. She loves her mother and grandmother, who give her a lot of monitory privilege. We are not in a position right now to do so and even if we were I wouldn't do it to gain her attention. So WHAT IS MY ISSUE? I am angry at SD and my husband!!!! When we got married in June the theme of our service was family. I had such high hopes, having such an abusive marriage in the past. It seems like my dreams have been shattered again. A part of me is heartbroken, perhaps too idealistic is the lesson here. Ha! I don't think this situation will ever change, or at least right now there are no signs pointing toward an upward trend. After 6 years of this, I'm toxic with anger. I can't live this way anymore. I dread Xmas because I have to deal with them. Conversation is like pulling teeth. All I get is one-word responses or on occasion an explanation. I think up topics ahead of time to prepare for the uncomfortable silence. They never ask about my son, me, or my family BTW. I've decided to disengage from her out of self-preservation. No more cooking meals for people who are rude to me. No more hosting people who lack the most obvious manners. No more party invitations. Xmas will be a card, sorry we are out of town. Dad and SD can figure things out between themselves. I'm not winning here. New to the SD game, but really hating it. I want off this merry-go-round. Ideas? Thoughts?

Just to weigh in with the other perspective, I've been on the other side of this situation. We're also in a city of small lots (ours is 50' x 115') and our back lot borders four properties. Houses in our area are built pretty close to the property lines (some right up against it). A couple years ago, the owners of the apartment building that borders one side of our backyard took all of the branches off of the bottom 30 feet of some evergreens that were the only thing separating our yard from the apartment building. The trees were on their property, and they had legitimate reasons for taking the branches off (wanted to reduce maintenance with needles dropping and ivy), but I was still livid---not that I said anything to them about it, because they were well within their rights, and we have and want to continue having a fairly good relationship with their property manager. However, now the units that face our property all look right into our backyard, and sound and security lights travel right to our bedroom window. It's frustrating, though we've planted screening trees of our own and in time they'll form a new screen between the properties. I would have loved having a heads-up that they were considering this, though, as we could have been that much further along on replacing the trees. So I can see where your neighbors may be coming from. You definitely didn't do anything wrong---it's your right to modify any landscaping on your property, and you didn't need to consult your neighbors---but I can sympathize with their perspective. They are probably concerned that they no longer have screening or shade in their yards or homes, and I imagine they're worried that you may not have plans to replant. I don't think it's over the top or unreasonable for them to contact you with their concerns (although they should also have acknowledged that it was your decision at the end of the day, and should have been polite about it!) This is definitely not something to move over, though! I would just apologize (again, you had no obligation to consult them, but they would likely have appreciated the heads-up), explain that some of the trees were dead or diseased, assure them that you'll be replacing them, and share your landscaping plan to help assuage their worries. If you want to take it the extra mile, maybe get a little houseplant for the neighbors who've contacted you and take it over with a note that it's some greenery for them in the meantime, while your landscaping goes in. It will definitely blow over---our frustration has mellowed over the years, and we never addressed the issue at all, so if you address it in a positive way, I'm sure all will be well. But it's always nice to let neighbors know if you have plans that will affect their properties---just fosters goodwill and better relationships, even if it's things they have absolutely no say in anyway. Good luck!

Erica, I am obsessing over counters and am terrified I won't like whatever I choose, so I get how you're feeling. From the first photo, I THINK you may be seeing a slight (green?) undertone in the pewter glaze that isn't present in the Torquay. You MUST wait until all the elements are in place, including lighting to see how the cabinet color looks. But really, I don't believe, marble and/or marble look quartz needs to "match". They sit serenely on top of their bases and just are. Both your counters and cabinets are lovely, so please feel free to keep carrying on, :)