My Talis S kitchen faucet sprung a slow leak that I traced to a faulty flexible water hose. After looking for a replacement online, I read that this hose could be covered under warranty. I called Hansgrohe customer support, explained my problem, and was ensured this was indeed under warranty, especially given its fairly recent installation. I had to email in pictures of my faucet and about a week later, a replacement was delivered to my door!

Since this worked out well, I also asked about my hand shower that started to drip, and you guessed it, a replacement was provided free of charge! Thanks for the great service Hansgrohe!

So despite its extra large internal capacity, the external dimensions really do fit the space of a standard refrigerator.

After seeing these local prices, I went from Allegro E Gourmet to Brizo Solna to the Talis S.

What’s neat is its concealed sprayer. Magnetically locked into place, you can’t see the sprayer hidden inside of the faucet. But with a slight tug, the sprayer unlocks for use.

Since it’s new, there’s promotional pricing to encourage purchases. Normally $400, the special pricing is about $270.

That’s $249.99 for a faucet that typically runs over $300. No wait, no shipping costs, just pay at the register, and walk out with a Hansgrohe.

This Allegro E Gourmet (part #04275805) is in the steel optic finish and comes with a lifetime warranty. This may be a Costco “special” version however. Just keep in mind that if physically similar to other Allegro E kitchen faucets, this is a large faucet. It’s 16 1/2″ high, has a 11 3/8″ projection, and the spout height is 10″. But at the cost, you can’t really complain.

While I originally like the Allegro E stylings, that water splashing was just way too much. I’m wondering if that 11 1/2″ spout height has anything to do with the force of the water splashing down on dishes? So I’m looking at other Hansgrohe kitchen faucets and the high arc Talis S looks cool. But there are a few models of the Talis S (not counting the smaller prep faucets) that is confusing.

Their web site shows:

• Talis S (#14877001)
• Talis S² HighArc Kitchen Faucet (#04310001)
• Talis S HighArc 2-Spray Pull-Down, (same as the Interaktiv HighArc 2 Spray Pull-Out??) (#06801000)

Then there’s also the “old” Talis S from what I understand. So which one is which? The current Talis S is a 2.2 GPM model and has an angled handle.

The “old” Talis S has a handle that is at 90-degrees (not slightly angled) and needs clearance behind the faucet profile for hot water. If your sink backspalsh is too close, the “old” Talis S handle would bump into it.

The “old” Talis S sounds like the Interaktiv HighArc2 model which sounds like the Talis S HighArc 2-Spray Pull-Down. These feature a 360-degree range of motion for the spout and a movable body for cleaning purposes. There is no mention of magnetic docking for the spray head.

The Talis S2 is a water-conserving 1.5 GPM faucet, has a magnetic docking spray head but only swivels 150 degrees. It has the slightly angled handle.

Then there is the Talis S. It’s 2.2 GPM, has the angled handle, needs no clearance for hot water, and has the magnetic spray head. Both the Talis S and S2 are 16 1/2″ tall with a 8 3/4″ projection. The spout height is 8 7/8″, a few inches lower than the Allegro E Kitchen Faucet. All of these come in finishes of chrome or steel optik.

You can find any and all of these models on Amazon but be sure you have the right model number for which Talis S you want. You might be able to find these stocked locally in Hawaii, just depends. As of today, I know Ferguson Hawaii has the Talis S available. Here’s a picture of their inventory on the shelf (looks like a mix of Talis S and the HighArc 2-Spray Pull-Down), but they supposedly have more in the warehouse.

After looking at home improvement stuff on Amazon, its mighty match feature suggested I check out toilets including those by Toto. Wow, scary. I, in fact, did take a look at Toto toilets at Hawaii Home Expo.

Sometimes, Amazon’s recommendations are right on the money. Other times, not so much.

Did you know that Utopia is cool and breezy? It must be with these Utopian ceiling fans from Casablanca. Despite its basic appearance, this fan is all performance, moving more air than many competing products.

You can find this popular ceiling fan online, but be sure to check out the Fan Shop in Aiea. Currently, their sale price beats online pricing. However, any accessories like a light kit, remote control, etc. are additional costs.

You ever heard of cooking ranges from Blue Star, Bertazzoni, or NXR? Me neither. But if you’re in the market for ranges with fanatic fan bases, consider these three brands.

I only started doing some research, but these three brands seem to have the most advocates. It all started with basic ranges like those found at Sears – Kenmore, Whirlpool, LG, Kitchen Aid, GE Profile. Then the search jumped to the high end like Viking, Wolf, GE Monogram, and Theramdor. Then I started reading about other niche brands in online forums. There are frequent discussions comparing various ranges but the most commonly mentioned are from Blue Star, Bertazzoni, and NXR.

Of course, all of these are difficult to get in Hawaii although NXR said they ship right away. But Blue Star has the biggest oven which is one of our criteria… But since time is also an issue, these three may be out of the picture.

While most of these models are the same, there are subtle differences, like the fruit and vegetable drawers. The LG version at Home Depot has three smaller drawers while the Kenmore features two larger drawers.

Update: Thanks to reader Fauguy who pointed out that the freezer drawers and water dispensers are also different.

The other major difference is cost.

Home Depot has the LFX3192ST for $2348 and in store, Sears has their 72053 (Sears Item# 04672053000) for about $2500 unless… while taking your vehicle in to Sears for battery maintenance, you wander to the appliance section and see this pricing.

Odd, you think to yourself. At other local Sears locations, you swear the price is higher. Then doing an Internet search, you realize that that price is the online price which shouldn’t apply to Hawaii. So… you jump at the opportunity of this printed price and go for it. And sure enough when the register shows a higher price at checkout, the sales guy honors the printed price (then takes the price tag down). And don’t forget to use your Sears card for an additional 5% off.

Thanks to the Tabasco Man, our next kitchen sink will be Sterling. It’s a single big basin measuring 32″ x 18″ x 9″. Had also looked at Franke and Oliveri but couldn’t justify the costs for these brands. I’m sure there are differences, but for a kitchen sink, Sterling looks like a solid choice.

Thanks to Kerri for her help and lighting advice.

Like the look of this faucet. Matte, brushed nickel finish is clean and doesn’t show waterspots. Nice height to easily move dishes underneath. Curvy and smooth, but…

The height has a bigger disadvantage of splashing water. Since the water falls from higher up, the stream of water hitting dishes is forceful and splatters all over. The handle on the side isn’t so easy to adjust the force of the water.  I don’t have the feel for getting the water pressure just right. It’s either too much or too little. It is easy to change the temperature of the water though.

Must look up Hansgrohe brand.  Product feels solidly made.

From Namesake, I got feedback about flooring for kitchens.  On Facebook, I got a message from a classmate who’s a talented architect who offered some suggestions.

Most recently, this tweet fed into my Facebook timeline, and I was told to check with 808 Stone.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/geewhy/status/75451784939831296″]

No, 808 Stone doesn’t have soapstone (which I think is rare in Hawaii), but they do fabricate and install granite countertops.  No promises, but looking good so far working with this family owned business.  Keeping fingers crossed…

Maybe this is a roundabout way of fixing my Corian counter conundrum (sans flames) and get my costs over $1000.

Fortunately though, H & H Overhead Door of Oahu was able to fix it. Yay! But they really need to work on communicating better with their staff and customers. There were too many unacknowledged (but received) phone messages and an unacknowledged (but not received) phone message that resulted in a scheduling mixup.

Service guy: “Hello, I’m here to fix your garage door.”

Me: “Um, I’m at work. I left two messages saying I couldn’t be there today.”

The company did accommodate for this faux pax, but still not the best experience for customers. On Yelp, I had to soil their company’s 5-star ratings.

I wanted Burled Beach in one bathroom and Lava Rock in another. This means each countertop would have to exceed $1000. The smaller bathroom’s countertop did not past this threshold, so now I’m stuck.

There are some options.

1. Stick with a single Corian color for both bathrooms so the minimum stays at $1000 for one type of material.
2. Order additional countertops so the cost goes above $1000.
3. Pick a different material type such as Staron that is available in half sheet sizes. Sadly Staron is not on sale this week at Home Depot.

Lowe’s isn’t much better, requiring 25 sq ft of countertops before they accept your order.

What to do?