Newport Solid Granite Top Kitchen Island

Comments about Newport Solid Granite Top Kitchen Island:

Product is sleek looking and rigid.

Comments about Newport Solid Granite Top Kitchen Island:

I thought I would just relate my expereiences with this Kitchen Island. First, I have a wall in my kitchen that is totally devoid of any cabinets or appliances. I needed to fill the bare wall with something and this was just the thing. It looks beautiful assembled and the granite top really is an eye catcher. I am very happy with my purchase.
But, now onto assembly...
For the most part it was fairly straight forward but for most people this may be a two person project. I assembled the unit myself but I'm a fairly handy person and I'm also fairly strong. This item came shipped to my house in three seperate boxes. The feet came seperate which replace the casters. You still get the casters if you want to use them but you cant use both at the same time. The granite top comes shipped in it's own box. Its protected in the box by several layers of styrofoam, cardboard, and even a wooden shipping crate. The main cabinet part came in the third box. The two main boxes are pretty heavy so you may need someone to help you move them into your house.
The parts are made from either solid wood, plywood, venered particle board, or Medium Density Fiberboard.
The directions for assembly were pretty good but there were some issues that should be noted. First, the granite top replaces the standard top. This is part "A" in the directions. Each part is marked with a little sticker with a part letter on it. The Granite was not marked but since it was the only part not marked it was easy to figgure it out. The only other issue I had was using the cam lock attachments. There are numerous cam locks that hold parts together and it says to use a phillips head screwdriver to turn them. I found using a phillips head screwdriver imposible but a standard flat head screwdriver worked very well. The slots are not deep enough for a phillips head. You also might need a short flat head screwdriver for some of the camlocks because some are tucked away pretty tight and you really cant get to them with a normal length screwdriver. Those were my only two issues.
I would reccomend that once you get the main part of the cabinet assmebled that you put it close to where you want it to be. Once you have it close to its final location you can put on the granite top and the doors and drawers. The unit is very heavy when fuly assembled and you probably wont want to move it around much.
it really is a nice looking unit. I have had several people already ask me where I got it. They cant believe it when I tell them it came mail order and I had to assemble it.