I found it to be really irritating as well. That said, when I arrived, my list of questions were answered in the first 10 minutes. It won't matter today if you don't know if you can get counter depth. I had my design meeting in March, am closing in a couple of weeks and just finally ordered my appliances. You will have time to figure out whether to go with what they have or order outside. The upgrade for granite will depend upon the grade of granite you choose and the style of house depending upon stretches and changes so it isn't really a good idea to say how much it would be prior to the meeting. T&D does the pool so TV can't answer that. And again, the pool, spa, birdcage issue with or without columns is way way too complicated to give a simple answer. If you put in the search bar pool costs perhaps you will get an idea as to the cost to build. The only thing I can tell you is that it actually will get done in an efficient way. I called the process "design on steroids." The designers as a whole are very good at this and will move you through the process well and you will not feel rushed. The best thing you can do at this point is figure out which model you want and what is your budget. Good luck and feel free to vent.
