We have one dead center in the sink cutout -- I didn't want it there at the time, having read (on this forum and elsewhere) differing opinions about the wisdom of that, but the granite place insisted, saying they ALWAYS do it there and in fact, the narrow strip around the sink is the weakest point and better to have a seam there than have the pressure on a solid, but thin, piece of granite. In reality, it's completely invisible. (The sink is rodded, of course, but I don't think they did any other reinforcing.) We also have a single strip behind the rangetop, seamed at both ends. They did it that way without asking if I had any other preference (I didn't!) I imagine you might notice any seam a little more with a more uniform stone -- ours has lots of movement and lots of different colors and the seams just blend right in. Front and rear sink seams:

"When searching for accurate information regarding natural stone countertops the ONLY reliable source is https://www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/  The WORST place to place a seam is directly over a dishwasher." Sarah: Let me direct your attention to the Natural Stone Institute's Detail of Spline Joint Reinforcement drawing 17-D-4 please. Page 14. This is a terrible detail. The last thing you want in a sink seam is a joint that is NOT designed to fail. If the house settles or a top gets out of plane, you want a joint that fails and can be easily remade, not a joint that's going to blow the top of the rail off. Not to mention when Bubba runs out of stainless steel washers and installs one that rusts and blows the countertop apart. As a countertop repairperson with 30 years experience, I have brought this poor detail to their attention to no avail. If you can avoid a seam over a dishwasher, fine, but there is no reason to not make a seam over a modern well-insulated dishwasher. Epoxy a stainless steel cleat under the seam and forget it if it makes you feel better, but I wouldn't bother. The Natural Stone Institute is a fine organization, but they're not Gods. Just men who make mistakes like the rest of us. This sink seam has failed properly. It may have not had the NSI's detail been followed. Would you rather look at this nice do-over or a repaired jagged crack at the end of the cutout or a blowout repair?

That is what I expect as well. He did say that he had not done any this way and he normally would undermount. The builder used a cabinet maker that is used often for the builder and has done several cabinets for the farmhouse sink and he has always done them for an upmount. The builder is using a granite installer that I thought had done this before since the builder is picking all the subs and has a grat reputation around this area. Now we are sitting at that I dont think the fit is close enough and too much caulking has to be used. The builder says it looks fine to him and claims the granite folks recut and fitted the sink tightly. Looks to me that the granite was not recut and the caulk was simply changed out to a darker color. Its at the point now that I have to accept it or have a valid reason to push a do over. Thats why im asking here to see if im being a rear or not.

Rodding is old-school and is only necessary on very fragile stones or unusual situations. The problem is that many fabricators don't do it right. They use polyester instead of epoxy for bedding which isn't nearly as water resistant and cold steel instead of stainless or fiberglas rods which won't rust. I'm going to fix an exploded (oxidized) rod tomorrow. I hate it when they're in the back of the sink instead of the front. $800-$1,600.00 with no guarantee on appearance or durability and it's still a very cost effective alternative to replacement.