Hollysprings: I was not asking them to do more than their trade. I asked them what I needed and followed their advice. If I knew a GC was needed when I hired a company to install granite, I would have hired a GC. I had 2 people from their company who came to my home to take measurements and was told supports were not needed. Even after asking them a couple times, one guy said if you really really really want it, go ahead and get a bracket for a the small piece - you don't need it. The day before my install, I spoke to them and said we may need to reschedule because I think I need support brackets and will need to order them because I could not find any locally. My concern was based on info I found here stating anything over an 8" overhang needs support. At that point, I thought my overhang was 10". He said it's not needed because it was an L-shaped piece and the base of the L supported the length. Like I said earlier, he even sent a text to me the next morning saying only the small piece needs support. This is not a matter of making myself GC - if I was told I needed one, I would have hired one. I went to a company that specializes in flooring, counters, etc, not a one-man shop. Maybe it's just me, but I find it odd that anyone would install something that's unstable. It was during my phone call with him the night before the install that he said we could not cancel the install but he'll have his guys bring 2x2s the next day that way I have something until I get someone to install the brackets. Like I said, I don't want to be unreasonable. The work was done on Thursday(has not been completed) and I wanted to get advice on what's normal. 1. If the sink cutout is to be expected, fine. It's not ideal and it won't be perfect, but I can live with it. 2. I've seen posts here saying the seam should be hard to detect. Prior to the installation, he said the seam would be very hard to detect especially with the stone I have - black galaxy. Well, it's not. This seam width is 1/16" and it's not smooth at all. You can see this seam from anywhere in the room. Not only is it visible, it's very rough and one end is more raised that the other. I even had to call him when they were still here because this did not look right. The final product is nothing like I expected. 3. Based on this site and info online, I know I need support brackets. According to the rep, I only need one. According to their installers, I need 7. According to Trebuchet, I need 4 or 5. Looking at the picture posted, I think that's because the brackets are about 3 feet apart not 2 feet. If they'll have to remove the slabs to fix the seams, then I can have a carpenter install Centerline hidden brackets. If they don't need to remove the slabs, I'll go with L-brackets. Not ideal, but I can live with those. I'm not a fan of corbels or those decorative pieces are only good for banging your knees - I'm 5' 11. The less obstruction, the better.

That's exactly what I thought jerzeegirl. It's like a bunch of patterned diagonal lines then a blob in the end. The blob on the second picture is the end of the topmost stain line on the first picture. At first I thought the surface was absolutely glossy and perfect (it appeared so in natural light) but tonight I can see it's cloudy and hazy on the surface. It feels smooth to touch though. I am not sure what you mean by "under the surface" (sorry)? I can't figure out if it's a scratch or an etch or a watermark. I think my closest answer would be that it seems to be a surface mark and not something that is "seeped" into the stone -- but what do I know? I've never had granite before.

I like your set up oldbat2be. Thanks for the picture. It helps to see other placements. I think we want the faucet in the center, because the sink is so wide. We actually haven't even been able to try out this current set up because when we installed the Karbon the threads on the cold water supply got stripped (or maybe were already stripped) so Build.com is sending a replacement. I want to wait and see how it feels to use before making any decisions. But we do like the idea of soap dispenser, so if we can fix the problem we would like to. I really wish I had spent some time thinking about this BEFORE instead of after. :-) Unfortunately it's been too many things going on and too many decisions. My brain (and body) feel a bit fried right now!

Thanks - unfortunately they are unresponsive and the company no longer exists shortly after finishing the job (we had so much work done to an older house it took me a while to realize the little things that were done poorly - I've learned that lesson of how to choose folks to work on your home the hard way. I realize this seems like a glaring mistake but it was a gap that didn't bother me too much at first, but got worse when we recently had to shim up the counter which was also poorly installed. Thanks for the paintable caulk suggestion - maybe I should try a caulk backing strip (or whatever those are called) and drywall putty if needed for the gouged looking part, then caulk and paint?