Lowest price fabricator that you could find? Or double the price of that guy? If the first, you got what you paid for. The second, you wouldn't have even had to make the call because the problem wouldn't exist.

Okay, so previous poster is perhaps mostly correct (although, unfortunately, I've been finding more and more in our remodel journey that even the ones that are not the cheapest don't always live up to expectations)...but previous poster's answer doesn't really help you at this point.

Yes, what you have sounds pretty unacceptable. Even if they didn't shoot with a laser, it should have been possible to prevent that kind of gap. And yes, your edges should be pretty smooth and polished to match the top.

I hope that you wind up with a positive resolution. Have they been paid the balance or do you still owe them money? If they were paid and it was by check, you might want to stop payment before it gets cashed. If it is by CC, I would contact your CC company to let them know that you are having issues.

They didn't use a laser when templating my counter, just those long very thin pieces of wood. The result hugged the wall, and any slight gaps were covered by backsplash tile.

The edges should look and feel as good as the top surface.

Something happened, they need to fix it.

I was worried because the granite I loved was at a shop that used luan templates instead of lasers. It hugs the wall perfectly. The three shops I was looking at were similar in cost, I did not have to pick someone really expensive and cross my fingers to get the job done right.

farahoofy:

They don't get to blame the wall; it's as irrelevant as what they had for breakfast.

Measure the distance from the front of the cabinet to the edge of the stone in several places and get back to us. This could be interesting.

The edges should match the top; no excuses.

My point is they aren't returning phone calls and they have the money. There is zero that can be done if they don't care enough to do the job correctly in the first place and won't answer the phone now. The time to do due diligence was well before now.

You can put on a thick handmade tile backsplash to disguise the gap and coat the edge with agar to give it more shine, but that's about it. Or pay another fabricator to redo the job correctly.

" ... My point is they aren't returning phone calls and they have the money. There is zero that can be done if they don't care enough to do the job correctly in the first place and won't answer the phone now. The time to do due diligence was well before now."

While I do agree that the job should have been done correctly the first time, there is a possibility that the OP can still get resolution and maybe it's not time to throw in the towel just yet. A recent poster just went through some quality issues with a low-cost pre-fab company and they refunded her money, so resolution is not impossible. The OP posted on Saturday, so maybe the shop is closed for the weekend. And as adreak100 suggested, the OP's CC company or bank may be able to assist.

" ... Lowest price fabricator that you could find? Or double the price of that guy? If the first, you got what you paid for. The second, you wouldn't have even had to make the call because the problem wouldn't exist."

Maybe the OP was working in a very strict budget. It doesn't mean they shouldn't get a decent job where the gap can at least be covered by the backsplash of their choice. It's not really fair to say that everyone who doesn't pay the highest price deserves to get ripped off. Just MHO.

" ... They don't get to blame the wall; it's as irrelevant as what they had for breakfast."

LOL.

Stone and quartz overhangs should be consistent within 1/8".

Small gaps that will be hidden by tile are fine. If it won't cover with the tile it's not fine.

Crooked walls are no excuse for excess gapping, that's why we make templates.

People that think companies have to have digital equipment and laser templates to get good results are misled.

I agree that this automatic reaction to blame the customer for someone elses's workmanship or ethics, and assuming they hired a low ball outlier or some "toothless illegals working out of their back yard", is not helpful, but it is very insulting. Further, what someone charges is not a gauge of quality. And, a lot of them try to shoot for the middle as a sales tactic -- "I'm not the cheapest ... somewhere in the middle". Used to hear that line a lot.

I was so relieved to have a fancy designer give me the name of their guy, who I confidently turned some jobs over to. Highest bidder and not cheap. He was a total joke. That was a good way to end up with a one man disaster.

OP, did you pay by CC? You could have some recourse there. Can you stop payment on a check?

Hopefully they have been out of the office. Have you left any messages? If so, give them a few days to respond. But do try to stop payment. Beyond that you have BBB, Angie's assistance, small claims court.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Sat, Feb 22, 14 at 14:23

This doesn't help OP, but I would echo what kevdp4 states about laser templates. They aren't infallible.

When our countertops were templated, the owner/fabricator came out with his laser thing... and after about 10 minutes informed me that the base cabinets weren't level because they weren't lining up with his laser. I was surprised. He measured the bases with his tape measure, and they were even. Then he said, "Well, your floors must be uneven. Do you have a marble?" I retrieved a marble, and he placed it on various parts of the floor. It never moved. He was perplexed.

Then he re-measured using his laser. The second time, everything lined up. It was his laser that was initially off.

Fortunately, we had no problems with the install and have no gaps. But the whole experience left me wondering about those lasers...

Highest bid is no guarantee of quality. Lowest bid is also no guarantee of a bad job.

Sounds like bad workmanship. I hope the shop calls back on Monday and is willing to make it right.

We aren't installed yet, but our fabricator came out with luan strips and had just gotten a new laser...he mentioned that he had it but hadn't become comfortable with it yet - I told him that if he wanted to shoot with the laser as well as the luan, I was willing to have him at the house a bit longer. He was happy that I allowed him to "play" with the laser, but ultimately, even if there were discrepancies, we are going with his luan strips for our granite since he has been using that for years and is most comfortable with that.