Q. on support for a 3 cm marble slab (my fab. won't deliver)

14 years ago

Hi,

My countertops were supposed to be made during my vacation and installed today. However, when I returned, I found a voicemail from my fabricator saying that they do not want to fabricate what they said they were going to. I am trying to understand why and see what options I have (including using another fabricator).

My slabes are 3 cm white Carrara, honed. My cabinets are Ikea, i.e. frameless cabinets. The cabinets are on 6 1/4 legs. I have a peninsula with a 15" overhang for sitting.

The fabricator initially won the bid by saying that they would route grooves inside the marble slab to put steel bars for supporting the overhang. The steel bars are 3/8" thick and a couple inches wide. The cabinets cannot be routed because they are frameless.

The company now says that they do not want to do this because they're worried that (in the order they told me):

- The steel bars would be visible through the stone. That really, really surprises me. I have a 1 cm marble table and I can put whatever I want under it, it does not show, even brightly lit. The fabricator's rep says they are worried that the epoxy used to glue the supports can seep inside the marble and change its characteristics and make it translucent. Okay, I don't know anything about epoxy but I've had marble repaired with it and it didn't seem to do that. Is that a possibility?

- They are worried to break the slab, and because they guarantee it, they don't want to install it or even fabricate it (afraid it'd break while being routed). That guarantee is getting in my way: they already forced a seam in the middle of my sink cutout because it is big (45" long), even though the installer was not worried about that.

I am thinking that the second reason, which took me about an hour to hear, is the main reason why they don't want to do the job I paid for. But I want to be sure before contacting someone else... Is the first issue a real issue (the transparency/visibility of the support), or not?

They offered to build a steel frame under the slab, put it on top of the cabinets and then put the slab on it. The problem with that is that it adds yet another 1/2" (well, 3/8" according to them) of height to my countertops which are as high as I wanted to go already, and even a bit higher, and that then the frame needs to be hidden, given a different look than on the other side of the kitchen which doesn't require support.

I am really bummed. Is there someone here who has a kitchen with a marble slab supported with routed-in steel supports, or something that does not need more height? I'd love to get some data on what has been done, and see if I can work with my fabricator on this.

Thanks!

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Comments (4)

malhgold
14 years ago
Maybe you can use something like the Short Run Pro brackets that Holligator linked. If you went with the brackets, couldn't you notch out the 3/8" in order for them to lay flat?

Here is a link that might be useful: Bracket Thread
live_wire_oak
14 years ago
Move on. They don't want your business and are unsure that they can really do the job they contracted for. Better to pay a higher price and get a quality job from someone with the experience and confindence that it takes to do it right.
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lisaslists2000
14 years ago
I had this same problem with a 12" deep counter with a 12" overhang. Can't notch out top of ikea cabs as there is only 1/8-maybe 1/4" clearance between top of doors and top of cab. That's one reason I went black silestone instead of ab granite. I have 3 cm everywhere but the island which is 2cm with a laminated edge. The laminated edge will cover the plywood which will be glued and bolted to the top of the cabinets. I agree that you should try to find someone who is willing to do it. Maybe my solution will help spark and idea that will work for you.
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firstmmo
14 years ago
I had exactly the same problem happen about three months ago. Bought 6 slabs of White Princess (a white quartzite) that were to have a 3cm square edge. Upon delivery to my fabricator who is very well known and reliable in my area, he rejected all of the slabs. The driver called me (on the golf course) and I had a "four-alarm fire" on my hands running around, calling everyone, including my GC, and everyone was in a HUGE huff. Essentially the fabricaotr felt that the slabs were too "delicate" to rod and that the color was too light and might have the same problem that you specified.

After numerous discussions all around we came to the mutually agreed upon conclusion that the best way to deal with this was to have double thick plywood over the counters, NOT rods and the overall height of the counter would thus be 37.5". The island overhang would thus also be doubly-supported and the granite would have enough support below it to be fairly stable.

I then had to go back to the counter people after that and confirm that the extra height was not a problem--while they said everything was fine, I never found out if they had to change anything--they talked to my GC.

HOWEVER, my fabricator did tell me that he was still a wee bit worried about my slabs and that they would be treating them extra carefully....not actually what I would hope for as I was hoping that my granite would be nice and tough, not fragile and high-maintenance! Still, I love the material and I can't wait for them to fabricate at the end of this month when my cabinets are done :)

Good Luck!!

Q. on support for a 3 cm marble slab (my fab. won't deliver)

Comments (4)

malhgold

live_wire_oak

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lisaslists2000

firstmmo

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