no....you don't live with it. You paid for a service and don't settle for a poor seam even if you did save money. They didn't mix the epoxy dark enough. They need to do it right!! Good luck to you.

I don't have a pic of the seam yet cuz I'm not at home but the seam is on the beginning of the peninsula, 6" to the right of the prep sink.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Hi Pedimom,

I just recently went through this same thing. Don't settle for this, and if you owe them any money, don't pay them until this issue is resolved. I had my granite company come out more than a few times to polish seams, at one point, they even replaced the slab that they used on the island. I belive that they only did all of this because I still owed them 50% of their money. If you have already paid, can you stop payment on the check until it is resolved?

pedimom, I agree with the other posters. It's unacceptable. Even though you saved a lot of money, I'm sure the job still cost a bunch. You should be satisfied with the installation.
You mention the seam is 6" to the right of the sink, is there a reason why the seam couldn't have been in the middle of the sink area? That's usually most inconspicuous for seams. Good luck, JM

I went through the same thing, Pedimom (along with other issues). The epoxy was gray rather than black. I made them fix it. The seams are now much less noticeable color-wise. (Height/thickness/smoothness...those are other problems I had/have that were only marginally fixed.)

Make them come back and fix it!!!

BTW...the seam on my sink wall is also near but not at the sink...it's fine. Actually, I like it better as I think it's less noticeable. People look at your sink and any imperfections will be right where someone is looking. Meanwhile, the seam that's over to the left or right is not seen b/c people are focused on the sink and "skip" over the adjacent countertop as long as you don't have anything there to draw the eye.

I am sorry to disagree here, but seam quality is one of the things you sacrafice when you go "bargain hunting."

please let us know how they respond to your complaint. If you have not paid in full, you might get some attention but great seam could possibly be outside their capabilities.

james

Did you also purchase your slabs from them? Did you check for a dyed or doctored stone? I'm only asking b/c if you haven't paid them in full yet, this may be the only chance to make sure you got what you paid for. Unfortunately, AB is the stone that's dyed/doctored the most (it's done to the grayer stones to make them look true black).

There's probably nothing you can do about the rough edges and even a more expensive place doesn't guarantee the edges will be smooth. As I recall, one of the causes of "rough" edges is the lack of maintenance of tools...they don't keep the blade used to cut the granite sharp. AB is not a stone prone to chipping, so that cannot be their excuse.

buehl- I did buy the slab from them. i don't think it was doctored because they had "blasker" stones with the tiny gloden flecks but I got the grayer colored one which i really didn't mind.

Buehl- can i ask when you said they fixed it...did they have to remove the slab. that is one thing i do not want to do.

the granite guy said he can't do it so how can I force them to fix it if they don't know how????

i'm baffled because everything else looks great. the seams on the edge are hardly noticeable.

pedimom,
The greyer stone is one reason why you did get a better price.

Can you give us pictures.

The chipping along the seam means they failed to "dress" the edges after it came off the saw. The only fix is to remove the tops and fix the edge. This can be done in your home.

You never did say, have you paid in full? If you have, you have not ability to put pressure on these guys.

What area of the country are you in?

James

James- I have not paid the granite company in full but now i don't know what to do since they say they can't fix it and if they sand it it will turn into a different color around the area they sand. (i'm confused)

I am in Millbrae,Ca

I am wondering if i find a company that can come out and fix it-how much do you think they would charge for something like that and do companies do that?

Here is a link that might be useful:

another try at my photo link. if not, please use link above "my kitchen"

Here is a link that might be useful:

pedimom- your link didn't work

Here's the picture

I'm sorry to say this, but yours is worse than ours was!

No, they did not remove the slab. I didn't want that either so that's why I'm living with the varied thickness of the slabs and a similarly uneven edge along that seam. I'm not sure what they did, but it was a different team that came out to fix it. I think they somehow redid the epoxy in black. They were out to our house at least 3 times...and they were well over an hour away from us. (They also irreparably damaged a cabinet when attempting to install one of our slabs so we had to wait for a replacement cabinet to finish.)

I think they sent out the "A Team" for the final install b/c even though those pieces were also different thicknesses, they were able to grind them down (from the bottom) until they matched and that seam is almost invisible! Once we saw the second seam we considered having them redo the window wall...which they offered to do at no cost...but there wasn't enough of our 3 slabs left and I would have had to begin my search all over again (the other 2 slabs from the lot were gone). [See next paragraphs]

As to the color of our slab...I looked for a very, very long time to find our slabs...a true, deep black with a light scattering of silver inclusions/speckles. When I finally found them, there were only 5 in the entire lot and I needed 3.

Based on James' comment, I guess that's why it was called "Absolute Black Premium"...b/c of the true black color...and why we paid so much for it. (I had looked for so long that when we finally found them, I pretty much paid what they asked! Both my DH & KD were exasperated with me b/c I kept insisting I wanted true black, not gray! My DH also loves them and is very happy that I insisted on waiting now!)

Our granite installer used a black permanent marker to color the seam at the sink. After one year it's still barely noticeable. Perhaps that technique could work on your seam.

I was also going to suggest a Sharpie. Try it underneath the edge to see how it will look.

There used to be instructions on here about how to do it. I think it involved putting it on and then wiping it before it dried.

what should I do about the tiny crevice in the seam that is making it not smooth? We are sanding our floors and i had to wipe the dust out of the tiny tiny crevice! Is that right?

I really need pics of peoples seams becuz my granite guy claims I won't find a better seam. Ha!

pedimom,
You are right to realize that seam is pathetic.

Do not pay them the balance until they send someone with the ability to fix it. Whether it is one of their employees or an expert. At their expense. Period.

The good news is it can be fixed. The seam has to be cut out, the edge dressed and the seam redone with a color match epoxy.

And as for an "expert" being necessary, these are all basic Granite 101 techniques. You just need someone that is good. You obviously hired someone that isn't.

Blessings

Hi Pedimom,
Wondering if you have had any luck with the grantie
seam problem? I am shopping for granite and started
to think about your seams. They have been just terrible
to you. I am so sorry you are going through this.

While learning all I can about granite I found some
links on my search. Maybe this will help you on your
discussions with the granite people. Thinking of you
and hoping the installers fix this for you.
Good luck.
Boxerpups

............
http://boards.hgtvpro.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5081053852/m/7061072093

Better place yet is in middle of sink. short seam on each side of sink easy to hide.
Other then that pick the end which is not seen as easy from outside the room. The lower the angle you look the easier it can be seen.
so when your farther away the seam will stand out more because of the reflective nature of the stone.
But any good counter company worth their salt should be able to seam this with little effort and is should hide quite well. Black is a fairly easy color to seam. Its the lighter colors that oftemtimes is harder.

............
http://www.stoneadvice.com/forum/search.php?fid[]=1

.....

http://tomcordova.com/24/seams-in-granite/

Granite countertop seams should be smooth to the touch and no more than 1/16ÂÂ wide. There is no written rule about this but this is the quality standard in the industry. The joint should be filled flush with epoxy in a color that best matches the general granite color. If you are not happy with the color, ask the installer to redo it. This is not difficult. Sometimes the joint can be made smoother with the epoxy as well.

If the joint is still rough, then you will need to have the seams professionally ground down and re-polished. This is not easy to do correctly and even impossible with some homogenous colors.

Best wishes,
Tom Cordova

....................

Q. How can I get the smallest seam possible where two slab countertop panels meet?
A. Well obviously a good fit and straight cuts are key. But here are a few other tricks of the trade. Get some large soft rubber suction cups of five or six inch diameter and some turnbuckles eight or ten inches long. Attach one cup to each end of the turnbuckle. After you butter the edge of the seam with the epoxy that you have tinted the color of the granite stone you are using set them in place and squeeze them together gently. Then take your assembly of turnbuckles and suction cups and straddle the seam placing one suction cup on each side. Then spin the turnbuckle to gently pull the two panels together. You don't want to apply too much force here or you will break the suction of the rubber cups to the granite. Wedges are also useful in achieving a tight seam by forcing the panel in the direction of the seam.

boxerpups- thank you so much for your help with the links. I am researching around my area of contacts that might be able to help me solve the problem. i just can't imagine entrusting these people to fix a seam that they feel is the best they can do and that they actually think its a good seam. pretty scary.

i have also told them that i won't be paying them until i get this resolved. i imagine that its not too much to ask if I have to pay someone to fix it, that i deduct it from their final payment. what do you think?

Hi Pedimom,

I think that is a great idea. Deduct or send the terrible granite people a bill for the repairs on the granite. Especially if it comes out to be more expensive then what you owe them. (I doubt it will be that much more).

The terrible granite people might just walk away from this and not bother you. It depends on how much you owe them. If they have already received 3/4 of the pay my guess is they will walk away.But I am not a legal expert. Be sure to take many, many photos of your granite before it is repaired. With a powerful light shinning on the granite.

When I read Tom Cordova's rock blog statement that the seam should be 1/16th, I realized that I had to send you that link. If this is what the standard is in the granite world, those fools who put in your granite should not be paid. They should give you a discount for this mess.

Good luck and I will be thinking of you. Keep me posted.
Boxerpups

Heads up on where the seams fall. We bought our house with beautiful granite countertops. Dishwasher and trash compactor are on each side of the sink with a garden window behind the sink with granite extending into it.
They seamed the granite over the dishwasher and trash compactor. There is no front cabinet rail in those areas. As a result, granite settled in the front about 1/8 an inch. First time they came to repair it, they cracked granite at the rear corners of the sink. Tried to refit and glue, but unfortunately it settled again.

Now going to try pulling the broken piece of granite out, rebuilding the cabinet with the sink in it with plywood extending over the dishwasher and compactor, then reinserting granite and leveling. If that doesn't work, only choice would be to replace all the granite.$$$$$$

Pedimom:

My Brother - VR James - has said it ALL......

All I can do is re-enforce what he has already said - Your seam
shows me that your fabricator does not know how to DO a seam
the way that they are being done now - dressed and glueless on the
surface, with a pack from the underside....

I teach this seaming technique (the RIGHT WAY) to new and
current Fabricators at AZ School of Rock. When the seam is done
the RIGHT WAY - you CAN'T SEE ANY GLUE or CHIPS on the surface
of the seam, and there is NO LIPPAGE - PERIOD.... NADA... ZIP... BUPKISSS...
A person the reads BRAIL couldn't feel the seam when it's done THE RIGHT WAY.....
ALL yo can see is two masses of stone butted up to one another.....

The good news (as VR James has already pointed out) is that it CAN be addressed.....

What part of the US or Canada are you in? There may be a real Fabricator
that I may know that could be referred to you that KNOWS HOW to do seams
the RIGHT WAY.....

For everyone ELSE reading this thread - REMEMBER........

When you want to SAVE MONEY - "Real Bad" (like in this case..$6K)....

In many cases...
That's EXACTLY what you'll do.......

You'll Save Money.......

REAL BAD........ ;-(

kevin

I am in the San francisco bay area in California near the SF airport. Any referrals would be much appreciated.

Hi pedimom, I'm tring to figure out how to repair a seam too. One thing I personally got from reading all this is---oh well. I mean, life goes on and hopefully we are happy and healthy. I'm personally happy to save 5k and learn to live with a seam. Maybe it just teaches us to let go a little bit. And to be honest I didn't think your seam was that bad. If I was a guest I doubt I would ever notice. Cheers.