You should probably call Albarene, since they are the ones who sent the slabs and recommended this fabricator. Oh, dear. Let's hope it can be resolved.

My counters are being installed tomorrow and I'm getting nervous.

Oh no! Can you post pictures? Did you call Alberene yet? I hope they can help you deal with the fabricator, since they recommended them! Seems like the crack could continue to be a problem unless it is perfectly supported. This doesn't sound like a good install.

Call them, call them! I would focus on the install first b/c that will get their attention more than the markings on the stone.

Keep us posted!

Francy

Thanks for the encouragement. You folks are great!

First, we called Albarene to clarify our understanding of the stone's color consistency and veining. They are very patient and nice. They told us that "Albarene" is usually consistent, but sometimes you'll get some clouding because it's natural stone. Well, we have one large, cloudy splotch glaring at us from every one of our four sections. They also reiterated that the seams should be hard to see and only we would know they were there. Since we had to go with smaller pieces, we have several seams and you can see them from across the room!

The contractor came over today to take a look. He is going to reset the sink tomorrow...says the "crack" is just a vein and no problemÂso thatÂs good news. As for the clouding and seams, he says there isn't much he can do short of tearing the "kitchen apart"... it's natural stone with variation and the seams look good to him. He suggested we not oil the soapstone and maybe we won't notice the cloudy patches as much.

We feel mislead...about the consistency of the stone and the visibility of the seams. Has anyone else had this problem and how was it resolved? Those of you with soapstone, how visible are your seams? Are we just expecting too much from natural stone? In retrospect, we should have stood over them with mineral oil before they cut.

Oh...on a more positive note...they fabricated drain runnels for us and they look great. Can't wait to try them.

Again, thanks for the support and info. Maybe this experience will be a heads up for others. What say you, Soapstone Josh?

We only have one seam, behind the sink, and you can't see it at all. if your contractor is used to granite the visible seems might be acceptable, but with soapstone it is my understanding that they should be hard to find.

We DIY'd the install of our precut soapstone and we were "rookies" in the worst way. But we followed the directions of our supplier and our seams are hardly visible. It seems to me that "professional" seams should be practically invisible. I am sorry you are disappointed. Hope you can work a solution that will make you happy. Here's pic of our seam.

vwhippiechick, I think your stone was cut from the same piece from left to right. You can tell by the veining, but because of shipping cost and/or breakage factor when being shipped it was cut down and seamed. Ask your fabricator, I would be very surprised if it was not how I say it is. This is still cool because you can barely see it and it looks great. When seaming up two different slabs it is harder and to match veining patterns can be very difficult and can waste a lot of material sometimes. I bring this up because if all my seams came out like yours I would love it, but it's not the norm for seams to match perfectly like that.

eppinghouse, pictures would help so now is only guessing at what is acceptable work or not. I've seen some people not happy just because they would never be happy and others that are happy when they have every right to complain.

Seams are hard to match, and can be a challenge to do if you donÂt know what your looking at. The fact that your contractor told you not to oil is a very questionable solution for me. I would be embarrassed to say something like that.

The ¼ inch gaps are unacceptable for me. If itÂs the cabinets, then itÂs not the countertops fault, but if itÂs the stone thatÂs bad. Different situations can lead to different explanations so I should be careful as I donÂt know the surrounding situation. Check the stone with a straight edge, if itÂs not straight then go back to your supplier and complain with proof.

The bottom of stone can be a little rough but I donÂt know if your particular stone is unacceptable or not. I always try to hit the touchable parts a little to soften it up but each shop is different and charges differently based on what they do to the stone.

Work it out with all involved and see if you can hold on to the final payment until it is all worked out. Post some pics on here and let people see the quality of work coming out of the stone yard and the fabrication shop or if it is acceptable work.

Hope this helps out a bit.

If you have an open fissure in your stone it should have a penetrating crack sealer applied. This includes the pitting you describe around the crack. If done correctly, this should stop any further cracking along that fissure. If the stone is not supported evenly, this can also lead to cracking along the weak points. The 1/4 inch gaps between the cabinet top and counter top bottom should have been taken care of by the fabricator/installers. Many stones are not cut evenly on the back and are wavy. The areas on the bottom of the stone that contact the cabinet should have been ground, honed, or sanded until there was uniform support under your top. Check and make sure they at least shimmed any big gaps between the stone and cabinets. If the stone is not properly supported, then something will have to give. As far as the cloudy spots, try lightly sanding them out. If they dont go away quickly then they are part of the stone.

The stone IS wavy on the bottom. That may be the reason for the gap between the bottom of the soapstone counter and the top of the cabinet---and also the gap between the bottom of the soapstone and the top of the undermount sink. I measured about a 1/4" variation in thickness along the sink cut out.
They did shim some gaps along the cabinet, but the sink looks pretty bad. They are still working on the sink, but can't seem to get it in without a lot of caulk. I know the Vermont Soapstone folks recommend a plywood frame, but our fabricators told us we didn't need one. Is that right?

I've included pictures of the seams and awkward clouding.
Boy, it's hard taking pictures of soapstone and this is my first try with inserting pictures, but here goes.

Seam on Island
{{!gwi}}

Awkward clouding. You can see another seam in the foreground
{{!gwi}}
All 7 seams look like the one below...except that the four around the sink are much shorter.
{{!gwi}}

Not sure you can see the almost 1/4 inch of caulking in places around the sink reveal. The edge of the Ticor sink [shows brownish] slants/bevels toward the stone.
{{!gwi}}

I've oiled several times hoping it would get better. I'm certain now that we shouldn't have relied on the supplier's description of color consistency and fabricator's promise to keep variations discreet. What do you think? Are we over reacting?

The color on the seams is way off. They look like they used a grey instead of a color that would match it up when oiled. I bet if it was uncoiled the seams would match, but of course it does not help most of us because we like the oiled or dark look. This is typical of someone that does not work with soapstone too much.

The "clouding" is part of the stone, I think it adds beauty but that is an opinion and you really should have oiled up the stone before hand, but I think at this stage of the game it would be hard to correct this issue because everyone signed off on the slabs before they were cut. Also I may be misunderstanding you but do the slabs come in from the place you received them with one side polished or does the fabricator polish up the one side?

The sink is not acceptable, and if the waviness you are describing is reflected in the sink picture, I would never work with a stone with 1/4 inch of waviness on the bottom of the slab. . . This, I believe is the reason that they can't get the sink tighter. If it is just an illusion and the silicone is just not properly applied than that's a different story, but I think it's the stone. If this was how the stone came in to the fabricator, he should have discussed with you the issues with the stone before so you could have rectified this issue before it got to this stage.

I would complain based upon the seam color and upon the waviness in the stone. Do not base anything on the clouding as it's too late to for that. Also post this on stoneadvice.com and get others professionals opinions or other sites that will give you a professional view. They will also give you their opinion about how bad or good the job is.

A lot of soapstone companies try to push their stone instead of finding qualified fabricators that learn this specific trade. They find fabricators that will work the stone but they really have not learned or tooled up for this niche market.

Thanks Joshua.
I like clouding, but when it's more regular. Guess you're right about it being too late---just wish the stone supplier had mentioned that clouding is frequent instead of billing the variety as having "minimal veining and a good choice for color consistency" and the fabricator had given us a heads up since he knew we wanted consistency. Ultimately, you're right, we signed off.

In answer to your question, I think the fabricator polished the stone. You are talking about honing not oiling, right? They left the oiling to us.

At this stage, what can the fabricator do about the seam color and waviness on the underside around the sink?
Thanks again

Oh, I am so sorry this is happening to you. As Joshua said, looks like they matched the seam color to the unoiled stone (which an experienced soapstone person would know not to do). My sink cut out had a light gray blotch on it. I asked the installers, and they said it was a filled-in chip. I have to color it with a black sharpie marker every few weeks to keep it black! Luckily, they had me oil a section of stone before they did the seam so they could try to color match it. It is still a bit too light, so I put sharpie there too! Unfortunately, sharpie looks a bit purple when the light shines on it. There must be a better black marker out there...

Clouds/blotches can be lovely, when there are several of them. I agree that just one is a bit jarring to the eye. I have a similar situation in that my stone is very even and regular, except for one large vein. Friends who have never seen soapstone immediately see it and say, "is that a crack?" What I do like about the vein is that it keeps my stone from looking like engineered stone! I think there is nothing to do about the cloud now, except make friends with it. give it a name. Think of it like charlie Brown's Christmas tree--it just needs a little love. Seriously! Imagine that poor blotch lying in a landfill somewhere, all alone, with no one to knead bread on it. I think that is all you can do.

What did they use to secure the stone? Can they remove it easily? The gap at the sink seems way too big!

When I had problems with my install, what got my fabricators attention was when I told him that I showed photos to numerous remodelers, and stone professionals on the internet. Of course, that also got him angry. But it got me my deposit back.

I think I need to register over at the stone site too, since I'm still having problems...

Good luck!

It's too bad the fabricator didn't try to cut the sink out from the clouded slab. Joshua is right, the seam color is way off. Sorry you are going through this. Stick to your guns!

If your fabricator used the wrong dye in the epoxy at the seams, this can be re-done. The epoxy will re-activate and come apart with heat. A torch with propane or mapp gas will heat it enough to come apart.Don't worry about heat hurting the stone...it won't. Just take care to not burn something you don't want to. He can then clean off the old epoxy and either use clear epoxy or dye it to the oiled color of the stone. When the seam has been properly pulled together and the epoxy hardens then the seam can be honed smooth. If the sink was properly installed with silicone, this can fairly easily be removed with a knife for the silicone and then the sink detached from the top. Clean off the silicone from the sink and the stone. With a proper dry fit of the sink to stone, high spots in the stone can be identified and dealt with to make the sink to stone contact point right.
Back to epoxy color. I have found more often than not clear epoxy can be used as the color of the stone shows through it and a good tight seam will be hard to spot. If your guys are incapable of getting a tight seam, then the color of the oiled stone should be matched.

joshua - you are correct. Our stone was cut to decrease shipping costs and to make it easier for us to manage during install. If we had a profesional install it there probably wouldn't even be a seam there.

eppinghouse - I really like your stone and your "blotch". It gives such character and as Francy says it shows that it is a natural stone. I didn't want any veining in our stone but I couldn't find that due to our location and price I guess. But now I am so glad we have the veining and the "irregularities" that come with something that is made by nature. HTH

Thank you all for the professional, philosophical, and moral support!
We are starting to make friends with our soapstone "splotches" --- wish we could say the same about our fabricator. We've decided to let the seams stay as is and are only asking that the sink be reset before we make our final payment. The fabricator says he needs a few days to discuss with his crew how to best do that. Hmmm.

How's the crack?