Bad Seam: Leathered Marron Cohiba/Antique Brown Installed Today

11 years ago

Hi,

It has been 10 years since I posted, but I built my house with the help of everyone on this site :)

Lately I have been lurking quietly and went with the Leathered/Antiqued/Satin Marron Cohiba/Antique Brown because of everyone's rave reviews. It was installed today and I mostly love it.

However, I have a bad seam and a significant dimple in the eased edge ( at the seam). The installers said that the cut made at the shop was not the best, and they tried to remedy it with filler. But, because of the texture, the filler lays on top. They tried to play with it, but that seemed to burnish it.

Are you happy with your seams? Any one else have trouble? Can they be brushed down on site and have resin reapplied?

To others considering the stone, I will make these observations. I picked my slab in a snow storm in Denver, and when they went to leather it, they discovered a fissure. I went back and looked at 18 slabs and they went from bad to worse. The majority had large fissures and the worst looked like that were covered with spider webs. I finally "settled" on one because I was told that there was a 4-6 month backorder and there were no guarantees that what they received would look any better.

The veins that I was so worried about look fine. However, the mica bursts (I think it is mica) look like dried puddles of egg whites and they stand out like a sore thumb in my pantry where the lights are always on. And, yet I don't notice them at all on 11 foot piece the kitchen.

I like the stone and am happy with the install except for the botched seam.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

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Comments (6)

doonie
11 years ago
Simbasue, I had trouble with this stone too. Fortunately, all was resolved. We started with a local fabricator. Thank goodness we didn't stick with him. The first slab broke when they were cutting it at the warehouse, the second slab broke when they were unloading it at my house. That's when I decided we needed to find a different fabricator.

We had an excellent GC who went ahead and contracted a fabricator he had long standing dealings with to obtain and fabricate this stone for us. We were told this new fabricator had extensive experience with the stone. When install day came we were thrilled.

It's a very durable stone, once installed and should give you no trouble. I love it on my prep area. We have a seam, but it's since the stone is dark and not wildly patterned contrast wise, the seam is not noticeable to me.

As far as the seam, maybe you could post a photo so that we know what you are talking about? Have you contacted the installers to let them know you aren't happy with the seam?
fsteph
11 years ago
Hi, I'd love to see pics, I have the same stone picked out. Really wanted it honed but they only had one slab and it was scratched so we are now going with the leathered antique brown for the perimeter. The island will be Bianco antico.

I hope they can fix it for you!
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simbasue
Original Author
11 years ago
Hi fsteph...

Don't allow the pictures to put you off the stone. I love it and I was so worried that I would not like the texture. I have posted a picture for you so you can see what the seam looks like in real life. The photo showing the bad seam makes the stone look all blotchy, which it is not. These cabinets are not painted yet. Long story. But, in the pantry they are BM Cloud White and I love the stone with the white. These are more of an antique white and I do not like the stone with the yellower tones.

Actually, I was told by Dal Tile Denver not to get ANY honed stone, but to have it finished in Antiqued/Satin instead. What I do love about the counters is the lovely low luster finish and the fact that I leave water all over it and it does not spot. It is...as advertised...a wonderful finish to have on workspaces.

You can see at the bottom of the second photo that they actually chipped the bottom edge, repaired it and dimpled the eased edge. This stone is know for chipping. We discovered other problems with the install (the overhang on the end of the cabinet run is 1.5 inches and 3/4 inches everywhere else) so I am pretty sure I will need to pick a new slab. I will keep you posted.

Bye :)
simbasue
Original Author
11 years ago
Here is a close up of the same bad seam. For some reason I could not post both pictures at the same time.

There was epoxy on top and you can see on the other photo that they actually burnished the stone ( just to the right of the dishwasher) when they tried to get the epoxy off.

This was a HD install and is not the fault of the stone itself. I was surprised that they were even willing to let me leather it and my first warning sign was when they said...Oh, your order was so unusual!
fsteph
11 years ago
Thank you Simbasue! I'm so glad to hear that you are so happy with the stone despite all the heartache. I am getting so excited about the new kitchen! My cabinets are white (can't remember the shade of white now). They start the work on May 27!
I hope you get a new slab, can you change fabricators?
threeapples
11 years ago
Your stone is very beautiful, as are your cabinets. I like your pulls as well. If insist they replace the counter so as to remedy the seam issue.

Bad Seam: Leathered Marron Cohiba/Antique Brown Installed Today

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