Sheila - Your BEST BET is to see if they can be your Fabricator - let THEM do the job... Give them an opportunity to bid on your kitchen and take it from there.... hth kevin

Hi, everyone! I am a granite fabricator in the Charlotte, NC area. So, so to speak, I don't have a dog in this fight. I see that there is much misunderstanding from consumers about granite countertops. The biggest issue I see is that your fabricator is not educating you about stone and the process. There are a lot of hacks out there. Please be careful! DON'T ASK FOR REFERENCES! You'll get his sister, his cousin and his best friend. Ask for a list of his last 10-15 jobs. Call them. Ask them when their install took place and what was they're impression of the company and the quality of their work. If the job wasn't recent, he's giving you only people that he knows liked him. Does the fabricator have a showroom to show the quality of his work? Look at the seam work. Does he use a 'french seam?' This is a seam that will have a small cut at a 45% angle (usually about 1 1/2' long) and then a straight cut back to the wall.This is an indication of precut Chinese granite. It will give a square corner on the front edge. Run away from this. Proper inside corners are curved indicating they are from slab. Are they selling 2cm granite? We consider this an inferior product. You must pick your slab. Your fabricator should be with you to help choose. They should give you advise on a good slab or a bad one. The stone warehouse wholesaler really just wants to sell you anything. You should be able to place your template. Your fabricator will help you maximize the usage of the stone slab so you don't pay extra. I know that there is a lot of questions. If you would like to know any answers, I would be glad to help. You can reach me through our website or at 39dollargranite@gmail.com.

Heaviest of sighs...Strike Three. Installers were given another chance to get it right, and they once again came up short. I've been told time and again they've done countless homes and projects all these many years, and they've never had issues like the ones I'm having: I must just be very, very unlucky. Last week, I had a very specific, detailed conversation with the sub about framing out my recessed kitchen windows a particular way. Many times, I told him that if what I was asking for couldn't be done, he should let me know so that we could discuss a Plan B. And I reiterated (to the point where I thought I was being annoying) what the particulars were. He assured me several times -- each time! -- that it was completely doable, to the exact standards I asked for. Reasonable, I think: four rectangles laid against the window sides, top and bottom, and slap the backsplash piece in front. Transition from one piece to another should be as smooth as the countertop seams had been done. Unbeknownst to me -- I didn't notice until the end of the day -- he'd called an audible Friday that completely went against my wishes. Why on earth he didn't ask me, I have no clue. I was in the next room the whole time..he knew that. Honestly, had the execution been spot on, I would've adjusted. However, the lines of the rectangle cutout of the backsplash piece are wavy...I'm staring out a wavy-edged window. They essentially couldn't even keep the lines straight when they were grinding the edges, I suppose. (Too picky? When I lay a straight edge along each side, light pokes through. The window measures only 10" x 22".) Further, they agreed to redo their initial caulk job around the sink because there were so many holes. Their reapplication ended up with the same result: holes in the silicone! I hope some of these local showrooms are open on Sunday, 'cuz I'll be heading out tomorrow to get quotes. Pictured, my recessed window after the first BS was removed...in anticipation of a better result.

I agree and good luck on getting the deposit back from this creep. I am a bit confuses as to why you are buying the stone from the fabricator. I do realize in the US often the stone yard does not do the fabrication but I think you buy the material from the stone yard and then they get a price on fabrication , I could be wrong since I live in Canada and the stone usually also does the fabrication or at least has a fabricator they use.