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Seams in new granite countertops

11 years ago

Just had new granite countertops installed and am concerned with the seem line along the edge of the granite. Not sure if I am being too picky but in the past have had the same granite (uba tuba) which is supposed to be a an easy to match color, and have never seen this white line before. It runs the whole length of the granite. It was supposed to be a bull nose edge and they have a beveled edge but with this obvious seem line. Ive added pictures below and am not sure if I should complain or what. Like I said Ive had this granite a couple of times before with a bull nose edge and have never seen a line like this. Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks Joe

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Comments (11)

joesofl
Original Author
11 years ago
here is the pic
sandesurf
11 years ago
I see what you mean. Wonder if it's because your granite is a dark color? Here's ours:
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When we did our kitchen, we did a small addition to enlarge it. We have one segment of granite in that new area that has had its two seams widen up a bit- probably that new part settling a little. The granite was installed almost 4 years ago, and we had the company back to retouch those seams when they first started to open up a bit 2 years ago...they didn't do a great job at fixing it then; just layed more seam filler on top instead of digging out old and refilling. Now it's worse. Although the company that did our granite did a FABULOUS job at fabricating (I you dare to find the seam of my mitered edges!) the yahoos they sent to install it left quite a bit to be desired (took a couple revisits for me to be ok with the installation in the first place). We're currently in the midst of a huge bedroom addition involving 2 new bathrooms and one remodelled one, and we will most likely have the granite guys that do our vanity tops re-seam our problem area.
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I am a fabricator. The grain match across the seam is poorly done. It is possible the pieces came from the same slab as many "builder grade" slabs have that much grain and color variation from one end to the other. That said, look at the piece to the left. If it was rotated 180 degrees would the other end match the sink piece better? If yes then it's definitely a fabricator error. If not it's still worth asking for the mismatched piece to be replaced. If it means a sale/no sale to the contractor he will almost certainly lean on the granite guy to fix it.
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Nothing looks good at that distance. Luckily that isn’t the distance you’re supposed to judge anything. Stand back 3’. It will be fine. People’s expectations have really gotten out of hand. Magic doesn’t happen. Stone isn’t Corian.
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Simeng, I don't know your full situation, but for most countertops, unless you specify (and this often must be in writing), that you wish to have final say over the templating of your countertops (which would show where any seams might be, among other things), no, the builder would not be required to mention if there were larger slabs or not, nor the slab supplier, nor the fabricator) or if there might be seams, and where the seams might fall. Sounds unreasonable, I know but that's how it most often is. I'd ask if you picked out the slabs yourself, if you were offered example pieces of material by your builder, or if you dealt at all with the fabricator, but frankly, you needed to be pro-active and request final say in templating with the fabricator. If you had any concerns over seams, you would need to request extra large slabs from the beginning. I do agree, the color of the seems needs to be corrected. Also, I can't be sure, but the top photo of the seam at the sinks - it does appear to be rough. Call the builder, or fabricator, and request someone come out to speak with you about the seam color at the least.
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bahacca
11 years ago
My in laws have a darker granite and you can see their lines as well. They have Palladio.
Jodi_SoCal
11 years ago
We have Impala Black granite and the edge seam was very noticeable after installation. I took a regular black Sharpy (not the fine tip) and dabbed the seam length. Didn't draw a line, just did a stipple effect and the seam all but disappeared. If it's too dark, quickly wipe the ink after applying it.

Jodi-
Jumpilotmdm
11 years ago
Seam? I see no seam. I do see an unpolished bevel edge. Did their sample of bevel look like this?
windycitylindy
11 years ago
The seam looks a little rough to me. Is it polished smooth to the touch? If it's not, I'd ask the fabricator to come back out and smooth it out. It also does not look bullnosed to me. If you specified that, I'd ask them what they can do to fix it. Uba tuba is pretty common, so even if they need to replace the counters, it shouldn't be hard to get a new slab. Or, if you decide you can live with the beveled edge, perhaps you can get a discount due to their mistake. (Any discount they give you would be far cheaper for them than having to buy new stone and remake the counters, so if you decide to live with it, I'd definitely ask for some compensation.)

If you live with it as is, then I would use a Sharpie as Jodi above did to blend that seam in a bit, with just little stippled dots.
jerzeegirl
11 years ago
It's hard to see from the photo but is it possible that it's 3/4" thick granite and they added a 3/4" piece of granite along the edge to give it the appearance of 1.5" granite?
annkathryn
11 years ago
I had ubatuba with a beveled edge in my previous house. The seam wasn't great, but was basically acceptable so I lived with it.
joesofl
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the great responses. Actually I can live with the beveled edge as it does go well with the lines of the cabinets. The edge is polished and when you run your hand over the seem you really cant feel anything at all! It looks to be rough but is perfectly smooth. I think its more the color that stands out. I tried the sharpie on a small area and it did work pretty well. Think I will work on my skill with this in a couple of hidden areas then work my way around to the high visibility area. . I do have a concern with another area they came back to install but will start another thread.Thanks for all the good advice
christyks
11 years ago
Sandesurf, I'm curious what kind of granite is shown in your photo. It's gorgeous!
rollie
11 years ago
While both Joes and Sandesurfs tops have beveled edges, there is a distinct difference in the fabrication. Joes has a razor edge that will show the white line, while sandesurfs is "softened" along the line and not nearly as sharp, so there is a little polish on the eased edge of the bevel..

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