I'd certainly want to see samples of their work before agreeing to the type of seam you describe (or any other).

Would the shape and location of your island lend itself to having a portion in a different material, such as butcher block, leaving a smaller area needing to be covered by your slab? How about having a small section raised or lowered? A lot of people have an area lower for a baking center and love it.

A pic of your layout would probably spur some ideas from the creative folks here.

Our island is 12' x 5'. We have one seam, set 25" in from the end deep in our kitchen, near our prep sink & cooking area. You don't have to have a seam in the middle unless it makes sense with your design or layout. I don't think our fabricator used any special technique, but he did match the granite pattern perfectly (from another slab) and the seam is almost invisible. We were fortunate that the granite we liked best, Kashmir Gold, was available in relatively large slabs.

There was a post where the installer used a wavy seam (and what looked like biscuit joints). Made, in my mind, the seam look a bit artistic. And it was on a piece of granite that had movement....gee, I can't remember the OP's name...was a kitchen in a converted barn....will hunt for it

ah, here it is:
Wavy seam

I myself wouldn't be happy with a seam. The question is can you live with a seam. Will you be able to accept it as part of the installation? If it will bug you everytime you see it, then have your KD draw up some alternate island plans. It comes down to you having to live with it and be happy with it. IF you have always dreamed of a huge one level island then a seam is the compromise. I hate these kind of decisions.

My island is going to have both a cooktop and a sink. One piece will be standard counter depth and the 2nd will be a lunch counter behind it. Because of the holes for the sink and cooktop in the lower piece, I have been told by my KD that there is no choice but to have seems near the sink and cooktop as the granite will break during transportation. Is there truth to this?

Seams are NOT a big deal. Truly. They aren't noticable and ugly. The only one they "shout" to is you. No one else will notice, unless they are TKO and you actually tell them and then they have fun hunting it. Seamlessness is not the holy grail for islands!

Get a professional shop with experience involved, and your seam will be as "big and ugly" as the example that stonegirl uses above. :) This is one place that going with the lowest bid doesn't pay.

And, as a KD, I've routinely designed islands of all sizes that had seams in them and never had a client unhappy with any of them. It's all about the function of that island in the design. I've only had one client who expressed concern over being able to use a seamless piece of stone for her island, and it turns out, her home's layout was such that even if we had found that perfect piece of stone, it wouldn't have fit through the door and hallway to the kitchen! (And, if it did, it would have taken 6 burly guys to lift it, and they certainly would not have fit!)

So, double check the logistics of transport and access and visit a few really good shops to view their seams before deciding that seamlessness is a must. If you are able to find such a long piece of stone, or have it created and fabricated, it will be a premium $$ to install, because of the extra bodies needed. But, if that's truly important to you, then paying for the extras will be worth it to you!

Thanks for all the feedback!

I definitely will go to see the seam. I'm just so curious about what the technique is and if the seam is really virtually invisible - I've never heard of this before. It does sound challenging to create the piece with seam at the shop and transport and install it without breaking. I wonder if it's not so much a "new" technique as something they just don't like to do routinely.

The photos and the link were interesting to see, thanks all! I can barely see where the seams are in the posted photos, but hard to judge from a distance. My island is pretty much identical to the one in stonegirl's photos (is that giallo veneziano?), except that ours bows out where the eating counter is.

I don't think there's really any way to lower a part of the island at this point (the end pieces are already built) without a major remake, but I have thought of the possibility. Will start thinking in those terms if I don't want a seam, regardless. I hate these kind of decisions too, michellemarie!

lilyfreak - I have found a big difference between what various fabricators told me with respect to my situation - don't know if the same would be true for you (maybe the experts on this board will weigh in) but it's worth exploring. For example, I was told by many fabricators that it was "impossible" to transport and install an 11 foot island when I had already been to a place that told me it would be no problem with adequate entry to the house and enough workers to transport. Ran into the same thing when asking about seams. One fabricator told me that it is impossible to get a seam under 1/8 inch. Another told me that he had never seen or heard of a slab over 130 inches. When I mentioned finding these elsewhere, the next day he came up with six from his supplier! I am sure he knew - he just wanted to sell from his own inventory first or didn't want to deal with the more difficult job. I can understand that - I just wish they didn't imply these things were impossible for anyone.

On the other hand, I've run across some absolutely terrific and helpful fabricators - they helped me search for slabs, referred me to their suppliers and were always completely honest about what they could and could not do. It's interesting though - I never would have gone past the first place recommended to me if I hadn't started looking into large slabs. I imagine most people don't!

Hi! I was wondering how this went. We have ti have a seam in our granite island and after in between approval and install I’m having second thoughts. Was it a big deal after all this time?