There is nothing wrong with seams in the hands of a good fabricator. I have two on my Dynasty display and they are completely invisible. They are both the S curved "Euro" type seams, and the fabricator used the laser template system so it's absolutely perfect. I would have zero fears about doing the same in my personal kitchen. Parys is a color without much movement though, and the more movement a stone has, the more visible it becomes. That is not to say that it will be visible at all. Just more so than if the stone had less movement.

The caveat to getting "perfect" seams is that it all depends on choosing the right fabricator. My fabricator is also the regional distributor for Cambria, and every bit of the product comes through his hands for the whole region. He is required by Cambria to maintain a certain level of annual training, and to provide great customer service in Cambria's own surveys. Cambria requires that for him to remain a distributor. I'd suggest finding someone similar in your are if you can.

The second part of a perfect seam is cabinets and floors under those counters being perfectly level in all dimensions. If they aren't, then you may have to have a shim or two. It's not the end of the world if it's just a small shim, but if you've got major out of level issues, you're not ready for counters. Check it yourself, side to side, and front to back. The entire run. Especially around the L portions. That's where it usually bites.

I don't have any closeups of the seams, but here you can't see them at all.

Here's a closer shot of the small corner that DOES have a seam there. (I have to get closer than 18" to even see a shadow where the seam is located.)

Let the expert do the job that his expertise suggests. Even if it involves seams. If your fabricator is good, you won't have any problems.

Thanks. The color we are going with is Victoria which is speckled and doesnt have movement. I think it will be a good color to hide seams. That is what the guy at the Cambria dealer/kitchen place said too.

Will the seams be smooth? Or will you be able to feel them when you run your hands over them?

I asked about the fabricator and he said this fabricator has the market around here. Its the only one that is authorized to work with Cambria in my entire state (Vermont). The next closest one is across the lake in NY State. The kitchen guy said it would be in Syracuse which is about 8 hours away I think. He said the place they use that is closer does good seams.

I'm just not sure how I feel about having a section of my countertops pieced together like that. If I'm paying $6800 for countertops I'd rather have the least amount of seams.

Camria slabs are 55 x. 120- unless I misunderstand you want an "L" 72 x 136 with 1 seam - which is not possible without changing the direction of the grain.

This post was edited by jakuvall on Tue, Aug 6, 13 at 11:20

You're over thinking and over worrying here. Seams are not a big deal when they are done by someone competent here. Focus your research on finding that competent person (as it sounds like you have). Go to the fabricator's showroom and actually put your eyes and hands on a few seams. It's the whole reason they maintain a small showroom.

Then let it go.

Ok. I just wanted to hear from a few other people that knew more about seams. I guess it shouldn't be a big deal.

Although, does the direction of the grain really matter? Victoria looks the same no matter what way you look at it. so it COULD be done with 1 seam and I dont think changing the direction would matter at all. but again, I've only had Cambria installed 1 other time and there was no seams in that installation.

It will not show in the room, it may or may not be apparent at the seam.
In any case- they are using 83 ft of material to produce your 72 ft of counter- your asking them to use 124 ft to do that, will it cost more?
back in the day, using a premium fabricator for Granite, I would not expect to pay extra (but then the grain would be a bigger issue) BUT I would tell them when getting the quotes. Nowadays, with the downward price pressure of recent years ...likely.

Go look at an installation they did to ease your mind.

FWIW- my granite has 3 seams- an ell with two, both at the corner, granite has movement, can barely feel any of the seams, can't see any from a distance, one in the double corner has gone unfound by 3 pros standing directly over it (but it has movement which fools the eye with a good match)

If seams are absolutely abohorent to someone there are 3 choices - design with that in mind adding a reason to break the counter, hire a stone restorer to minimize them after install, use solid surface material.