Is the cabinet itself pulled out the 3" (I assume it is)? Does the sink fit in the sink base completely?

If so, they should have adjusted the sink placement based on the cabinet location. If the cabinet has been pulled out 3" then the sink, should have been pulled forward a corresponding 3". One of the reasons people pull their sinks out is b/c they want the extra room behind the sink.

I would talk to your KD and granite installer and ask them why they did what they did....I think they messed up. If you now have a 6" or 7" rim b/w the sink & counter edge, you will most likely find that it is very uncomfortable to work at that sink for more than a few minutes.

I think you are going to have to be VERY firm and insistent now about what they need to do (redo it!)

They may give you a song & dance about how they didn't know what to do....the correct action on their part should have been to call you.

I don't buy the mantra that some here have that "if you didn't specify it in detail, you shouldn't expect it done right"....that's B***. Common sense should have prevailed...if you don't know...ask!!!!

[If I ever tried to tell my managers or clients that I didn't do the job right b/c it wasn't spelled out in detail, I'd be fired! I'm a professional in my field and I'm expected to know certain things and if I don't, I'm expected to find out...NOT make assumptions or take the easy way out!]

Sinks should be set 3" from the outside edge (where you lean against) of the granite countertop. They would be idiots to not know this....but to set it in six inches...it's basically unusable. Four would be a push, but never six! Have it recut and don't give up on this!

It does not matter if the counters are 30" deep from the front, or 24" or 72", you don't use the back or side as your judge, you use the front of the sink counter only.

Thank you for your replies. IS 3" ALWAYS A GENERAL RULE OF THUMB?? I'm not the brightest banana in the bunch, but I have some common sense and I think they made a complete mess of my brand new kitchen!!! I'm calling them tomorrow. My husband said there is nothing that can be done. I don't believe that! We had two slabs of granite brought in to the granite installers. Sure hope they didn't sell the 2nd one!!! Otherwise, my kitchen is beautiful, but not very useable.

Lila

Your DH is wrong....unless you just meekly take it. You must be very firm, don't get angry or shout, but brook no opposition. This is one case when the installer is definitely in the wrong. Do you have a KD? S/he may or may not be any help...depending on his/her relationship w/the granite installer (yes, some will side w/the installer...especially if you got your installer from your KD) and depending on how strong a person s/he is.

I may sound harsh...and I really don't mean to...but you need to act fast and decisively...no waffling or hemming and hahing! I'd call tonight and leave a message and then follow it up w/another phone call tomorrow morning!

If you have to, follow it up w/letters to the KD's owner/president, the granite installer's owner/president, etc. And keep in mind that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease"

Hopefully, all this advice won't be needed and they will immediately agree they need to replace it...at THEIR cost...including another slab of granite if needed. If they cannot match your other counters, then they should replace them all. [Sometimes it takes an expensive lesson for companies to learn to do the "right" thing! It's always cheaper & less time consuming to do it the right way the first time than to have redo it later!]

Good Luck!

buehl is correct. They screwed up, and the placement isn't up for interpretation.

3" is very very standard. You might see a half inch off one way or the other, but never more. It's not comfortable to use a sink if it's back further, and typcial 24" counters would have no room for the faucets. Really, 3" is basic. But six inches back...that's just a never never done!

I specifically asked and was told 3-4". I asked they bring the sink forward as much as possible to make the reach easier and leave more room behind. If I had not asked or made a request it still would have been 3-4". Not more. I was told some fabricators prefer the 4" because it is more stable, esp if they are transporting with the sink cut out and are not seaming at the sink. No one suggested more 4". By the way, I just measured and mine is 2 7/8" from the sink edge to the start of the decorative front edge, but the dupont edge I got is wide, so it is really more like 3 3/4" when you measure to the outside of the decorative edge. I wanted them to do 3" including the decorative edge, but I don't know how this is normally measured and to be honest, it is working fine and I never would have known it was quite that wide if I hadn't measured. The grate in the sink helps, also.

Measure from the front edge of the sink cutout to the outside edge and let us know what it is. The stone experts and rest of this community will chime in with what is standard and what they ended up with. If you have to, print out the replies and show it to them! I hope you get lots of feedback before you have to call them to give you the confidence to do what you need to.

Sue

Sue, I measured like you said and it is 6-1/4". I confronted the fabricator this past week, but I think I have a problem. My DH met with them before the sink area was cut. He talked with them at that time about faucet placement. They put the template that came with the sink at the place they were going to cut and, apparently the DH gave them the go ahead. This is what the fabricator told me and they weren't willing to replace at THEIR expense. I literally have to lean over the edge and it looks like I'm trying to crawl into it!!! Since the DH gave them the go-ahead for placement of the sink, it looks like I don't have a choice, other than to just live with it the way it is. It looks like the DH is going to be washing a lot of dishes in the future!!!

Lila

Wow, he sure is! Ouch, I wouldn't do more than rinse a dish or two until he ponied up for the replacement! Seriously, this is a mistake that might really haunt you. You only have one back, and you don't want to be hurting for the entire next day every time you have worked in the sink for a while. I would hope you have some serious sink grids for the bottom. You might even consider replacing the undermount sink if it is a very deep one, for a shallower one or one with grids that go half way up like a couple of the Franke sinks do. A really good dishwasher or even a second one and only using items that can go in it would help, too. That is way too far to be leaning over. I hope you don't have a very expensive granite? By the way, if you consider replacing it now, and have more than one piece, you might be able to still get pieces from the same lot or at least similar lots from the same quarry and not have to replace it all.

Any chance you could fit a larger sink that is wider and they could just cut a larger hole that extends forward a little more? Would you consider letting them remove it, cut out the sink area and insert a new piece with a new sink cut out? You would a seam on each side of the sink, but at laest it would be workable for you and shouldn't require a large piece or a big cash outlay for more granite. Any chance there is a small piece of your original slab(s) that they could use?

Maybe the stone experts have other suggestions.
Sue

enchilila, what happened? Did you look into your options or decide to keep the sink the way it is? This a good thing for others to know to ask about, esp. since pulled out sinks are being done more and more.

Sue

Buehl:

GOD BLESS YOU!!! I agree with everything you have said 110%!

It sounds like what I call a "tip out" the drawer in front of
the sink that you stick your scrubbie pads and hide the car
keys from your 16 year old!!! ; - )

Seriously - Buehl - what you have said is CLASSICALLY
DEAD NUTS ON THE MONEY - especially the part about..
and I'll quote you -

"They may give you a song & dance about how they didn't know what to do....the correct action on their part should have been to call you."

I totally agree!!!! There's no excuse for terminal dumbness!

I can't add anything else to what Buehl has said - absolutely
BRILLIANT comments in my opinion... I mean it!!!

and yes - this is also MY .02 cents worth too...

kevin

Kevin and beuhl, I would agree with you except for this:

"My DH met with them before the sink area was cut. He talked with them at that time about faucet placement. They put the template that came with the sink at the place they were going to cut and, apparently the DH gave them the go ahead. This is what the fabricator told me and they weren't willing to replace at THEIR expense. I literally have to lean over the edge and it looks like I'm trying to crawl into it!!! Since the DH gave them the go-ahead for placement of the sink, it looks like I don't have a choice, other than to just live with it the way it is."

I would talk to DH and make sure that is accurate and find out exactly what he agreed to. If DH really signed off on the sink placement, she has a much harder uphill battle to get the fabricator to change it at his expense. There is a strong argument, though, that they never should have even considered placing it there, and that it wasn't up to her DH to "catch" their mistake. They should know what it standard and workable and not try something that far off standard unless specifically requested to do so. My only advise would be to make sure DH didn't ASK them to put it in middle because he thought it would look better there without considering the functionality of it for her. I have no idea if her husband has a very long reach so that it would not present a problem for him, and it never occurred to him that it would for her, or never steps foot in the kitchen and wouldn't really have any idea of the functionality or what.

Anyway, she can't really loose anything at this point by trying and can fight it and take it to the top, and maybe even settle for them fabricating for free and using the remnants if there are any, or pay for the slab and they fabricate at no charge or something like that.

Kevin, I am sure you never would have placed the sink there, but what would you do if they objected to something you didn't consider or catch and they had signed off on it? This may be where a KD or contractor with a long standing relationship with a fabricator might be able to intervene and get them to come up with a compromise to make the customer happy if they have given the fabricator a lot of business in the past, and if they are that type of professional that really wants to make the customer happy.

Sue

Sue & Lila -

MY BAD!!!! I did not read Lila's post from 8/9 22:53...

In my haste to post my compliments to Buehl, (like a putz)
I did not look at Lila's other post, and yes Sue - This
changes things...

Usually - when we have a "tip out" situation like Lila's
we will stop and CALL the customer, get them in
the shop - or go over this at the time of templating - so
we all are on the same page, and everybody's cool with
where the sink opening will be placed = we will even
generate a shop drawing with dimensions noted to refer to
just for situations like this......

IF your Fabricator and your DH made a design agreement
to place the sink opening where it is... I think that your
DH better get used to doing the dishes....

Our normal set backs are 4" - WITH a tip out - 6 ish inches
may ne the smallest dimension that the Fabricator could come
up with....

Everyone should keep talking and find out "who called the ball"
on the current configuration....

just my .02 cents worth

kevin

Thanks Kevin!

Sue....when I wrote my responses, we did not know that Lila's DH had agreed to that placement (nor did she, I suspect). However, now that I know this, I agree w/you & Kevin that unless specifically requested it should never have even been suggested that it be placed so far back. In fact, even if it was requested, I think a reputable/experienced fabricator should have questioned the placement and explained to the customer the ramifications of placing the sink so far back. I don't know if they did this...

I do think, though, that she should see where she can take this. Perhaps writing that letter explaining that
...her DH didn't know any better (after all, it's not his area of expertise, it's theirs) and that he assumed they did
...they should have known better than to even suggest it be so far back...assuming it wasn't her DH who suggested it.
...If it was her DH's suggestion, that she would have expected them to explain the ramifications of such a poor placement.

Who knows, maybe they'll agree to split the cost of replacing that slab for a redo...some companies value their reputation and truly do want to do the right thing and make the customer happy.

Good luck Lila!

I thought I'd add something here...if you have any plans to sell at all...ever...this will be a serious impediment. You will most likely have to fix the problem prior to selling...so, why wait until then? Get it fixed now so you can use it...rather than wait until you sell and suffer with it until then.