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Help - New Kitchen Granite Countertops Have Uneven Thickness

12 years ago

Hi, I am new to the world of granite (and this forum.) We had our first granite countertops installed yesterday and they look beautiful. However, two of the corners look uneven. What I mean is that the rest of the granite is about 1.25" thick, but on two of the corners the thickness goes down to about 1" over a span of only a few inches. These two corners look tapered. One of these corners is on the right side of our stove, so you can really notice it - it's obvious when you see it compared to the granite on left side of the stove. Is this normal? I don't remember ever seeing this on other countertops. I called the granite company and am waiting to hear back. It's frustrating to pay so much and then it doesn't look right. Any suggestions? Thanks!

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Comments (4)

suzanne_sl
12 years ago
It's definitely not normal. My guess is that they dinged the corners during fabrication and just smoothed them out. Did they think you wouldn't notice?
enduring
12 years ago
Not acceptable.
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My advice is to politely say it's not right and what can be done to remedy the situation. Sounds like sanding may work. We just had our counters installed and the angles did not feel right. The fabricator said it was difficult to get the angles right but then my GC looked at it and asked the fabricator to fix it. They did without a hassle. I was upset at first but they could in fact remedy the situation - not a problem. Lesson? Don't be afraid to ask for what you want.
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Are you talking about using either 2 cm or 3 cm slabs? I've never actually seen them measured in inches. Presuming that's what you mean, there are a lot of threads on that topic here. Type "2 cm vs 3 cm granite site:gardenweb.com" into your search engine and you'll turn some up. The bottom line is that you can use either for your islands. The 2 cm slabs are placed with a plywood underlayment and generally have another 2 cm strip of granite laminated onto the edge to give a nice edge finish and cover up the plywood. 3 cm slabs don't need an underlayment and have a nice fat edge for finishing built in. 2 cm slabs are more popular (i.e. more available) on the west coast and 3 cm more popular on the east coast, but that is not a universal comment on availability. I live on the west coast and I have 3 cm granite. Functionally you can go either way and be comfortable about your decision. When you're looking at costs, be sure to factor in the extra fabrication expense for the laminated edge and the extra expense of fabricating a stone that eats up the fabricator's saw blades like the really hard quartzites.
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Trinitybay, we were a national distribution center located in Southern California supplying select colors for the Home Depot Program. I am going back about a year but there were still fabricators buying 2cm to support the program and I know that fabricators were using our materials for their walk-in customers as well. Unfortunately, I donÃ¢ÂÂt have the fabricator network list anymore. As for the 6Ã¢ÂÂoverhang, itÃ¢ÂÂs in the Marble Institute or AmericaÃ¢ÂÂs countertop Module. I canÃ¢ÂÂt remember the exact wording but the recommendations were suggestive of: 6Ã¢ÂÂ or greater or when less than 2/3 of the countertop is cantered, supports are needed. For 3cm the MIA recommends 10Ã¢ÂÂ or greater but in the North East itÃ¢ÂÂs not uncommon to see 12Ã¢ÂÂ. If you want to avoid corbels and brackets have the installer extend the plywood sub-tops a few more inches. Hope this helps.
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After reading your post I mentally prepared myself for something horrid-looking and wildly inappropriate. Instead, I saw something wonderful. I tend toward warm tones, but with your very dark cabinets the granite you have is fresh and lovely, much nicer than the yellow tone you were expecting, which I frankly think looks fuddy-duddy with your dark cabinets. To my eye it doesn't clash with the flooring, and warmer light bulbs may make it easier for you to accept the change. It is worlds better than your previous laminate. I actually like it better than the choices Beth showed because the larger, more sweeping patterns don't look right for your kitchen. Please give yourself a chance to like it and even love it, although it is so dear of your husband to offer to replace it. I wouldn't replace him!
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Ann98
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for the feedback to let me know this should not be acceptable. Before buying, I searched online to find out what to expect but didn't find much (mostly advertising.) We bought the countertops through Lowes, but they contracted out the fabricating. I called Lowes and talked to them but haven't heard back. Does anyone else have experience with Lowes and what they do when there is a problem? When a fabricator messes up like that, what usually happens? The counters have already been installed. Should they have to replace it? What a mess if they have to take them off again.
suzanne_sl
12 years ago
If you paid by credit card, you might spur their interest by blocking payment until this is resolved. Actually your card company probably won't block payment just on your say-so. Generally they want proof that you've made a good faith effort to deal with this yourself, and rightfully so. But just letting Lowe's know that that is the direction you're heading unless they get serious could be an incentive for them to get a move on.

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