Granite Woes!

11 years ago

This makes me so sad.

We picked out our granite two weeks ago and the fabricators templated it last week.

We just love the granite we selected - White Delicatus (white, cream, brown and black). A beautiful piece of granite.

The fabricators promised it would be installed before Thanksgiving. I have an "L" shaped counter so the granite was going to be cut in two pieces with one seam.

Today we get a call from the fabricator. They cut the countertop but unfortunately the thickness of the slab is uneven. They couldn't put the two pieces of granite together because they couldn't get the seam level and even!

There is really nothing they can do to fix the problem and apparently every once in awhile this happens. Has anyone ever heard of this? This is a first for me!

Needless to say, I am really upset because it took us so long to pick this slab and now we have to pick out another.

Here is a picture of the slab that will never be.

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Comments (5)

eam44
11 years ago
You must be working with an excellent, highly professional, reliable fabricator. He saw a potential problem and nipped it in the bud. Sorry about the slab, but it's kind of like falling in love with the wrong guy - painful, but you're better off knowing than you are with those butterflies. And you'll find one worthy of you soon.
Annie Deighnaugh
11 years ago
Can you find other uses for the slab?

We had to buy a whole slab of marble for our fireplace surround, so then we used it in slides built into our book cases to be used as drink holders by our sofa, then I designed a pedestal for a statue in our foyer, then we used it as a counter top in Dh's study. So we got our money's worth out of the slab.
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Thanks so very much everyone. I really appreciate each of your kind replies and helpful information, I learned a lot! I get tired just thinking of doing all of this and the sink isn't leaking or anything as it's superficial at this point, but it's true that it could rust the cast iron once it starts to penetrate the coating but I am thinking that is a long way off. Boy, did I learn a lesson, never cheat a bigger sink into a smaller cabinet. It looks fine and not too big but the cabinet sides on the inside are where the problems begin. Not to mention another lesson I learned is that I had some left over granite but they offered to cut it for a large demilune furniture piece top in my foyer. I am wishing I had that piece now. I am not sure it would have been big enough just for the section around the sink but I will never know now. Thank you for the compliments on the kitchen, I am the no clutter queen but looking at that picture maybe I should let up a little on that, ha ha. When this is resolved I'll let you know what happened. It may be awhile! Linelle, I hope the problem with the sink base was answered for you in the helpful posts above. Thanks so much appreciate the kind words.
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Oh, Stannley, I am so sorry! I didn't even see your post! I have learned so much from everyone here, so I am happy to share anything I can that will help someone else :) To answer your questions: So, from what I have learned, CNC fabrication is a process where computerized machines are used to cut the granite. They can cut curves, edges, or anything else that will match exactly what the software or file tells it to do. You can google around and find some videos about it. A French Miter (or Euro Miter, or a number of other names) is a joint that starts out at a 45 degree angle and then curves into a straight line. Apparently, this is the way many fabricators are doing there seams in L shaped kitchens because they can get a nice tight fit, AND it "tricks the eye" a little and makes the seam disappear more. There may be more to it, but that is what I have read so far. I was told about the seam by the first of these companies I contacted, and found out that all but one of my final four do the French Miter as a standard. Digital fabrication is very precise. If your walls are not at an exact 90 degree angle from eachother (like mine), or are wavy because of bowing and age, the digital templating can account for all of that. I have seen videos of diffent methods-- very cool! I don't know how much of a difference the rods make, honestly. I considered it kinda of a bonus. But I can say I have heard horror stories of granite around sink cutouts cracking and developing hairline fractures... This rodding would make the granite much stronger around those edges, I presume. I hope I did a good job at answering! I am still learning too so I may have missed something. Sorry I missed ya the first time!
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PRO
Granite City Services
11 years ago
I am a fabricator.

your fabricators explanation surprises me. it's possible the slab varies in thickess but this is not unusual and can usually be dealt with by backgrinding the bottom edge of the stone to make the thickness equal across a joint. this is normally only unworkable if the stone has a thinkness variation greater than roughly 1/8". not common but it does happen.

in the event the stone is crowned such that there is a bit of a lip at the joint there are a couple of options. If it's minimal (1/16" or less)the stone can usually be set so that whatever lip is present is towards the back side. Seam setting tools actually allow the installers to bend the granite very slightly to help with this problem.

for larger lips the options always exists to grind the joint flat after install and then polish it. takes above average skill but quite doable particularly on a lighter color.
jerzeegirl
Original Author
11 years ago
old ryder: They said the variation was 1/8" and the only way to fix the problem would be to backgrind the stone but they didn't really recommend it because the backgrinding would have been extensive and they might not be able to make it perfect. My DH went to the fabricator to look at the slab after it was cut and he said the difference in thickness between the two pieces was very obvious. I believe he said that the stone was thinner at the center than at the ends. How weird!

Annie: Since I don't have to pay for this slab since it was defective, I would rather just go back to the granite store and pick another slab. I am sure they will be able to use the stone for smaller pieces like vanities so it will not really go to waste.

EAM - you made me laugh - I did have that feeling of love lost. Yes, these fabricators seem very professional and I am glad they were honest with me even though it was not what I wanted to hear.
jerzeegirl
Original Author
11 years ago
oldryder:

I guess I should have asked this before.

Are there slabs that are more susceptible to this variation in thickness than others or is it just luck of the draw?

We are going back at 10 am when the store opens to pick a new slab and I don't want the same thing to happen again!

Granite Woes!

Comments (5)

eam44

Annie Deighnaugh

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Comments (5)

eam44

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