Honestly? I'd have them rip it out and start over. That is a really bad job and I wouldn't be able to live with it. I've been without a kitchen for almost a year. i-chic is going on three years. What's a few weeks in the grand scheme of things?

if i were you i'd get my money back and get the counter elsewhere ...where you can be sure to get a proper install. they screwed up once. for me once is enough. good luck, i hope you can resolve the issue quickly and painlessly!

I would definitely get those mistakes fixed. I agree with pbrisjar. Get them to start completely over. I would not live with those kind of mistakes in a new kitchen!

DO NOT accept black caulk. The bozo who installed my AB countertop used black caulk to cover his crummy installation. I living in another town at the time and the GC DH had hired (in the parking lot at Wal-mart, but that is another story for another day) thought it was ok and based on the GC's recommendation, I paid the bozo. Here it is 4 years later and it looks like cr@p. It is impossible to ever get all the dust off of the black caulk. Make 'em do it right!

I agree with everyone - make them take it out and do it correctly. I shuddered at the photo of your wavy, uneven edges! That is totally unacceptable.

We have Swanstone counters, and the installers were incredible - thorough and very professional. The counters, and all seams and edges, are absolutely perfect. They did a wonderful job offsetting our extremely uneven walls, too.

Definitely, do not accept this terrible install. Take some more photos, and it probably wouldn't hurt to actually write to Caesarstone Corp.'s customer service to let them know (with photos) that they have some very substandard installers who should be terminated.

Don't accept the correction. Our Caesarstone has a one year install warranty and the stone itself has a lifetime warranty. They are supposed to be certified CaesarStone installers to even be able to purchase the slabs. Tell them you will be in touch with a CaesarStone representative if they won't re-do the work.

Don't live with it now just to get your kitchen back. Some things you can live w/ when the kitchen is complete, but these mistakes are going to bother you every time you see them.

I'm a designer in Chicago and I would not accept this top for one of my clients. If the fabricator would not redo the tops for me I would go on line and call the folks at Caesarstone. They will put pressure on the fabricator to remedy the situation.

The over-buffing on the sink is hard to see, but the gap between the wall and the top indicates a poor field measure.

This situation is going to be a difficult one. You can force the fabricator to do the right thing and go to war with them or live with the tops as they are.

If you owe them money, hold it until the situation is fixed to your satisfaction.

that is not acceptable.. do not pay them a single cent more until they completely correct the problem to your satisfaction..

I agree with everyone. They made the mistakes and should start over. The edge problems are bad enough, but I'd be livid about that thick line of caulk. Caulk has a purpose, and covering up mistakes isn't one of them. In my experience (two bathrooms, one kitchen), if the countertop is templated to the wall correctly, the caulk line should be about 1/16" thick and colored so that it virtually "disappears" into the countertop material.

Well, as PB said, it could be worse. Here's how I look at it....you compromise now and get your kitchen back a couple of weeks sooner....but you LOSE BIG money on resale because your counters are totally funky. What makes more sense???? Really...compromise costs you huge money in the future. If I toured your home for sale, and saw those counters, I'd assume the rest of the joint was cut rate and the offer would reflect that.

So....want to compromise????

That caulked gap is atrocious, the other flaws I could live with. My caesarstone island had to be redone, they had scratched the edge in a one inch area, small but very noticeable , they tried to buff it but it only made it worse. The sheen in the buffed area was quite different than in the rest of the area so it stood out like a sore thumb.
It took them 2 months to give me the new island, but I was using the damaged one in the meantime so it was ok.

My 2 seams each have a very small area that is a little funky and uneven, one at the front edge and the other in a corner, but I don't care and no one sees it; my caesarstone is also not speckled so it's a very unforgiving material to fabricate, imo...

The one I'd honestly worry about is the one you described without a photo -- the over 1/4" gap between countertop and range. That will cause you a ton of headaches in terms of cleaning, for the lifetime of the counters. I'd focus on that gap and the loathesome black caulk, which are both functional errors, and ask for the entire job to be redone.

Stand firm! You deserve exactly what you paid for! By the by, the color is really gorgeous, and I'm betting the finished result will be truly fabuloso. :)

Money: 1/2 down and 1/2 after completion???: don't pay final bill! Seriously! Put stop payment! Not acceptable. some caulk is ok; this-no. Corners: not right. You spent good hard earned money: make them do it correctly: if they want their money: they will fix. Take them to small claims court if you have to. Did you sign off on this job? Hope not. Don't let them intimidate you. Tell them to take out and you want a full refund if they won't make right and that you are not satisfied period.
good luck!

I don't have any suggestions, but I would really like to see more pictures of your kitchen! I think it is very close to what I'm trying to do.

I'm with Igloochic on this one, each and everyone of us who has been through it all with the frustration of remodeling will eventually get to that point of wanting to settle for less, just for the sake of reclaiming the nice lives we had before. Don't settle--or at least don't go down without a fight. You'll be looking at that sink alot longer than it will take to get it redone!

Kelbrad7 - Here are the pics you asked for:

Here's my inspiration kitchen:
http://www.oldhomesnewlife.com/portfolio/kitchens/Bracanovic.htm

Your kitchen is beautiful--do NOT accept that gap at the range, or the black caulk. Absolutely atrocious. Get your money back and use someone else. Any good craftsman would not have even proposed that these "fixes" are adequate and would cringe the same way you are.

Update:

The owner of the shop offered to redo the countertop. I didn't even need to convince him. He came out and saw what a horrible job they had done and offered on the spot redo it. I offered to contribute to the cost of the slab, and he declined. I can't believe his integrity. I'll update with pics when all is said and done. Thanks again for all your support!

Portlandgal

The caulk thing would be a total dealbreaker -- I had that issue in my old kitchen and the caulk would crack over and over again because there was so much of it ... it looked terrible. Not something anyone else ever noticed, but it drove me crazy every day when I had my morning coffee (the coffeemaker was right next to it). Not a great way to start the morning. The other mistakes I could live with ... but not caulk where there should be stone.

This week we have had our own nightmare of a countertop installation. Fortunately, we were home to supervise and prevented them from gluing the slabs down to our cabs. The seam behind the sink was going to be huge due to a mistake in their templating cutting the slab too short. They had finished the wrong edge on a hutch which made the slab unusable or it wouldn't be flush with the wall. Our beautiful Nordic Black Antique granite that we had looked for over many weekends was now wasted. The company refunded us our money and now we must start over with the countertop. My kitchen will most likely be delayed past Thanksgiving now and I am most disappointed.

It's not easy being a business owner. I'm sure he was disappointed in the job his employees did. Your offer was gracious and his declining it was the right thing to do. I look forward to the next set of pics when the job is done to your satisfaction.

I missed where you posted about the owner's great offer. What a stand-up guy.

Has anyone else had fabrication and installation problems as well as sketchy billing practices from this fabricator?

Hang in there PortlandGal & PluckMama! This too shall pass!

Yes, you're experiencing delays, but in the end the jobs will be done right and rather than be disappointed over & over again that the kitchen was late, you'll be happy over & over that you did it right, regardless of the delay! [I speak from experience!!!!]

If you had accepted the sub par work, every time you walked into the kitchen you would relive the disappointment over & over.

Buehl,
You are so right. There was no way we could accept it. Much better to have a delay than to live with poor workmanship that you paid $$$$ for.

It's just getting there to that finish line, hopefully before the holidays. Thanks for the encouragement.