Is this an acceptable granite installation?
I am looking for advice regarding the granite installation pictured below. Is this acceptable work?
The piece of granite originally planned for the sink section (left side of the seam) broke when the sink cut-out was being made onsite. The piece to the right was already installed. I insisted on an unbroken piece at the sink, so the installers returned the next day with another piece from the same slab. They installed it but left without allowing me, their key contact, to inspect the job, despite the fact that I was in the home and available. After they left, we discovered a break near the corner of the sink (photo below). This was not a crack, but a full break that would move if lightly pressed.
As I was researching what to do, I became concerned about other parts of the job, including the seam over the dishwasher that is unsupported except for one board along the wall. That's 19" of unsupported granite to the right of the seam. I also discovered that the Sienna Cream granite, a softer stone as acknowledged by the fabricator, should likely have been reinforced at the sinks (2) and cooktop with stainless steel or fiberglass rods, and this was not done.
I decided to let the fabricator repair the break and here's what it looks like now:
While they were onsite for the repair, we asked about improving the roughness of the seams. They rubbed them with a towel and some solution but said they thought it looked fine ("I'd have it in my house."). I couldn't tell that they had made any difference. A close up of one of the problem spots is below (not sure if that's a scratch or a crack that they have filled).
The fabricator has offered a written warranty for the lifetime of the countertops to cover the repair at the sink and for any problems that may arise with the unsupported section over the dishwasher.
I would greatly appreciate your guidance on three questions:
1. Is the match of the granite in the first picture acceptable?
2. Is the repaired break at the sink acceptable and durable?
3. We have paid them 50% down on a joint countertop and flooring job. Countertops went in first, and we put a hold on the floor when we ran into these problems. If this isn't acceptable work, what would you do?
Thank you for taking the time to reply, and if you happen to be a professional in this industry, would you please indicate that as well?
Comments (21)
Jancy
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRelated Discussions
Is this acceptable?- Chips in Absolute Black Granite
Comments (12)Sweet313- Installing stone around a stationary object (like a vertical support beam) will generally leave you with few options if any - for no seams. It sounds like your Fabrocator had no choice but to cut, and "piece in" a section after the stone was set in place. As far as your "smear" is concerned, this could be a natural quality in your slab - I dunno, since the picture is hard to discern, and I am not there in person to look at the surface of the stone to ascertain what the issue is exactly. Here's what I'd be looking for: 1. Reflected image distortion - IF a reflected image appears to be distorted when you look at the smear, the stone has been "worked" or ground down to some degree, and re polished - if there is no distortion, the smear is a naturally occurring quality of the stone. in either case, you need to decide if you can live with this, since YOU will see it every day. hope that helps kevin...See MoreIs this granite seam acceptable?
Comments (30)THANK YOU to everyone who helped me learn from this experience! There is so much knowledge (and willingness to spend time on graphics!) on this board! I'm very grateful. I didn't know what I didn't know...but I sure do now! I did not even know what "templating" really meant before. Lesson learned! My contractor has gotten involved and the manager of the granite fabricator has apologized and offered to make things right. They have one slab left from this lot. I'm going tomorrow to see if any part of it might provide a better match for the larger, L-shaped piece in question. Thanks to all of you I understand that it will not be a perfect match...but I'm grateful for the opportunity to see if there is the possibility of a better color blend. I'm so glad to have an idea of what my expectations should be. The smaller piece that is poorly color-matched was installed with the wrong ends touching. They're going to attempt to pull it out, turn it around, and re-install. That would have been avoided if they'd involved me in any part of the planning as they said they would! I was told that the small piece might break in their attempt to remove it, and the large remaining slab in this lot was rejected already by the fabricator as a poor match...but this is step one in their attempt to fix. I'm hopeful and going in with a positive attitude. It's only a countertop, right? That's what I keep telling myself... I've moved on to dealing with the backsplash tile that I selected to match my initial granite sample (which wound up not being the slabs they gave me...it was creamier/browner) that doesn't work with these countertops. Thank goodness they hadn't started to install the tile yet! I'm hoping my contractor will help absorb the restock fee for that tile (25%..is that normal?) since it's not like I just randomly changed my mind. These counters definitely don't look as good with my floors as the original slabs I selected. I'm just trying to keep things in perspective....and hope that maybe someday we can put in hardwood floors so the (old) floor tile that doesn't match isn't one more thing for me to kick myself about. This process can definitely be discouraging....See MoreIs this acceptable countertop install?
Comments (7)In the house I'm designing for myself, the drywall is established as the interior air barrier. The exterior sheathing is the main air barrier, but both are part of a system for air tightness and thus energy efficiency in the house. I could never accept that if I knew beforehand that it would happen. If I found out after the fact, I don't think I'd expect them to tear it out and start over, but guarantee it was sealed around the full perimeter someway....See MoreIs the acceptable? Damaged granite installed.
Comments (22)Thanks for all the responses! The principle does matter to me, more so than the visual. If no one calls out manufacturers/builders on subpar work/products, that becomes the norm. Just because I don’t really mind the blemish TOO much doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done correctly or that I wouldn’t prefer it to look nicer. I spoke to my GC about it and he saw it and agreed it could be better. I reiterated I don’t want a new counter put in (delays to move in, risk to cabinets, gamble of not as great of a color match). He said he would address it and let me know of the resolution. He’s addressed every other complaint (all pretty minor) promptly and satisfactorily so I have no reason to doubt he will present me with a fair solution. IF not I’ll response accordingly, but I’m not expecting a problem. Again, I posted to know what was considered REASONABLE and STANDARD for this kind of thing. I try to be fair to the vendor and to myself. Not trying to get something for free over here, lol. I appreciate the time people took to respond and inform me of solutions. I will update when I find out what the fix is! I agree everything is never perfect in a home build and some of the faults become charm later on! We’ve been remarkably lucky to have a very smooth build so far. My only REAL regret is not adding can lighting to my craft room!! WHAT was I thinking? At least I put in a ceiling light but, ugh. Dumb dumb dumb....See More
a1shellyj
7 years agoJancy
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
Russ Barnard
7 years agoa1shellyj
7 years ago
PROJoseph Corlett, LLC
7 years agoa1shellyj
7 years agoa1shellyj
7 years ago
Joseph Corlett, LLC