Marble slabs and pitting

8 years ago

I posted a week ago about a slab of marble that I found and really liked. I went back today to look at it again. I noticed that there is some superficial pitting in areas of the stone that I will use.

The distributor said this was normal with honed marble and that it happens to most slabs and people still buy it, but it made me nervous. The distributor was not positive that the fabricator would be able to fix it. I did check out all the other slabs that they have and they all have a some pitting so that checked out.

My question is whether anyone here purchased honed marble that was pitted and whether your fabricator fixed it or you just live with it?

just to be clear, I am fully aware of the nature of marble and I expect my counter to get etches and potentially scratches. I'm just not sure if I should purchase a slab that is already pitted.

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karin_mt

8 years ago

Agreed, those are little nicks from something banging on the stone. That can happen to all marble, regardless of the finish. But certainly let's start off with an un-damaged piece.

The fabricator's response is troubling - in that it's not at all correct.

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Comments (13)

rjknsf
Original Author
8 years ago
I forgot to include a photo
bbtrix
8 years ago
IMO that looks like chipping. That something sharp has nicked it. I have never heard of the honing process causing "pitting"! What type of marble is it? I have honed marble, as well as many on this forum, and would never purchase a damaged slab like that unless the area would NOT be used for my counter. I truly doubt the fabricator could repair those chips to your satisfaction.
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After looking at this more, and in different light, this really is unacceptable. I can't ever remember seeing any marble countertop that looks this bad. I was able to get another photo that catches the problem in better scale, and you can see what I'm talking about. See below. I really do understand that some pits and blemishes are normal. But I'm guessing you will agree this is excessive and distracting. So, I guess the real question is, what recourse do I have? And does anyone know how would one go about fixing this to begin with? As I mentioned, the fabricator says that he is not responsible for the surface finish- and it comes that way from the place that sold us the slab. Furthermore, I am not thrilled with the overall quality of his work, so I'm not sure if I trust him to try to "fix" it. I haven't contacted the store where I bought the slab yet. I'm not sure if they should be responsible for repairs because they sold us a bad slab, or if this is the fabricators responsibility. I feel like I'm about to be caught in a 3-way finger pointing argument with no clear resolution. Before I start raising hell with these guys, I want to have a clear idea about whose fault this is, and what kind of resolution I should expect. So, that brings up the second big question. Regardless of whose fault this is- how would one actually fix this? probably 80% of the blemishes are very shallow. I can feel the roughness with a fingernail, but can't feel an indentation with a fingertip. I would think that most of the blemishes could be ground and polished out. Does anyone know how big of a job that is to do on-site after the countertop is installed? Again, your feedback is much appreciated.
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rjknsf
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for your comments. I wasn't told that the honing process caused pitting but rather that honed marble is more susceptible to pitting. As I mentioned, all of the other slabs I saw (10-15) had some amount of this. And we aren't talking a no name distributor either, it was at an Arizona Tile.

I have also seen other posts on the forums from other people who noticed this on newly installed counters. But no one could decide if the slab was like this from the start or if it was the result of fabrication damage.

It's tough because I really like the slab otherwise and I won't be able to find something comparable.
Bunny
8 years ago
I have honed marble on a 60" vanity. It is smooth like velvet, no pitting.
bbtrix
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Just trying to save you some heartache. In the year I searched, I saw no blemishes on the many slabs of honed marble I looked at. I also can't magine how honing would make it susceptible as it is a finishing process as polished marble is. A particular type of marble could have voids that finishing could uncover, but those in your pic looks like chips from moving, equipment, rough handling, or anything sharp coming in contact with it. This is the biggest problem with all marble. It chips easy. I purchased perfect slabs and when delivered one had a chip that they also said happens all the time during fabrication and they would repair. The repair was horrible and stood out like a sore thumb. Long story short, I rejected my large island. Karin_mt has many stone threads that are very informative about marble. It's worth the search and long read if you haven't come upon them yet.

Usually those that notice chips on newly installed marble are very unhappy, and it's typically because of the fabrication. A good fabricator can repair, but those are hard to find. They typically are repairing damage caused during the install. I again emphasize that I would not buy damaged slabs. It's a bad place to start when so many things can go wrong from that point.
rjknsf
Original Author
8 years ago
After lots of Internet research, I'm somewhat at a loss. Lots of comment along the lines of this is no good, other comments say it is part of marble.

I should clarify I haven't spoken to the fabricator about this, only the slab yard. As I mentioned, most of the honed slabs that I saw had some of this. I will speak with the fabricator tomorrow and ask about it.

I'm very torn. My partner thinks we should just live with it. I think there is a 1% chance that we will find a comparable slab of 3 cm honed Danby. This is the only place in the Bay Area that I am aware of that carries this and I have done a lot of research on slab yards. This shop has no other 3 cm slabs and most of the others are way more expensive polished Montclair. Even then, the Montclair does not have the gold veining. It is mostly gray.
Nothing Left to Say
8 years ago
I have 3 cm Carrara from daltile in San Leandro with none of those white marks. My gc had his fabricator hone it as we preferred 3 cm and they didn't have any already honed. IRG in Brisbane had the biggest slab selection of any place we went.
Vertise
8 years ago
What are the little brown spots. Could that be iron?
Bunny
8 years ago
rjknsf, are you in the Bay Area? I got my half slab at North Coast Tile & Stone in Santa Rosa. They uncovered and moved three full slabs of honed carrara for me to consider. All I was thinking about was the patterning. It never occurred to me to run my hands over the stone to feel for preexisting pits and such. The installers treated it with kid gloves. It's got a luscious surface I can't resist petting.
somersetlass
8 years ago
Honed Carrara here and no 'pitting' but as others have said above, that isn't because of the honing process, they are dings. I got them on my sample piece when I dropped keys on them hard etc.
rjknsf
Original Author
8 years ago
I am in the Bay Area. We went to IRG but we didn't see anything we loved that was within our budget. Unfortunately, I have not found any Carrara that is not mostly gray. I was really hoping for something with a white background.

I'm not sure what the brown is but it is part of the veining. The slab is white with gold and grey veining. The gold is more of a rusty color.
rjknsf
Original Author
8 years ago
Just to clarify, I was to that this kind of thing is more common on honed marble, not that it was the result of the honing.

I agree that they look like impact marks. It is as though something hit the marble and crushed the crystal structure resulting in a bright white mark. You can feel them if you run your finger over it, like a very shallow ding.

Marble slabs and pitting

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