Bad Quartz Countertop Seam

8 years ago

Hi there - I just went by our almost completed home and am not happy with the seam in the quartz countertop (Viatera Rococo). The cut looks really jagged and is rough to the touch. Our builder says this is "standard" and doesn't want to do anything to fix it. It creates a huge dark shadow down the middle of our island which is the centerpiece of the open floor plan. We paid a significant amount of money for this upgrade and I'm feeling so much pressure to accept it "as is". What do you think of this seam? What is the recommended fix that I should go back to the builder with? Help!!!

Featured Answer

mayflowers

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

That should be a clean cut. The blade was past its prime. Some granites and quartzes can be chippy like that but with a fine-grained quartz, they aren't slicing through any hard minerals, just resins. They need to use a new blade on fine-grained quartz.

I'll repost my seam here and you can show your builder what quartz seams should look like. Hopefully you'll get lots of photos of seams done right. The fabricator also needs to use a seam setter to pull the slabs together, especially on an island, and color match the epoxy. It looks dirty.

My seam is literally a hair's width.

Seam setter

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Comments (19)

Lily Spider
8 years ago
I am not an expert but that doesn't look good. Here is my Minuet seam close up and far away. I am happy with my seam. Mine is also in a corner.
It's not jagged close up at all.

The experts on here should be able to tell you whether it can be repaired or needs to be replaced. I know LG has jumbo slabs as well.
yeh_yeh
8 years ago
It looks to me the adhesive is not color matched to the quartz but I am no expert in this. There are a lot of expert in this forum can chime in. Mine is pure white quartz and I got it through Ikea so I couldn't pick the fabricator. The seam is barely noticeable, pic below.

Mayflowers has a very nice seam and her fabricator used a special tools which my fabricator didn't used.

Here's another topic regarding quartz seams and you can see mayflowers seams toward the end of it.

need opinion regarding seam in my caesar stone
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mark_rachel
8 years ago
If you take a coin and run it back & forth over the seam is it a smooth run? The seam looks pretty bad. I would not be happy. Did you see any other their seams before?
jpmom
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I would not accept this -- it will just get worse.
Vertise
8 years ago
That looks terrible. There is no reason you would be happy with it.

There are quite a few threads on GW working on this same problem.
romy718
8 years ago
They do look terrible - don't accept them. I'd withhold payment until they are repaired, even if it means getting a different fabricator for the repair.
bradjn02
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks everyone. I am meeting with the representative from the countertop place tomorrow and your comments were very helpful. I am going to bring some of the photos for reference.
Navy Momma
8 years ago
How big is your island? The jumbo slab of viatera is 63x130. Why a seam right dead center?
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
8 years ago
That seam is unacceptable. Have them remove the island and if they don't have access to a CNC machine to dress those edges, they need to dress them by hand with a Seam Phantom. Major methacrylate adhesive manufacturers (Glue Warehouse, Integra) have color matched adhesive recommendations that have been tested, unlike color-blind Bubba with his polyester mix.

Everything I'm stating is industry standard. Tell your builder I said so.
User
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Your builder needs to quit having his carpenter attempt to fab stone. I've seen that shortcut on too many jobsites.
Vertise
8 years ago
I'll be interested to hear the size of the island, whether a seam was needed there at all. It all sounds like a real eyesore - in a very expensive kitchen investment.
bradjn02
Original Author
8 years ago
The island is 100 inches wide, but 70 inches deep so it's really the depth that is causing a jumbo slab not to work for us... I would rather have the island less deep in order to use a single slab but the builder won't budge on that either.
Vertise
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Whose house and money is this? He will not do it for a price?
bradjn02
Original Author
8 years ago
Well it's a builder home, so we already agreed on the total price for the home. Any "fixes" come out of his pocket so the incentives are not at all aligned. I'm not sure what will happen if he won't fix this issue.
Vertise
8 years ago
As far as the poor quality of the seam goes, the high prices we pay have the cost of potential errors and fixes built in as cover. Of course, the more mistakes that need to be fixed, the less of that cushion gets to be pocketed as profit. On top of that they have insurance.
romy718
8 years ago
Your builder states those seams are "standard." If he doesn't fix them (and his installer may not have the ability to fix them) you could contact Viatera and ask them if this is their "standard" seam appearance. You might also ask them for the name of another Viatera fabricator in your area.
Vertise
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Good point. Check to see if this fabricator is trained and authorized to work with their products. I don't know if it is SOP but many of these solid surface companies do operate that way.
sjhockeyfan325
8 years ago
You know the main thing I take from this, and so many other threads on GW -- I will NEVER work with a "spec" builder. It's true, it's my money, and I want it done my way or not at all.