Best place for countertop seam aesthetically?

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

We are installing quartz, Caesarstone Calacatta Nuvo 5131, and I am trying to figure out where the best place to put the seams would be, in terms of how it will look. We will have two seams, one on each side of the kitchen. The fabricator said they normally put the seams in the center of the sinks, and since my sinks are in the corners that will give each length of countertop a smooth look, in terms of the veining going in the same direction, etc. Or, I was thinking that maybe going along the side of the range would look best, and be less noticeable than at the sink. I'm not really worried about structural issues.

Here are my plans. Where do you think the seams would look best?

Comments (4)

practigal
8 years ago
I think the only place the seams need to be is at the sinks as no stretches are so long you need put a seam elsewhere.
Stan B
8 years ago
ah measurements are in centimeters, i was a little worried there for a minute. I think the bigger issue for you on templating your slabs will be the width necessary to make the angled corners. Caesarstone slabs are 56.5" wide. If you are trying to get two 24" wide runs out of one slab that only leaves you at most 8.5" extra width for the angle -- I don't think that's enough but you'd need to verify. You could end up needing more cuts and/or more slabs due to the angled sinks.
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Are your cabinets already in? We did as jreuter suggested. The cabinets with sinks are at kitchen height and between and lower is a make up area just like in the picture he/she posted. This served a couple of benefits for us. We like having the higher height for the sinks for brushing our teeth and face washing and I like having an area where I can sit to apply make up. We wanted to use the same material for the tub surround and counter tops. By doing it this way, the fabricator was able to do a solid piece for the tub surround with no seams and then use the center portion that was cut out for the counter top. I can't remember if they were able to get one or two out of the center section. In the end, we were able to get everything from one slab which kept our cost down.
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These are my pics of my countertops placed Friday June 22, 2018. I cried looking at these seams. It looks so cheap. Fabricator explains that's the way it comes. I explained that I shouldn't be able to see the seams so clearly. It looks so unprofessional. They ended up taking them back to their warehouse. In hopes they say if it is quality control will try and fix it just to make it look better. Otherwise I will have to pay an additional fee for them to come out again to install. I just don't know what to do and if still looks the same. This is the first time I've replaced my counters in 24 years. I don't and can't live with it. looking at this for another 24 years. It looks so cheap and it really was not it's a lot of money to me. I hope fingers crossed that they will fix this problem. They never told me that there would be such seams. I thought the edges were done by a machine and it would be all one piece. I have read up on this and now understand there are seams. But now I do know that they should not look like this. If they are good fabricator you shouldn't be able to see them so clearly. I will find out next week what happens.
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The OP needs to post pics of this installation. A U-shaped counter will indeed need 2 seams. My counter has 1 seam in L-shaped counter. It was strategically placed, discussed with me in advance, and I went to the template layout at the fabricator’s to see with my own eyes before the counter was installed. I feel terrible for the posters who tell their stories on here that they were not informed by their fabricators or GC’s that they should be doing that. Having said that, all this info about counter fabrication for the consumer is available on the internet, and when making such an expensive purchase, it would be best to do a 5-minute google search. When you are buying a car, laptop, phone, refrigerator, or other costly item you probably do. So, while the installation appears bad - according to your verbal description since we haven’t seen pics - the fabricator is at fault, and you sound like you have a legitimate complaint, but you need to take some ownership too. I would speak with this design studio, and see what they say.
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Stan B
8 years ago
OK I just did the metric to English conversion (sorry I don't know metric cabinet sizing). How wide are the sinks you are looking at? The corner cabs are 92 cm square which is a little over 36". If the cabinets are 24" deep that means the length of the angled counter in front of the sink is about 15.5" (40cm). I would not build one sink let alone two sinks this way but not sure where you are in the design process.
M G thanked Stan B
M G
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you so much Stan. I'm sorry, I should have clarified that the measurements here are not actually the final one, though in general they are mostly accurate. This is the most up to date plan that I have though (I think, will have to go looking through my emails). It was made by the designer. Afterwards the carpenter did make a number of changes, including making those corner cabinets larger. I can't remember if the fronts are now 50 or 60cm. I don't remember the exact size of the sinks, but I think they are around 55cm. The island is also now square and slightly different location, since there wasn't enough room between it and the fridge (the 113cm on the plan did not take into account the fridge being deeper than 60cm). The cabinets are currently under construction.

In terms of the size of the slabs, you're right. I just spoke with the fabricator and she said that there are only 140 usable cm one one side, around 55 inches. She also said that they usually wait until they come and measure after the cabinetry is in place, and then they give their recommendation as to where to put the seams. She told me my options are to put the seams at the center of the sinks, or along the sink side edge of the cooktops, assuming that all works out according to plan.

So I'm really wondering which of those two locations would be least noticeable. I'm inclined to think along the edge of the cooktop, since I'll probably be at the sink more often, but it's hard to be sure. I wish there was a way not to have seams anywhere!

Best place for countertop seam aesthetically?

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practigal

Stan B

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Best place for countertop seam aesthetically?

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practigal

Stan B

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