Is that shadow storm marble?

If it went through all the slabs, it's likely a vein. It feels different because it has a different hardness than the rest of the material and didn't polish at the same rate as the rest of it. I would guess that the smoother veins are skinnier?

It's pretty!

It's too thin to be a vein. In the geological sense, a vein is where new material moved into the stone, either as liquid magma, or as minerals carried by groundwater. It's neither of those things.

It sure looks like a crack to me, and the fact that you can feel it reinforces that idea.

But it's not the end of the world. Cracks can be repaired and can end up being stronger than the stone was originally. Joseph Corlett is a fabricator who posts here often and perhaps he can offer some insight.

I'd give it an acetone bath, hit it with a gray Sharpie, then dabble some gray nail polish next to it. Mix some thin super glue into the nail polish, then push the mix in the crack. Wipe off the excess with more acetone. You're going to fill it with something eventually; may as well get color match when you do. Don't wait, please.

its a crack, just watch using superglue as someone has advised as it will bloom on marble

Also this does not fix the issue that why the crack has occurred and also will NOT STOP the crack from going further as what has been suggested above is a BAND AID

Apparently if you color it in it fixes it!

Is there a way to stop the crack? I have a crack on my countertop, which looks to be the same material and it’s really worrying me. They cracked the slab right through in a different place during fabrication, but the repair is really well done and we decided to keep it because there weren’t any additional slabs available.

Yes, but it needs to be done be a qualified stonemason as they will be the only ones that can fix and stop this.

My suggestion would be find a Monumental Mason as they have the skills and knowledge for this type of repair on natural stone.

Thank you for the info!! I will definitely try to find someone. It is keeping me up at night. The material is amazingly beautiful, but clearly very brittle. We haven’t had any problems with etching or staining, but the crack worries me.

Can you give us a photo from the front showing the cabinets and also some of the countertop

Any stone will only crack for two repairs

1) Heat and that is not an issue with this material

2) point load or pressure loading... if there is too much of an expanse between supports this will cause this. But also twisting the slab to put it in will cause this as well as it is point load

If the piece is between two walls and they have put it in on an angle it can cause this it they do not know what they are doing as all natural stone does not have tensile strength.... meaning it doe like to bend at all.. Huge compression strength though!

If the crack is parallel to the longest side on the counter, we would say they have flexed it when they have installed it. As they will usually carry the piece in on the edge, put it up on the island and then roll the piece over flat. In doing so if they do not know what they are doing they can cause a point load on the stone. Especially if they are lifting or handling on the corner and not spreading the weight across the front edge when rolling over flat.

I would say from the photo is that someone was hanging onto the corner and not about a foot in while rolling the counter into place.

The crack isn't going any further if the stone is properly installed and adhered. I'd have it fixed by the time you found a Monumental Mason.

Adam Zintsmaster with the drop front being that thick it would have been flexed when installed, hence causing the point load and why you have your crack where it is.

It will need to be replaced if you are not happy with the crack. There should be a full support of under the counter, or at least every 2"

That is one gorgeous slab of stone!!!

I'm sure Joe will chime in, but board should never support stone. We have an overhang of 9 inches supported by steel bars.

Adam Zintsmaster they have flexed the stone while putting it in, why it has cracked Needs to be replaced

New Freedom Nurse Not sure where you get that information from , but it incorrect

You can have an overhang upto 12" with this method. Though Steel bars are better if they are 2 3/4 wide and 1/2" thick tempered steel.

Ps Joe is not a stonemason he is only a "Sink Guy" in his own words!

strob06 would not call this repair or any of these amazing from Joe you can still see the damage, the first photo of a finished repair still has a crack to the left hand side in it.

Not when you compare it with something that has been repaired correctly

I am reading this post trying to determine whether our newly installed marble island is cracked or a vein. I’ve been told it’s a vein from the installer. However, the color is concernig, I can feel it, and its very unattractive on the finished edge. Thoughts on vein or crack?

@Adam yours doesn't look like a crack, but even if it is it looks like it's been filled in. I wouldn't worry about it.

@mcshaneusb that looks like a crack.

I think it's hilarious that my grinder sink clip fill is so inconspicuous that QSCCRE had to put red marks around it so it could be seen. I can't thank him enough for his compliment.

mc: It doesn't really matter if it's a crack or a vein. It's ugly and unacceptable.

Yo, Q: Here are three filled faucet holes from this afternoon. Two got covered by the new faucet and soap dispenser; no one will ever see this again. This is production work, Dawg, not a museum restoration, and I'm proud to have my name on this:

Do I need to put the red lines in, or are you good? That is some awesome color match.

Yeah, the apron reveals are off. Not my fault; the overhang isn't consistent. Apron's gotta kiss the cabinet; no gaps on my jobs.

Before:

This is a slab over our tub. It looks cracked and installer says it’s a vein. Thoughts?

looks like it was broken and patched

I think you are right. What should I do about it? Have the slab replaced ?

Hi all,

I know this is an old thread but I've been searching for an answer and don't seem to find it anywhere on the web. I recieved a marble table yesterday and was wondering if it was a repaired slab or natural as the veins look misaligned and there is a long hairline separating the veins. Please let me know your opinions. You may have to look at the picture side ways but focus on where the veins stop all of sudden.

OOh, that might be a little geologic fault line. Got a photo?

Oh cool! Yes, that is a little fault line. How neat!

If this was a repaired break in the slab, they would have lined up the layers better, one would think. I suppose it's remotely possible that someone stitched together a broken slab in a weird way, but that seems much less likely to me.

Features like this are not uncommon and I've seen in all sorts of slabs.

another crack or vein inquiry

Light gray Sharpie.

A side view

Light gray sharpie or replace the bowl with one with a faucet deck.