What are your slab sizes please?

I believe the slab is 134x80

That would be the largest piece of granite I've ever heard of. If true, you don't need any seams.

I'm no expert, that's for sure, but I wouldn't be happy with two seams behind the sink, let alone three seams total. Not at all. Maybe he's trying to piece it together using only one slab? I have a J-shaped kitchen and I only have one seam, and it is located behind the sink -- but I had to have an extra half-slab to accomplish that.

This is the piece for the island and I believe the piece for the wall counters was basically the same. Maybe I’m not reading the markings right?

I spoke with our fabricator and he is saying that they do all their apron sinks with a bridge in the back. And he said that even if we bought another slab to cut the L shaped piece out he wouldn’t be able to get it in. I tried to get him to explain why but it didn’t make sense to me, possibly because I’ve never seen granite go in so I have no idea how it works. But I don’t understand why they would not be able to get a solid piece cut for that corner going from the stove to the sink in. That would basically be a 66x74 piece. If anyone can confirm that it would be too big to do as one solid piece that would be helpful.
I understand that we will have to have a seam at the sink and I originally thought we would have just one at a corner. Our plan had been to flush mount the sink sides to the top of the countertop. I wasn’t clear to the cabinet installer so he cut it for under mount since I wasn’t there. It doesn’t bother me but I could lift the sink back up to be flush mounted if it meant only one seam there and not the bridge. The sink does not have holes for the faucet, that has to be in the granite.
If we wind up with all the seams as the fabricator is saying I’d be ok with it. But if we have other options I’d like to explore those now. I hope I don’t come off as being ticked about this, I’m really just trying to figure out how it works!

Regina, when he's saying "get it in", is there any chance he means constraints in your physical space that limit physically moving a large stone piece i.e. it's not the shape of your counter but of your space?

I think this may be a thing but I hope others will correct, if not.

I don’t think so. There is a door he can use that leads straight to the kitchen and will not require any turns.

"I'm no expert, that's for sure, but I wouldn't be happy with two seams behind the sink, let alone three seams total. Not at all."

What if they looked like these?

Those seams would bother me at all. Our fabricator is going come around the corner and then have the seam.

Joseph, am I reading that slab right and it is 133x80? Does that seem large to you? The steel grey is basically the same size.

Sorry, typo. Should say “would not bother me at all”

No doubt those are excellent seams Joseph -- but they would bug me standing in front of the sink. I would know they are there and *I* would see them - so they just would {shrug}.

That's not the stone I expected when you said Steel Gray. What I've seen in my market that is called Steel gray is pretty uniform in color. Besides the seams that you are concerned about, I'd be worried about how the fabricator is going to match up that swirly pattern.

I am a fabricator. We always seam behind a farm sink. You have to as a single thin rail connecting the pieces on either side of the sink is almost certain to break. We usually do one seam at the faucet hole as the bezel on the faucet helps mask the seam. Re: the other piece, big "L" pieces can be very difficult to install. If the seam is well done it will be hardly noticeable. Given the amount of movement in your selected stone you should insist on pre-approving the grain transition on the "L" piece seam.

Sorry, that was confusing. The picture I posted is the slab for the island and will not have a seam. I posted it because it has the size in the tag and the slab for the wall counters is almost the same size. Joseph said that the measurements I gave were huge so I wanted to see if I was reading it correctly. Here is the steel grey that will have seams. It is leathered.
Oldryder, thank you for your insight. Given that the slab is actually very uniform do you think I should just go with the seam or try to get the installer to do it in one piece?

The installer is trying to properly set customer expectations, lower his risk, and that is admirable, however, it is also apparently possible to install the top without seams. Even if he cracked the top at the sink, it would repair inconspicuously. If he could be assured that you were fine with that, he may be more likely to take the chance.

Technically, the sink cutout could be made and the sink undermounted after the tops are installed. This would not be inexpensive, however, the risk of cracking the top would be very low.

Joseph, what do you think about the corner? I’m much more concerned about that seam, the two by the sink aren’t as big a deal to me. I believe the fabricator will do a good job on those. I measured the corner and the long sides of the L are actually only 63x63. If he used another slab would he be able to get that L in one piece or is it really not possible? I’m sure I’ve seen much larger L counters without seams. I really just want to know my options from him and if it would cost more then I can make the decision.

Also, I know he will have to make a seam at the sink since that cabinet run is 210 and the slab is 134. I’m not sure if you saw those measurements?

If you've got another slab at 80" x 134", a seamless corner isn't a problem.

He has offered to do the corner without a seam with a separate slab for $900 more. He is going to get two new slabs so they match each other. I haven’t 100% decided if I’m going to do that yet but I probably will. As the seam wears I know I’ll wish I had and there isn’t really any going back.
In a situation like this where there will be a lot of waste off that slab, and for the price he has quoted, what happens to the rest of the slab? We will be putting a kitchenette in our basement in a few years so I kinda want to keep the other part. But I’m not sure if that’s really done...

Regina, I believe it’s common practice for fabricator to keep excess from slabs unless customer wants them. These are resold as remnants. I had a large piece of jumbo slab left from my kitchen- I had 2 slabs, one for island, one for perimeters & leftover was from perimeters. We used excess for a 24 x 40 guest bath counter & a 16 x 38 top for a cabinet in dining area off kitchen. We also had 3 different sized rounds cut for lazy Susans to use in kitchen. The sink cut out was used for 2 of the lazy susans. We did pay the fabrication cost for these pieces of course but the quartz was already paid. So, if you have room to store your leftover granite, it is yours! Be mindful though that it’s really heavy so not something to be moved around if it’s in the way.

m a fabricator. If your fabricator is buying stone specifically for your job (not from his inventory) then his price will reflect the waste which you are paying for. Customers often think this is unfair but If the fabricator did not include the cost for your material in the price he would have a business that collects remnants instead of one that makes a profit. My shop has over 2000 remnants and we scrap half a dozen dumpsters of remnants every year. If you have a particularly beautiful stone that is highly desirable (meaning he can expect to sell it as a remnant quickly) then he might be willing to give you a credit. We do not let customers "hold" their remnants indefinitely as that requires us to assume responsibility for the stone with no certain prospect it'll every actually be used. We have on occasion delivered the remnants to a customer for storage at their site but most don't want that.

I figured they would be charging me for the whole slab, I realize they can’t make money charging for partial slabs and then hoping to sell the remnant. I did question if we could keep the extra for future projects and didn’t get a real answer. We have a large barn and basement so we could definitely store it.

"We have a large barn and basement so we could definitely store it." the your fabricator might be willing to deliver the remnant. If it is large and you want to get it into a barn it would simplify matters greatly if you have a piece of equipment with forks. The installers could bring a boom and clamp from the fab shop and the stone could be moved easily.