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mainemayne

"bookmatch" kitchen island counter mishap -- how upset would you be?

mainemayne
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago

I paid a total of $5683 for new counters in my kitchen and 3 vanities including materials. I put a lot of effort into making sure my main center island, the centerpiece of my home, looked amazing. I needed 3 slabs total... Found two beautiful sister slabs, and was using a third slab for the other countertops.

Countertop contractor came to my home to verify placement/direction of the 3 slabs. We confirmed the two sister slabs to make a mirrored image. Install day came, and there was more of a mismatch at the center seam than I thought there would be. Contractor was there, saw it, and I could tell she thought it looked off. I chalked it off to the slabs not being as mirrored as I thought "oh well...", but a couple days rolled by and I saw similarities on my other counters... sure enough, they used one of the sister slabs to build my other counters.

Image of island and other kitchen counters

Center seam (zoomed in)

On the day of install I was not told of this. I sent the above image to the contractor and asked what happened... they said:

On the slabs they used the best two slabs for that large area. One of the slabs had some cracking or faulting through it that could cause breakage as its so large. If it we were to use the other slab for that area it could have broken during transit or installation as their laying down. We were able to use for small areas but not that large piece. If we have something we can take pics of and send you we will. They did know to match the pattern flow with the dark on the bottom and light more towards the top where the sink is. When I give you your cutting board you can tell on the bottom of it what I'm describing. This stone is very crystally and can break off even when we're cutting it.

At this point we had been through so much trouble with the other parts of our remodel, I just accepted it hoping with time it would bother me less... but I think this response was solely to avoid blame considering she didn't tell me this on day of install (or anytime beforehand). Besides, why would I go through the trouble of confirming slabs in person (with printouts) with the contractor, if the installer was just going to "use the best two slabs"? I also took a look at the cutting board she spoke of and really didn't see anything odd at all, but then again I'm not a pro in the industry.

I raised the issue again with them - stated that I've tried to let this issue not frustrate me, but I'm still dissatisfied every time I look at it. That I'd either like a partial refund or for the center island to be re-done. She provided a bit more insight --- We selected Slab 3 & 4 (See Image) for the bookmatch. Slab 3 (left) was apparently compromised due to breakage during cutting... at the time they called me and said they needed a little extra material (which I assumed was for my vanities and other, non-bookmatched pieces), and so they bought slab# 5 in the series to replace Slab 3 (See Image -- not nearly as matched).

I responded and told them that I was never told our bookmatch selections were compromised, and instead they made decisions without the paying customer's consent. I said I would have told them not to continue if I had been informed my bookmatch was compromised. They haven't yet responded.

What would be a fair resolution in your opinion?

Comments (3)

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