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Remodeling Kitchens

Quartz Fabrication Fiasco

last year

A month in to a quartz counterstop replacement project that was supposed to be done in a day I need some feedback on how easily fixable my main problems are. The fabricator and install crew have messed up left and right and 4 install sessions later we still have problems both with the black gouges on the mitered edge on our island and with the patching of a large chip on the perimeter section. Are these issues easily fixable? It seems like each time the installation crew tries to fix anything they make the issue worse. To add insult to injury they would not install the support bars I bought from them on the island even though it has an unsupported section on one end that is 33”x25”. They told me ”mitered edges are very stong and no extra support is needed.” The company owner supported this position. I know that LG won’t warrantee for structural failure without the appropriate supports.

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Comments (5)

millworkman
last year
last modified: last year
"To add insult to injury they would not install the support bars I bought from them on the island even though it has an unsupported section on one end that is 33”x25”.

That will fail, not a matter of if, but when and in reality tells us an awful lot about the skill set of your fabricator, well that and 4 trips to fix their issues. This repairs do not look like they will be a simple fix, at last not for these hacks.
Beth G thanked millworkman
User
last year
These guys actually have an OSHA approved wet fabrication facility and a business license? They aren’t fabricating with a garden hose and and angle grinder in someone’s garage? They need to just give you your money back, and you need to find a reputable fabricator and start over.
Beth G thanked User
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Joseph Corlett, LLC
last year
"They told me ”mitered edges are very stong and no extra support is needed.”

They are liars and here is visual proof; a peek into your future:

The only thing supporting this span is the front mitered edge. It has sagged from gravity and has pulled the mitered waterfall apart. A mitered edge has no chance against gravity. Engineered stone is not structural; it is veneer. Steel is structural.

The cup wheel marks on the edge in your last picture are particularly egregious and indicative of a clueless fabricator/installer. They were so aggressive, they've torn out material leaving the little holes. The only cure is more abrasion, however, unless they do the entire edge, that's going to exaccerbate the dip that is inevitably there. Place a straightedge against the edge and you'll see the dip.

Your first three pictures indicate adhesive voids, air bubbles, and contamination. If a larger edge profile doesn't help, and I doubt it will, maybe some tinted super glue may get it to acceptability, but I'm not optimistic.

Your seam is wide, ugly, and looks like it was cut with a chainsaw. Color match is good though. Set the straightedge over it please and see if it rocks or dips. A 4' level placed in an "X" fashion would be informative too.

Dig up the LG fabrication and installation manual and show them the required support. Now they're not arguing with you, they're arguing with LG.
Beth G thanked Joseph Corlett, LLC
Adam Sanchez
20 days ago
Yeah the fabricators lack experience it's very hard to find good fabricators and installers makes me want to start a repair business..and some quarts are really low quality..and sensitive to marks showing up ..but if u got the skills a lot of the times the seams are invisible..
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
19 days ago
Adam, the first thing they teach you at Corian school is to never promise "invisible" seams, always "inconspicuous". Corian seams more inconspicuously than engineered stone. "Invisible" raises customer expectations to unrealistic heights; please don't use that term.

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