Hi,

This is the first time that I have used the Garden Web. Yesterday, my lovely soapstone countertops were installed. We have a long L-shaped counter (100" long on one side and 58" long on the other).

We wanted the counter cut as one piece from the slab but the stone supplier & fabricator seamed the stone. They said it could break in transportation and they wouldn't be responsible for any breakage if the L counter was made out of a single piece.

We purchased PA Original from Garden State Soapstone (GSS). We bought from them because they had a very hard soapstone that was resistant to scratching. It also had beautiful coloration and veining that we liked.

When the GSS fabricators were done with the installation, they waxed the stone. That's when we noticed what looked like a hairline crack in the stone in the thin strip in front of the sink. The owner told us that it was just a natural fissure in the stone. He said that he reinforced it with steel and it wouldn't ever be a problem. However, I was looking under the products section on their website and it says that they install only high quality stone without cracks and fissures. That's when I started to get worried that a fissure could be a potential future problem.

Are there any soapstone experts who could address the following question: Should we be at all concerned about the fissure or its location? Thanks