It's hard to say without seeing your layout and knowing the length of the slabs.

oh dear... thanks, remodelfla.

it's a 21" cabinet, 30" cooktop, then a 36" cabinet.

that's all... it's a small kitchen.

the slab of zodiaq is only 52"x118". the entire kitchen won't fit unless i "bridge" those two cabinets.

is that enough info?

Yes, but it won't look quite as good as taking it out of a single piece since you have 2 sets of seams plus the cooktop.

Trust you have the download for the cut-out to provide for the fabricator so he has exact size and it fits perfectly.

thanks, rococogurl. that's the sort of input i was hoping for.

we were originally going to have cherry butcher block on the cooktop side, and zodiaq on the sink side.

but i'm getting cold feet because the kitchen is so small and was thinking it would look too mismatched.

plus then there will be a huge remnant of zodiaq that i hate to waste....

i downloaded the specs, too. love atticmag, btw. :)

interesting dilemma.
if you can find a way to make a "feature" out of the cross members, it may make more sense, as a design element, than simply to justify it as a way to save a thousand dollars. But, most people wouldn't mind hearing you say it was a savings of a thousand dollars just to have the two sets of seams. If it's a white quartz, the seams will be a bit yellower over time. If it's another color, the seams will be even less visible. Eyes can get used to anything, by the way. So ultimately it comes down to first impressions, that infrequent visitors or first timers may spot. Not worth the money, imho. Go for the seams.

Someone one day will come up with a counter "insert" made of Corian or wood or something, that will solve this problem once and for all.

It's common for fabricators to place the seam between two pieces in the middle of the cooktop where it's less noticable in the smaller pieces. I don't know of any fabricator that has put full length seams on both sides in such a critical weight bearing area. It could possibly compromise the support under your cooktop. You don't need a heavy boiling pasta pot to crack that seam! Even with two seams in the middle of the cooktop, it's common for it to be rodded underneath for additional support. That's the least I'd expect should any fabricator agree to this.

you might take a look at the thread below, which has a couple pics of kitchens (larsi in granite and macybaby in soapstone) that have narrow pieces between slabs rather than a cutout in one big slab. if you're concerned about too many materials with two countertop types, the one extra seam (since likely there'd be one seam even if a cutout) is far less noticeable.

if you're worried about the cooktop weight on the narrow pieces, maybe put in a support frame out of wood that the cooktop would actually sit on.

HTH

cheers

Here is a link that might be useful: granite frame for cooktop?

Not sure if this is what you are saying but we have a seam on both sides of our cooktop and that makes a very skinny granite rectangle in the front and the back of the cooktop. Over the year (13) the small rectangle running in front of cooktop has gotten loose and now moves (pushes under the cooktop if you lean on it too heavily). If we weren't redoing our kitchen I would reattach it to the rest of the counter.
Hope that helps...

Change in counters can be nice and functional or distracting. I think it depends on the general difference in color or light/dark in terms of the overall.

If the color or contrast is similar between the 2 counter materials there would be less of an overall visual difference than if you used 2 which have a lot of contrast.

But it also depends on whether one of the two counters blends closely with cabinets and/or the floor.

Very much appreciate your kind words about AM.

thank you everyone... so many good points to think about. thanks for the link with macybaby's photos in it, too.

the fabricator emailed me and suggested going to 25" depth counters to make it all fit. but i am too messy, and would probably ruin my door fronts, especially at the sink.

i hadn't thought about a single seam in the middle of the cooktop, nor did she suggest it.

i think i can live with that if the piece isn't falling off all the time. this is so hard! it feels like everyone is waiting for me to make up my mind.

... Even with two seams in the middle of the cooktop, it's common for it to be rodded underneath for additional support.

live_wire: if you see this, do you mean this extra support would be needed in addition to a plywood subtop?

we are getting 2cm Zodiaq quartz with a 5/8" plywood subtop.

thanks!

UPDATE

She emailed back that the ONLY way to do this was the 25" countertop depth.

I get the feeling she is annoyed with me. :(

Anyway... can anyone verify that quartz can only be cut lengthwise along the slab, or can sections be cut on the perpendicular as well?

Thanks.