A little worried about granite installers

15 years ago

My granite guy came to measure for the granite today. I'm a little wary now because I had assumed that he was going to come and make a template. Instead he showed up without even a measuring tape, pen, or paper (he borrowed mine) and just took measurements. He's going to show up next week to install it. He said he would grind the back of the granite to the wall on-site. He also didn't appear very confident about what to do when he noticed that my wall curves a good 1/2" from one side of the base cabinets to the other. So naturally, there is a gap since I installed the cabinets dead straight. I had to confirm to him that yes, he should cut it all to the deepest point and then grind away the places where the wall comes in. (I'm doing a tile backsplash which will cover small gaps) He even asked "who installed these cabinets?" as if there was something wrong with the installation (I was actually quite proud of how level and straight I managed to get the base cabinets). This is in metro Boston; lots of old houses you'd think he'd be really used to curvy walls.

Is this typical for granite installations?

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Comments (6)

deniserav4
15 years ago
My granite guy spent a half hour measuring and recording figures on paper. I can't imagine any other way. He drilled one hole onsite for the faucet.

I went to the shop when it was ready to be cut so I could decide which piece would be on my island, i.e. the focal point.

IMHO, I would be worried too.
Fori
15 years ago
I think you need to clarify that he makes templates AND that you get to see where on your slab the templates go.
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davidro1
15 years ago
good description.

I have no idea what you arranged for, before contracting, before the guy came over.

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Grinding makes a lot of stone dust. It gets into everything.

If you got a long piece of wood and taped onto it cardboard cut to match the wall curves, you could drop it off and let him cut the back end of the granite to match the curves.

Having written that out, I have to now write out that this is not a recommendation to do this. It gives you the power to use that sentence in your upcoming discussions. It is an explanation. It lets you know that you are not hostage to some guy or another one. It lets you know that there is a DIY style alternative to "professional templating". Etc. Don't believe it means anything in particular. It's just information. Disclaimer over.

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cutting to "scribe" a curvy wall has a cost associated with it. I have no idea what arrangements you made when discussing the contract.
brianadarnell
15 years ago
My Guy made plastic templates on site and measured EVERYTHING. The install occurred this morning and everything is perfect. They drilled two holes on site: air switch and faucet hole. Everything else fit perfectly to the walls (no gaps whatsoever and no grinding necessary). The only adjustments made on site included shims to get things level in a few places. I would be worried if I were you. Is it too late to use another fabricator? Fori has a good point about seeing the templates, especially seeing them on the slab prior to fabrication.
rysilva
Original Author
15 years ago
I'm not too worried about exactly what part of the granite slab I'm getting. I'm getting a kashmere white, and my slab looks pretty uniform, so I wouldn't really know which piece of the slab to tell him to use anyway.

My layout is very simple: one 5' section, and one 5'8" section with a sink. So that simplicity might contribute to what he's doing. I'll probably give him a call and ask why he didn't make a template.
TopSolutions
15 years ago
I'm a natural stone and quartz countertop fabricator in Naples, FL. I would say I make a template for my jobs %95 of the time! It's the best way to avoid costly mistakes, AND it's figured into the square footage price.

Here is a link that might be useful: www.CountertopSolutionsFL.com