Soapstone cracks. What to do?!?

15 years ago

Well, it has happened to me too. Cracks in my Beleza slab. I'd noticed fine white lines in my slab in installation. My husband assured me that was just normal. Yesterday, I noticed that one of those lines had widened to an actual fissure. It runs from the front to the back, and you can see crevices along the line. This morning, I found a second crack, less dramatic than the first. However, I can still feel it with a fingernail.

We called Dorado, and they said that harder soapstones can crack if there's shifting after installation. They suggested having the fabricator put epoxy (like what's used for seams) on the cracks. That seemed reasonable for one crack (though it's a fairly major one.)

Now with two cracks, I'm worried that my slab is defective. That I'm going to keep getting more cracks. I'm also worried about the possible ramifications of replacing my counter. That could cause more harm than good (possible damage to cabinets, to our unreplaceable tile backsplash, possible problems with sink/faucet reinstallations).

What should I do?? Just have the fabricators epoxy and hope that the counter is now stable? Ask for a replacement? (And who should pay for this replacement and fabrication and the plumber to reinstall the sink, faucet, disposal, instant hot)?

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Gena Hooper
Original Author

15 years ago

Thanks, Chris. My stone was installed a couple of weeks ago. My husband is the one who spoke with the seller who said that harder soapstones sometimes had soft bits that were prone to cracking. This usually happens right after installation, perhaps while the stone was settling? I was not told this about the harder soapstones, and don't remember reading about it when I was doing research. They didn't blame it on fabricators or any issues with my house. It sounds like something that just happens.

It's frustrating and scary. One crack. Okay. Epoxy. Two cracks...What does that mean?

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Comments (8)

chris45ny
15 years ago
First-I'm so sorry that this has happened to you. Did you know or were you told something like this could happen with your soapstone?? I'm certainly no expert on soapstone so hopefully someone like Joshua or some other "expert" will answer these questions for you.

As bad as I feel for you, I think that if these cracks occurred due to shifting in your home that they would not be responsible for that. However, if there was some sort of weakness/defect beforehand that you can prove you may be able to get the remedy you want. Were you told exactly what they thought had shifted-the cabinets, your foundation???? When was this installed-recently or months ago??

I'm sending out good vibes that everything will work out wonderfully for you!!!
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chris45ny
15 years ago
If that's the case, then there shouldn't be any further cracks-right?? You could then try the epoxy. From what I've heard it should turn out looking great-fingers crossed!!
ship4u
15 years ago
I was just talking to Florida Joshua yesterday and he gave me an excellent tip. When you go to choose your slab, take a bottle of water and a squeegee. After wetting it, watch to see how it dries. If cracks remain wet, the stone could be defective.
The good news, however, is that he said defective stones can be dealt with effectively. No need to panic!
Gena Hooper
Original Author
15 years ago
That's a great tip! One that I wish I knew when shopping.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to have slabs pulled. We'd called the day before to set up an appointment. My husband took time off work, and we all drove for almost an hour to get to their warehouse. When we arrived, it turned out that they had no forklift operator so no one could pull slabs for us. We really wanted Beleza and had heard no concerns about it. So we picked the slab almost sight unseen. It was in the midst of other slabs. You could eyeball it, but couldn't really see the whole thing.

In hindsight, I should have just put off the slab selection. Gone home and researched other options. Well...that old cliche about hindsight is unfortunately true.
Gena Hooper
Original Author
15 years ago
Does anyone have a contact for Florida Joshua? I'm wondering about paying for a phone consult.

If the epoxy can work, that will be fantastic. I'm just really worried about the counter eventually just crumbling to pieces or something. It seems much more fragile than I'd ever imagined Beleza to be. (Though I guess if it did crumble to pieces, it would be easy to remove without harming the cabinets or backsplash. There's always an upside, right?)
lfielder54
15 years ago
pickle2, we just visited Dorado in Shrewsbury to talk with Eric and look at slabs. We liked Beleza best, and Eric never said anything about cracking. Thank you for passing on the information. We will do the squeegee test and think about using something other than Beleza!

Would you mind telling me who did your installation? Other than the cracking issue, are you happy with the installation? Thanks!
leela4
15 years ago
pickle2-Did you ever get in touch with Florida Joshua? I had a question about tape marks on our soapstone a few months ago and I went to his page here on GW which had his email. He was quite nice and emailed me back right away and gave me his cell # so I could talk to him in person.