Very, very poor fabrication. Absolutely not acceptable. The fabricator needs to have you select another slab and re-do the job. Also, you should be there to watch how they lay out the pattern just to make sure they don't screw it up again.

Thanks for your input! Very helpful to hear.

Do you have a G.C. to go to bat for you with the fabricator or will you have to fight this battle on your own?

We don't have a G.C.

I'd be pretty unhappy with that result, too. With such a distinct linear pattern, I have to wonder what they were thinking in choosing to lay it out like that. Was it discussed ahead of time regarding the direction of the grain? You say that you had enough granite to eliminate seams and to have all the pieces go in the same direction. What happened to the remainder of the granite? If they kept it, I'm wondering if maybe they laid it out like this to save stone that could then be used on another project ... ? Not saying that's what happened, just trying to figure out why they chose this layout. Have you paid them everything you owe them?

You might want to cross-post this in Kitchens which gets more traffic.

It was discussed ahead of time, both the seams (that there would be 4 pieces cut) and the direction of the veins (the fabricator was familiar with the vein pattern in this particular stone and assured us that all the veining would run in the same direction). When I saw the installed result, he had a bunch of excuses, none of which made much sense, and some of which conflicted with each other. We paid the first half of what we owe only (beforehand).

Thanks for the advice - I'll post in kitchens now!

Stick to your guns. Not having a paid GC means that YOU are the GC for your project and responsibility for making sure that it is done correctly as as agreed falls to you.

<< assured us that all the veining would run in the same direction >>

Case closed. Make him live up to his promise.

Assurances are nice, but no way would I ever go forward with a natural stone counter installation without seeing, approving, and signing off on the layout of the templates on my slabs. I take pictures of the template layout so that there is no question of what was supposed to have gotten done. Actually all of the stone yards I've worked with have been quite insistent on getting approval of the layout before they cut the slabs, which seems completely reasonable. You didn't get what you were told you were going to get, so you can probably insist on a do-over-- but this time look at the final layout.

so what happened???

They're refusing to do anything, saying they stand behind the work. They have agreed not to collect on the remainder of the balance (we paid half up front), but we're requesting a full refund of the amount already paid and will do a chargeback if they don't provide it. We'll live with it, I guess, and I will write reviews online that reflect our experience, as well as contact the stone yard that referred us to them (and from which we bought the stone) to inform them of what happened, so maybe they'll think twice about referring to them again.

I'm sorry to hear this. Is the fabricator now denying he agreed to have the veining line up?

If the charge-back goes awry, small claims court might provide satisfaction. They're agreement not to collect the remainder of the balance is great proof that they recognize their own poor workmanship. However, you may also want to arrange to have another granite fabricator your witness or provide a notarized statement that the work is sub-par, If you can get the work re-done (properly), photos of "this is what it was supposed to look like" would be helpful, also.

No, they're not denying that they agreed to line up the veining, they're just saying it's their "best work" considering the amount of stone they had to work with. A new excuse (in addition to the several excuses that we got the day of the install).

Thanks, I agree re it being a good acknowledgement that they did a poor job. If it comes to that, we'll certainly pursue other fabricators to get opinions. Unfortunately, we don't have the $$$ to re-do it, but I have collected various pictures of L-shaped corner cuts of this same stone without seams to show that it can, in fact, be done.

So let me get this straight ... "Standing behind the work" means giving a customer exactly what they didn't want and doing exactly what you told the customer you wouldn't do? Unbelievable. So now you are out the cost of the slab and half of the fabrication/installation fee? This is really a bummer of an outcome. Definitely seek resolution through your CC company.

diynola:

Please refer to the last sentence of page 15 of the MIA Residential Standards.

Joseph Corlett: << Please refer to the last sentence of page 15 >>

I don't understand. Are you referring to the sentence about difficulties with miter joints? How does that apply here?

It is the specified difficulties with miter joints that these fabricators were struggling with. As the MIA document specifies, miters decrease yield, which they probably didn't budget for, and increases the chances of customer objections which they didn't plan for either.

We didn't expect miter cuts, though, we expected no seams. If seams were necessary, we expected veining running in the same direction. That's not what we got.

If the approved and signed off paperwork/templates shows the veining a certain way, the miters or lack there of a certain way, then the fabricator owes you what was signed off on. If the discussions were all verbal you may have a fight on your hands in my opinion.

I understand your frustration, but I don't see how you can just keep it and also not pay for it (at least the half you've already paid). Either get a new slab and new fabricator, and take this one to court for a full refund (or try to go the credit card chargeback route) or decide to live with it and forget getting back the half you've already paid. You can't have it both ways IMHO.

Agreed -- and if you get the whole amount returned to you (via chargeback or small claims), you can afford to have the counters re-done.

The slab was double the cost of fabrication. We bought the slab from a stone yard, and had a fabricator cut it. So we can't get the cost of the stone back. While we could afford another fabricator (because we're not paying this one), we really can't afford to buy another slab.

Via small claims, I'm guessing you could get the cost of the slab back since they ruined it while working with it.

Tell them to come get their tops, refund your deposit, and you'll keep this secret.

Your fabricator was obligated to let you know before he cut and installed your stone that he couldn't give you what you had agreed upon. You entrusted him with your stone to fabricate it in the manner in which you agreed. I would take him to court and sue for the deposit, plus the cost of the slab that he destroyed.

The problem with a CC charge back in this case is that you have two separate vendors. The one you purchased the slab from is not at fault unless they hired the fabricator. If you used a fabricator of your own choosing, the slab supplier isn't responsible for the stone once it leaves their yard. I don't see how you would be able to initiate a charge back for the stone portion.

Court over a counter crack? Really? It's time for a reasonable meeting of reasonable minds.

Um, this thread isn't about a counter crack ... ?

At this point, your best course is to live with it. Heck, the fabricator isn't charging you, so you're only paying for the stone itself, and while the installation isn't what it should be, it doesn't look horrible. When the back splash is installed and your things are on the counter, it'll look fine. On the other hand, if you think you're upset now, try going to court.

Mag77, the OP paid a 50% down payment for the fabrication and the fabricator is not willing to return that portion (so far). IMHO, hashing things out in small claims court is a LAST RESORT option after every other option for resolution has been exhausted. When a contractor takes a job and agrees to do it in a certain way and then proceeds to do it another way without first informing the customer, why should the customer just "live with it"? I don't know if I'd be satisfied with my remodeled kitchen looking "not horrible". Even if the fabricator gives the OP all of the fabrication money back, she is still left with the result of his error. I don't think the OP's goal was to get free labor for a less-than-desireable outcome. The small claims court option was suggested by myself and a few others as a means to possibly recouping the cost of the stone so that the OP could start over and see her vision for her kitchen realized instead of having to settle for her fabricator's mistake. Of course, if one is not willing or able to do whatever it takes to make someone live up to their agreement, then getting over it and living with it is probably the best option.

Jellytoast: << The small claims court option was suggested by myself and a few others as a means to possibly recouping the cost of the stone so that the OP could start over and see her vision for her kitchen realized instead of having to settle for her fabricator's mistake >>

I'm not knocking you or anyone else. I don't like this either. I'd like to see the fabricator nailed to the wall. Diynola got a bad deal, no doubt about it. I just think it's better to move on.

Thanks, everyone. The fabricator agreed to refund all of our money if we signed a release, so we're just going to do a chargeback and let them sweat a little, and post some reviews online so that others can be aware of our experience. We're also going to contact the stone yard (which referred us to them) and let them know that their "best work" is total crap. While it sucks to not have what we expected and we're out the cost of the slab, we still have a beautiful stone on our countertops and hopefully it won't look as bad once we get the backsplash up and some things on the counters. I really appreciate all the feedback.

No offense taken, Mag77, I do respect your opinion. I did quote your post to illustrate my point, but if it sounded like I was calling you out, that was unintended. In any case, reading back, it does appear that the OP intends to live with the granite as is, so any point I was trying to make is moot anyway. :-)

Thanks, jellytoast. It's all good.

I agree with Joseph, they should have done a miter joint. Found some good pics here

First four pics show the same problem and the solution being a miter joint.

Diynola, I dont think you would have been happy with the look if it was one seamless piece. The linear veining would look odd to me if it was not installed in the horizontal plane of your eye. If you had half the cabinet horizontal veining then half vertical veining I am just not sure about that.

vithdude I was wondering how to find a good fabricator, and the link you posted is a business that is actually near where I live, haha, thanks. But if anyone has advice, I know stone yards supply a few names, but really how do you know you are getting a good fabricator especially if they are referred by the stoneyard?

"I know stone yards supply a few names, but really how do you know you are getting a good fabricator especially if they are referred by the stone yard?"

If the stone yard makes a bad referral, it makes them look bad. They aren't inclined to do this. Ask a fabricator for references of other satisfied customers, especially a job with a bump in it.

Thanks Joseph!

There is another recent thread here where the OP was unhappy with the work of her stoneyard referred fabricator. Unless the stoneyard is guaranteeing the work of the fabricator, I would not trust their referral without additional research (ask for references as stated above, and ask to see examples of the work). I don't think a stoneyard would intentionally mislead anyone by steering them towards a poor fabricator, but unless they have a stake in the fabricator's business, they won't be responsible for the work done by others. Time and again we've seen people here complaining about their slabs after installation. Make sure that you and your fabricator are on the same page before any cutting takes place.