When they templated the stone at your home they should have discussed with you seam locations and how many slabs would be needed. We did that with our fabricators and then they had us come to their shop to view the stone. They showed us how they were going to cut and then had us go over each slab pointing out natural imperfections. Their goal was "no surprises" on installation day.

That is not acceptable.

Agree. The grout and edging/corners are unexceptionable! The supplier/installer should be held accountable to make it right!

They screwed up big time, on the glue, corners, and sink reveal. Keep looking, there will be other problems too. (Beautiful granite though - what is it called?)

This is a directional material, so it's never going to look perfect. If the fabricator gives, let's say a one year warranty on the project no matter what it covers, call them back and complain like hell. Did you see the template on your slab before they started fabrication? And if the edges arent matching, like I see in the picture that is a fabrication error and they need to fix it.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to comment! Also, the flow of the granite abruptly changes direction at that ugly, rough seam. That's not my biggest concern given all the other issues, but they could have minimized that issue by hiding the seam behind the sink, then it wouldn't be nearly as noticeable. To answer some questions...we never saw the actual granite slab, since the fabricator told us this type of granite doesn't have much variation, that all will look nearly the same (I LOVE the actual granite, it's gorgeous, it's the bad install/fabrication that's the problem). We were never asked to see or approve a template to see where the seam would be...I just trusted that these people were the professionals and they would know exactly where to put the seam, and how to make it virtually disappear.

We sat down with a designer from the granite store we used and they went over every detail of the countertop, everything we decided on wa styled in her computer...the corner details, the sink details, everything. So I'm shocked to see unmatched corners throughout the kitchen. We were told by the designer at the store we used to DEFINITELY get a completely flush, under mount sink, that it looks MUCH better than having a little ledge with caulk showing...I obviously agreed and told them to definitely do that...well that's not what they did!

So frustrated, especially since it's the weekend and I won't be able to contact anyone until Monday! Now we are without water in the kitchen for the forceable future...

soberg---The granite is called White Sparkle and is stunning, with a subtle sparkle to it :)

Good luck! You need redo or better yet refund and choose another company!

I'd be PO if my sink came out like that. Water and food will land on that lip and cause bacteria growth. My granite people used clear grout and made sure the granite/stone ran in the same direction. The pattern that is. The even cut the backsplash in my bathroom so it was an exact continuation of the counter. Meaning they cut edge to edge. And you can tell. It's nice that way. On the other hand your stone is not continued in the same direction. Look at the lines in your stone in your 1st pic. L

Look at my pic. The black runs perfectly together and you don't see seams. Here is how my sink is mounted...

I must say I like your choice of stone. I would put a hold on your check or call your credit card company and as for a charge back on that payment for services not complete. Your credit card company will give them a run for their money if you say the right words. Let us know the outcome please. Also in my prior post I should have said caulking not grout. Vocabulary error.

Don't let them get away with coming in and using clear caulk and square your corners. Demand a new slab as it isn't right but tell them the stones edge will be disproportionate from corner to corner. I would demand removal, stop payment and find a new company

We paid nearly a month ago...it took along time for the install to happen, so the money is long gone, oh how I wish I could stop payment! I will post an update with (hopefully) new photos when it's fixed!

Thank you for the pictures! Your granite is amazing and done so well! And I will demand it get fixed the right way, no easy fixes here...they are going to have to cut an entirely new place for the sink (smaller) so a brand new slab is the only fix I can imagine.

I wish you luck. Stay strong!

That seam is the worst part of the job. Horrendous, not just the totally mis-matched grout but the placement and the change in direction. Good luck!!

At least they matched that horrendous grout with my old, gross floor tile (which is being torn out and replaced next!) ... just trying to find the positives here ;)

Talk to your designer and see if she'll come out to look at it. Talk to the manager, too.

why did you pay for a job before it was done?

I had to pay for mine before it was done. Not a month before but before.

You are going thro a store and a designer so doesn't sound like a "fly by night operation". The retail store often "jobs " out the installation--and looks like they picked bad installers, You have no reason to find "something good" in this unprofessional install ! You have the right to stand tall and insist they do a redo or refund your money ! Settle for nothing less!!!! Ten to one they will jump right on it and fix it, A retail store can not afford unhappy customers. You have nothing to be ashamed of!!

It's hard to believe someone would fabricate a stone countertop this poorly, actually install it and "hope" that you would be satisfied. A definite redo immediately!

Sorry this worked out badly. Based on my experience with small claims court you'd be better advised to go to the Contractor's Board and Better Business Bureau, they at least care and do something right away. Last resort, most tv stations have a consumer advocate and I used them to battle CA's Dept of Motor Vehicles and they were magnificent. Good luck.

Update!! Today I called the store we bought our granite from and talked to the person who deals with unsatisfied customers, (this is the store our designer works at and the place we gave our $$ to) and she was extremely apologetic and promised this would all be taken care of! No worries! She said...but, I'm at bit worried...

The fabricators (from a different store, the place we bought from hired out the final install) anyway, the fabricators came out today, two stoned faced guys. It didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped, their final words as they left were along the lines of, "we will have to see what can be done, we're gunna talk to our manager".

I pointed out all the issues, the bad seam, the directional change of the granite, the botched sink install, and the mismatched corners. (I also found other issues for example the overhang throughout the kitchen is not the same. One side of the kitchen has a 1 inch overhang while the other side has a 2inch overhang).

Instead of detailing all the things they would be fixing and how they would fix them, I got the vague answer above. AND was confronted with excuses, for example:

SINK EXCUSE: "we go by the template given for the sink cutout, it's done by machine." I then pointed out that I left my ENTIRE sink with them to ensure the granite would be cut perfectly, I didn't give them a template only. AND it was precisely stated, with the designer, I wanted it flush.

MISMATCHED CORNERS EXCUSE: guy said "well if it were me, I'd round the corners here so when people walk by...we sometimes round corners like this for, ya know, people with kids." Problem is I talked with my designer about this exact situation, and made it perfectly clear I wanted squared edges...EVERYWHERE for a modern look...I said this many times, in many different ways.

GROUT EXCUSE: they didn't have one... (Except to say, "we always put the seam there" no comment on the grout color and thickness.)

DIRECTIONAL CHANGE IN GRANITE EXCUSE: after I pointed out that if the seam would have been centered with the sink, their would only be a few inch long seam at top and bottom of the sink and any directional change would be unnoticeable. They had no excuse for that either.

In conclusion, we will have to wait and see! While I busy myself making their lives hell with my persistence!

And thank you for reading that novel...it's clear this granite nightmare is taking up a lot of my time!

Please talk to the manager of the place you gave the money to. If that lady said "this all would be taken care of", find out when and how that will be done. Talk to the fabricator manager, too. I'm not advocating being nasty, but making sure you are heard and that they, everyone involved, understand that this is work that no one would consider to be acceptable.

The installers know that its wrong, don't be the least bit concerned with what they said---relax and let the store take care of it--they will do the right thing! You need not deal with the installers in any way as they are employed by the store. I am former designer myself, I would be at your house to reassure you immediately and after the new install would be there to assure myself that you are happy. It certainly seems like the reaction of the designer is just right, she'll support you thro this !

Thank you for the encouragement! It's just tough in the few days after a really bad install...all the waiting for calls to be returned and waiting to get the final word on what and how everything will be fixed! This website is such a great resource with such great, positive people!

Head pats!

While you're waiting, why don't you tell us the name of that outrageous stone? And show us a stand-back photo so we can enjoy how your whole kitchen came together, where we can't see all the counter installation screwups. Always good to remember how gorgeous it all is!

Any new updates?

Your granite has a "grain," like wood does. The seam should be mitered at the corner, so that the grain continues to be horizontal to the run of the cabinets. Since you gave them the sink to go by, the corner radii should have matched your sink. And, finally, all the corners of your top should match, whether or not they are on an outside corner or not, since that is what you specified. This should be a complete redo.

updates ?

I have had many meetings with the store that messed up...they were unable to find any more of that granite because it was discontinued...ahh what else could happen!? Anyway, tonight I am going to the store once again for a final decision on what they are going to do. I found my own granite that is similar to what was installed before (I like what was installed better...but I found something similar...it costs more though...so we will see what they say tonight! I will post another update soon!

Of course it cost more. I'd try to get it for the same price for your hassle

Yes, they should absorb ALL the costs of replacing it. And especially since the one you picked is discontinued.

I'm sorry you have had a bad experience. I agree that this is a poor installation. The caulk joint appears too wide and it does not match the stone. The different corner conditions simply do not make sense. If you specified square corners there is not reason why you shouldn't have them. I wish you the best in getting your installer to correct the problems.

Update!! The store finally agreed to a complete redo! Yeah! So happy that they are doing the right thing! I had to choose a completely different granite since the original had been discontinued. Luckily I found something very similar, but the price was much higher than what I had originally paid...the store agreed to install the more expensive granite and at zero cost to me. Two slabs have been ordered and will be here in 2 weeks! Can't wait!

Here are two examples of the new granite! It has a similar feel and coloring to what was installed before.

Ask to inspect the slabs before you fabricate. This way you can see imperfections and discuss how best to cut. Beautiful granite. Hang in there, it will be all so worth the wait.

Bunnyllg....absolutely! That is such a great tip and something I will be doing! The first time around the fabricators tried to do my entire kitchen with one slab (and maybe even used remnant pieces) to save $$. This time around they are using two slabs so their wont be a direction change in the flow....and I will definitely be completely hands on when it comes time to decide where the seams will go and which sections of the slabs will be used!

Great news. Hope they are using a different team to do the corners and installation.

That is fantastic news, kara! I can't wait to see the final result.

Kara, is this Atlantis? If so, you have to choose your slab. I've seen many, many variations of Atlantis samples. From grey to blue, with beige to pink "Quartz" patterning. Good luck.

Beautiful!

dfromthebdot...the granite is called Cold Spring, and does have some natural variation, but in general has the colors I need, white/cream/gray/black. From all the samples I have seen, at least the colors are consistent. Thanks for the heads up though!!!

Glad to hear they are going to replace your granite.

Interesting. I know that material as White Spring. Cold Spring is the name of a large granite quarrier/processor based in Cold Spring Minnesota.

Beautiful choice, whatever the name. Congrats on the progress, so far.

One comment on the middle of the sink seam idea. When our granite was installed we were told with a drop in sink that makes it less noticeable, but with an undermount it ruins the smooth look of a (properly cut) under mount sink. We opted for the seam about a foot to the side of the sink and I'm glad we did. Standing right above it you can tell there is A seam but from across the room you can't. I love our sink and would not want a seam running through it

The new granite has been installed and they did an AMAZING job the second time around! I can't say enough how beautiful it looks. My advise is to be highly involved every step of the way. Don't use an installer if they won't let you see the actual slabs and if the don't map out where the cuts will be. Also, if you use a designer of some kind, like we did, tell the fabricator ALL the details you told the designer...to insure nothing gets left out or not relayed!

On the new install the corners all match, the seam is right in the middle of the sink, the grout is matched perfectly and is literally invisible. They rounded the inside corner, to the left of the sink for strength and it looks amazing (at that corner was the old, ugly zig zag seam)...now it's perfect!

This last pic is a close up of the new granite, it's different than what was installed before but equally gorgeous, it's called cold stone. Thanks again everyone for all your encouragment and comments!

And the sink is now flush with zero reveal, that was an important one! That was fixed also, and looks so much better! The pics uploaded small, if you click on each one it will show up bigger ;)

Lovely work! The good news is, they won't make any of those mistakes again...not after eating the entire replacement cost! Sorry you had to go through this, but I'm very happy to see that you are happy with the final outcome.

I actually like the replacement better! It's nice to know that they provided you with a good final product and did it right the second time!

Looks great, Kara!

i am going through a rough experience with a marble install… who was the fabricator

and designer?

I just had granite installed last week. This is my seam, Im pleased with my install. There is no reason for yours to be thicker than what I have.The corners should be the same as well, not sure why they would do them differently.