Also, if you think it should be changed -- have any of you ever dealt with a builder on an issue like this?

Assuming you haven't closed on the house yet, there is usually a pre closing walk through where you go through the entire house with the builder to generate a punch list of items that are unacceptable/poor quality/not working, etc. My great regret when we built this our 2nd house is that we did not bring an independent inspector with us to this walk through. If you are able to get into the house regularly before then to see the construction supervisor, I would mention your concerns in advance as well so that they have a chance fix the seams sooner than later. If you are unhappy with the seams (or anything else) it's worth asking for a repair. Best of luck!

I agree to needing an inspector, even for a new house.

My condo had/has a hairline crack on one of the bathtub side ledges. Doesn't

affect the tub's function but bothers the heck out of me.

Your counters look odd in some way. Is the material from a slab?

Is this a product like something called granite transformations where there's a veneer of granite placed over an existing counter or some other material. In other words--not solid granite?

That corner area doesn't look good. And the first seam picture is not great.

There are finishers that can color match and seal seams on granite. I am not sure about the product you have. I had a really conspicuous seam and they sent out a specialist and I can hardly see it now.

Thanks everyone. It is not granite, it's Silestone which we paid a hefty price for which is why i'm extra upset about the outcome. We just called an inspector to come prior/during our walkthrough. Ideally I will talk to him about the countertops before the walk through and then follow up on everything else he has in his report after.

Katherine, while part of me wants it done correctly all over again I would be more than happy if someone could match and fix the countertops.

Amit, cross post this over on Kitchens forum on Gardenweb. They have some fabricators over there who can help you out if they see this post. I think you have the right to complain over some of those.

The seam and backsplash tile would do me in! They can, and should, do better. Bottom line is you are going to live with it and you are paying for it. Get what you want.

Not good. I agree with godoggoone

You might want to read this
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/quartz-counter-seam-dsvw-vd~2838737

What happened with this? Are you happy yet?

Backsplash is also poorly done and no silicone between the counter and the backspalsh the seams are a mess and I gree when doing the walk through tape and pictures so you can make sure these things are addressed

Hey everyone! Thank you so much. We actually ended up having them replace the backsplash (with the correct tiles) and matched the seam on the countertop and it looks alot better. It's not 100% to where I would have liked it but it looks alot better and won't bother me moving forward.

This is the seam on my Silestone counter top located in the center of the sink - 1/16" wide and the right edge is raised .011" installed by M.R. Stone, LLC of Mt. Airy, Md. They say it's ok. The specification titled "Homeowners Guide to Natural Stone Counter top Installation" says that the tolerance for "lippage" along the front and back edges is "0". M. R. Stone says the spec isn't applicable. Any comments?

The seam would look much better if they had matched the grout better. I don't know why its sagging. It might be insufficient support for the sink. Or the plywood underneath is not level. Does it sag more when the sink of full of water?

Or the cabinet isn't level. You should start a new post for your dilemma. More people will respond.

Phil Rhudy Sr.:

Your seam could be better, but it's not horrible either. I would not tolerate a customer complaining about .011 inch. We're building kitchens here, not landing cars on Mars.

I am so dismayed by the number of posts from Houzz users who have countertop installs with terrible seams! I am very particular who I go to for my clients countertops and this is one of the reasons why. It sounds like this is a new home construction, so Amit, you probably did not have a choice as to who did your countertop fabrication and installation, but for everyone else reading this- please do not go for price only when purchasing countertops. Get several recommendations from professionals who can tell you who to use and who to avoid. Good luck Amit!

Joseph Corlett, LLC: What is the industry standard for "lippage" on quartz counter tops? An industry standard would establish actual tolerance values for various characteristics. "A Homeowners Guide to Natural Stone Counter Top Installation" (look it up pg # 5 & 6) has specific requirements and says that the tolerance for "lippage" along the front and back edges is "0". (.011" is more than "0" and even though .011" sounds like a small amount, it is actually quite significant when you slide a coin, credit card or your fingers along the seam. The appearance of mine is made visually worse because the seam is in the center of the sink under the window. All I've seen are arbitrary descriptions of this feature on this blog and other places but no one has said that a certain amount is ok and above a certain amount is not ok. You imply that .011" is an unreasonable expectation but how much would be too much? As long as a person accepts any arbitrary value as acceptable then an argument can be made that any value is "ok" - why not 1/16", or 1/8", or even 1/4" - see my point. Anyway- thanks for the comment and insight.

M & M Interiors: As a professional - How do you defend any seam or lip that you regard as acceptable and the customer finds unacceptable - considering that if you installed the counter top and you may have a monetary motivation for determining that a characteristic is acceptable? The customer certainly is aware that he is negotiating with the biased installer who installed or supervised the installation and will get that biased opinion. The customer really doesn't have anyone to whom he can appeal unless he want to go to court.

Amit Patel: Review this document "A Homeowners Guide to Natural Stone Counter Top Installation" (available on line) and compare your deficiencies with the values shown - It may provide some leverage to make your points. The fabricator may deny the applicability since it's title mentions "natural stone" in the title but the quartz manufactures like Silestone have their own standards. Even though you may have already settled on your property, individual materials and products have their own quality and workmanship requirements and warrantees.

Phil Rhudy Sr. As a professional my alliance is with my client, not a countertop fabricator. If I feel the job is unacceptable, you can be sure I would tell the client and would do what I could to rectify the situation, if I was directly involved in selecting the fabricator and countertop. I have an educated opinion because I am involved on jobs which require new countertops all of the time, -so if I felt the customer was not being fair in their criticism, I would tell them that also.

Is this seam in the front or the back of the sink?

Phil Rhudy Sr.:

You are probably correct in your MIA citation, however, a working relationship between fabricator and customer is more powerful that that. That and if you're sitting on some of the fabricator's balance due.

By the way, the latest iteration of Gorilla Grips allows them to be clamped to narrow sink rails, pulling each side together flush. I sold my old set for $400.00 and spent $1,200.00 for this capability. Had your fabricator done so, and your cabinets are level, you would not have this problem.

It looks like you took the lower bid

Sophia Wheeler: Thanks for the candid comments - It's refreshing to exchange this dialogue with someone who is obviously in the business - it provides insight into the producer's perspective. Are you implying that a contractor should only accept business from customers that will accept any level of quality? Most (all?) counter top manufacturers are using CNC equipment which is very fast and capable of very precise cuts and very tight tolerances hence the MIA tolerances. The manufacturers use this precision capability as a selling tool to imply tolerances better than their competitors and they surely use it on all their jobs, not just for their more critical customers? I imagine that, like most manufacturers of any product, the operators are not even aware of the commercial side of the business; they get a production order that describes the material with a plat that describes the shape, cut-outs, seams, etc. I am pretty sure that your chances of getting a poor job are the same whether or not you paid top dollar or got a discount. A word about standards - as you probably know, standards exist for just about everything that is created or built and are essential because they quantify the rules for everyone - the producer and the customer - everyone knows the rules - the standard either allows the manufacturer to defend his product or the customer quantify his complaint.

Ryan Olivieri - I didn't get any bids at all. I went to Home Depot; looked at their beautiful counter top displays (nice and flat with almost invisible seams incidentally) picked out a material and pattern and paid the invoice. I didn't negotiate. I didn't think much about it and it didn't dawn on me at the time that Home Depot doesn't make or install counter tops and that I would be at the mercy of a potentially dubious contractor. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Lego9lego: The seam is at the front and back at the center of the sink under a window. It's in the most conspicuous place in the kitchen.

Joseph Corlett, LLC: The seam in the front, center of my counter top is the main issue with this installation and there are other issues. What you may find interesting is how the seam was created. I observed the installation and noted that when the installer placed the 2 pieces on the counter top, the mating edges didn't match - the mating edges were cut at an angle (more open at the top) plus they were different thicknesses (1.169/1.193 hence the lippage). The pieces could never, physically match. If they were epoxied together with that angle, the seam would have been 1/8" or more. What the installer attempted to do was to "split the difference" (my words), using a clamping device, he kept increasing the tension until the seam was about 1/16" wide. The only way this could possibly, physically decrease the seam width was to actually lift the left side of the counter top (the lightest side) 3/16" into which he placed a shim. You can now place a golf ball on the left side of my counter top and it rolls gingerly into the sink. PS - I asked on a previous post about my .011" "lippage" as follows: ("You imply that .011" is an unreasonable expectation but how much would be too much? As long as a person accepts any arbitrary value as acceptable then an argument can be made that any value is "ok" - why not 1/16", or 1/8", or even 1/4")". I really would like your opinion - maybe I am being unreasonable. Also, I recognize the investment into equipment that a manufacturer or installer must make in order to be capable and competitive but isn't that all factored into the price of services? Thanks so much for you comments.

I have opened this topic in a separate blog in the kitchen section.

Phil Rhudy Sr.:

Home Depot job? Why didn't you say so? Tell Home Depot your job isn't to MIA specifications and you want a do-over. They'll tell your fabricator to do it again or they'll lose the HD contract.

I've seen this happen. I worked for a fabricator with a HD contract. We had to replace a perfectly fine countertop because a customer complained. My boss wasn't going to endanger a million dollar's worth of work over a single job. HD knew this and he ate it.

Joseph Corlett, LLC - I finally settled this 14 month old issue with Home Depot and M.R. Stone this week - 1 week before an appeals court trial and I accepted a pre-trial compromise of a 50% refund.

Smart.

They did a sloppy job and they should fix it. In one picture I could even see a tile in the backsplash unaligned. That is not acceptable.