So directly across from it on the other side, it's filled in?? It almost looks like a crack. Are you sure they didn't break the piece and try to fix it?? Is it supposed to be an actual seam there?? by all means, they should fix it. Call them back and tell them they overlooked it. However, if it wasn't supposed to be a seam, they messed up. Do you have a pic showing the whole thing??

I guess I just assumed that it was a seam -- it is on both sides of the cooktop. The one closest to the wall is glued/sealed, and looks like the seam by our sink. We weren't here when they installed -- we closed on the house in late July and keep finding "little" things like this.

ok. I see now. They didn't do all that bang up of a job on the seaming. They should have used a darker epoxy filler instead of the white. A good fabricator will mix the epoxy with the appropriate colorant to match the stone. Do you have a new homeowners warranty?? Was the kitchen just done before you moved in or did the previous owners have it for awhile? If it's a brand new kitchen, then they should come back and fix it. If it's an older kitchen, then no, you would have to do it yourself. It's not difficult to do.

They should be able to fix the seam so it is barely detectable. It does take someone with more experience. A lot of these companies do not have the expertise to color seams.

Those edges look pretty ragged. My countertops are quartz & my fabricator used a waterjet for cuts. The edges have surgical precision & butt up completely flush so you probably couldn't have seen through even w/o filler. A tract builder probably isn't going to spend money to hire first rate fabricator, but this is unsat & should be fixed. Don't you have 90-day warranty? Things get spilled & splashed around cooktops & you don't want things dripping into that, becoming a bacteria culture & attracting ants, etc.

I have seen this before. It was because the edges were narrow and the people bringing the slab in broke it. Then the tried to "fix" it and didn't do it well. This happens. It can be fixed. You need an experienced person who can fill it, polish it and seal it. You will never know it is there. It might mean pulling the cook top. These cooktops are heavy and those installers might have dropped it in and cracked the stone too. Who knows. Fact is, if you had GC build this house or it is spec, this can and should be repaired. Good luck.

Mommiesink, I don't think that seam is the result of a crack. I pulled your pics into PS to lighten them up. The seam looks intentional where two different pieces of granite were joined, although they may have been from same slab. The grains don't match. If you look betw. your cooktop and bksplsh, the piece on the right looks browner than one on left, and both seams are almost dead-center w/ your cooktop. It needs to be fixed, regardless.

I def agree with Bruce Crawford. This is a result of very poor fabrication. The builder should DEF fix this. And fire their fabricator.

Good looks Bruce. Actually, looks like two different types of granite. Not sure what happened here, just know it needs to be fixed.

Poor stone layout to me. Looks like they cut through an inclusion without seeing where the other piece of rock's pattern would put it. The sloppy seam can be repaired. I could feed my dogs crushed granite and they could poop out a prettier seam job.

That is hilarious! But, so true! Let's face it, there was nothing good done here.

Thank you everyone -- please excuse my ignorance - when you say it should be fixed, what should I be asking them to do? I want to make sure to tell them exactly what I expect should be done, rather than trust them to do the right thing (because, if left on their own, I'm sure they will half-a*s this repair, much like they did when installing!) Do I just ask for them to fill/polish/seal it, or does the granite need to be replaced? Is it possible to fill it at this point? Do they need to take out the cooktop?

yes,,the stove top needs to come out, either way. Are you happy with the granite and the way it looks, overall? I agree w/Bruce about the back part,,,,one side looks completely different from the other side. When they seam pieces, they are supposed try and use pieces that match. This piece should have been one solid cut. When they lay it down on the countertop, they measure where the hole is going for the stove. Then they cut. But in this case, I believe something went wrong.

There shouldn't even be a seam! I have the same set up w/my cook top. It's a solid piece, they cut the hole, and put in the cook top. Now, if when moving it, those narrow ends are very fragile and they crack. That's what looked like what happened. It's almost like one half broke so they tried to match it w/another piece and just seam them together. You get what I mean?? In other words, you should not have a seam there at all. here is what mine looks like. It's one solid piece w/a hole cut in the middle.

2nd pic, back,,looking directly across from the front

so you tell them that this is unacceptable, it doesn't match, the seam is poorly done, and there should be no seam here at all to begin with!. You want a new piece.

I just went to look at the model home, and they have seams in the same places as mine. I did notice that they had a different material on the underside of the granite (it's the same granite as in my kitchen) -- is this typical? Is mine missing this too? Or did they forget to remove it from the model?!

On another, not completely unrelated note, I just noticed that two of the granite pieces used are completely different depth -- I was looking at the seam by my sink, and could feel the difference, then when I looked, could see the difference. This is abnormal as well, correct? Or is some variation ok?

Looking closely at the posted pics it looks like this is a crack and not an intentional seam. Though the back looks like it was filled I suspect this is actual the wall grout when the backsplash tile was being cleaned. The edges are just too rough for an intentional seam. If this is actually a crack then the question that will arise is when did this happen. Was it there when the stone was installed or did it occur after the fact. Depending upon the type of stone there may have been a need for the fabricator to have epoxied a reinforcing rod along the back and front underside of the stone.

Graham

The fiberglass mesh is common with certain stones. It acts to reinforce the slab to make it more crack resistant.

Graham

Now that you have posted that picture showing the different thickness, I suspect that they just grab random pieces of whatever named granite and cut the counters from them. I'm not sure what recourse you have, but it is really a bad job all around.

At a minimum they need to pull the cooktop out and fill the cracks there and polish them. I'd probably request a new counter from one slab though based on the different thicknesses and seam placement.

I guess I'm curious as to why the mesh would be used on the model home, but not on the granite in our home -- it's the same granite. Another oversight? Since the model has seams in the same places as mine, is it possible that they both broke in the same place, or that they are intentional? I've attached pics of the granite/seams in the model home - how do these compare with mine? I had to look really closely to find the seams, but they still look pretty ragged? Or is this just normal? Or a good example of bad handiwork?

Whether intentional or not, if it's the same in the model home then I suspect your only recourse is to have them fix the seam. Unlikely they will replace the slab.

Graham

I really can't answer why they did what they did. Is it possible they both broke? yes. granite is very fragile when it's narrow like that . There isn't any support. (and yes, the mesh helps w/support and stability when moving). When a piece is intentionally cut, it will be smooth, not jagged (like your picture,,,it's not smooth). I really can't answer why they are like this. Like I said, it should be one piece, they cut the hole for the cook top (or sink) and put it back in place. Maybe it broke while doing this and they seamed it back together. Having not seen how the fabricator works, I can't answer it. But I do know that it can be done (because mine has no crack or seam) and you shouldn't have to pay for their poor quality.

If every single cooktop in this tract is like this, then I'd say the fabricators are just trying to rush and get everything done quickly. It takes more time and finesse to cut a hole from the center. I suspect they don't care and just take the fastest route. why don't you call a reputable stoneyard and ask them how they cut for the cooktops? call a few places and see what they say. (don't call the one that did yours!)

Stone is seamed at sinks and cooktops for two reasons. Reason #1 is that it allows for the shortest seam possible, and thus lesschance of a color mismatch from one piece to the next. This is extremely common, and desirable even. Reason #2 is that a big giant water jet cut hole in a counter is almost assured to break during transport. But a large piece with two thinner arms can withstand the transport much better. Being cut with a water jet is a superior fabrication technique. When a hole is cut on site into a solid slab, that is less skill, more dirty, and has sand abrading your cabinets. It is generally a poorer quality fabrication overall.

I would make that first pictured seam nearly disappear with superglue, accelerator, a few flavors of nail polish, and a razor blade in about 5 minutes.

3cm granites are allowed to vary in thickness; you'll have to look up the MIA standards for the particulars. Grinder and a shop vac and I'll fool your eye and finger in half a minute.

Fabricators often use reinforcement rodding to support cooktop and sink cutouts for transportation, but modern tools make that process obsolete and breakage inexcusable.