The tech that came out to my house " templated " with a laser and a laptop. It came out perfectly. Kitchen and 3 bathrooms.

Two guys came to template ours. I was home when they arrived but left before they got started. As perfect as our 3 countertops came out, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't use a laser & laptop, too b/c our fabricator uses a waterjet. If they did, the shop probably downloaded off the laptop data straight into the waterjet's control panel.

The benefit of a laser template is the compatibility with the automated machinery used to manufacture the tops. The two together follow walls and measures to a 1/32" (assuming the cnc tooling is measured daily) , also the technician never has to come to the shop to deliver his templates he just sends them in right from the clients house by email. the downfall is its vey easy to make a mistake nothing is physically in your hands. The physical template is beneficial because you lay down your plastic set your over hang scribe the wall, that plastic is what your top will be so you see any problems in comparison with the cabinets right off and not on install of the stone. The less appealing side of a physical template is the added labour of returning it to the shop and then having to scan it to have it digitized into a dfx. file for the automated machinery. The smaller operations will lay these right out on a slab and cut around. In the case of this thread automated operations or not both fabricators should always lay down the templates on the tops and make any minor adjustments before it leaves the shop. This was obviously not done in this case, or they had so many problems during fabrication that they and no more stone left to trim and tweak the top and they decided to flip a coin and install it anyways.

This is all such good information. This is the only time I have ever bought a countertop and apparently it more complicated than I thought it would/should be. We are now waiting for the owner to call us back. We left a message yesterday.

Amy, hard to imagine an inanimate object w/ no moving parts could be complicated, huh?

We received an email today about replacing our countertops. I'm not sure if they would do the whole thing or try to just do the peninsula piece. I don't think they could match it up though, they are telling us to go to a different stone yard than where we got the first slab. We will need to clarify.

They are probably going to use a different fabricator.

Just because I am not clear on this--the fabricator is the person who cuts it, right? The place where I bought it does the cutting there, they have a small selection of slabs onsite and you can see where they do the cutting...

So ipso facto my previous remark.

I finally had a chance to look at the slabs online from the stone yard they are sending us to. Two out of three bundles have a notation that there might be a quality issue with this item, and none of them look quite like the one I have now. Is it reasonable to request to look at a different granite?

Amy, given circumstances, I think so.

Oh brother, these people have no honor. It should be their responsibility to seek out a replacement slab for you and like should be replaced with like.

It's possible that there are more slabs at the yard than they show online. And, sometimes they can order from larger suppliers. However, since each granite slab is unique, you'll never find a match quite like your "first love."

Certainly you should see the slab in person, not just on line. And to match appropriately they will probably need to replace it all. Plus they should have the ability to find other slabs for you other than what's on their lot.

This is actually a larger supplier...I think it's larger than the one I got the original slab from. It's at least 45 minutes away. One of the reasons I went to the granite place I went to was because they did have slabs onsite which is 8 minutes from my house. I have three young kids and I just didn't have time to drive all over the place...and I still don't. I was at least trying to scope things out before making the drive. I'm at the point though where I just want to get this done, so I don't want to waste any time driving around looking at things.

Always good to remember!

I just had new Quartz countertops put in last week and they had to take the very large slab in and out of my home 6x to get it perfect to butt up to my new cabinets, Idk what u paid but mine was $4,000 That's a lot of money!!! If your not happy, and I wouldn't be judging from the photos u posted, I would be calling them back to fix it!

Oh, Amy, I'm a retired teacher who often watches my grandkids or other children when moms need to do things that it's not convenient to take the kids. Wish you lived near Dayton, Ohio or I knew you as I'd be happy to sit while your scoped out the slabs. But, as another said, it will be worth your time in the end if you're happy with the end result. And, it will make a great story for at least a few years! LOL!

Thank you chefmo :). You are too sweet. The good news is that is looks like this is getting resolved. I will update when things happen. Thank you all for your advice and help.

I finally went to the granite supplier today. There isn't a silver cloud quite like the one I have so I looked at other things. I found something I liked, but the slab was too small to put my counters on in one slab. I will have to keep looking. But I was wondering...what if I pick something that is a lower price group than what I originally picked? Would that change the quote? Would I ask for the price to be adjusted? My fabricator has been vague about pricing all along but I have done enough shopping around that I know that certain stones are generally base level pricing. I understand the fabricator is not thrilled about redoing this job; I am not thrilled about the idea of paying several hundred dollars more for a lower level granite. I don't mind the lower level granite itself, just the paying a lot more for it, on top of all the other hassle involved with this. What is reasonable for a situation like this? It seems like it would easier to have them rip it out and give me my money back and start over with another business, but I'm not sure if that is possible.

Amy, the way it's shaping up, it appears you're never going to get what you paid for w/ this guy. If you can get your money back, or at least most of it, I'd start over so you can have what you really want.

I agree with Bruce. Get your money back and find a new supplier.

Thank you for the advice...I'm going to email the saleslady and clarify with her what I'm supposed to look for...there aren't that many stones that come in a large enough slab for my counters to fit on one slab. I guess it was just luck that we didn't have to deal with two slabs the first time...again the vagueness on the pricing; she mentioned that it would have been more expensive if it took two slabs.

I asked her if I could pick out any quartz, since they have that in their showroom. After she stopped laughing, I pointed out that they did carry the MSI Q Quartz, which is a budget line. She looked up something and gave me a few choices of those, but not the full line of colors that are typically available from other suppliers in the lower price groups (again, having shopped around enough to have an idea).

Does anyone know anything about the Q Quartz? I was a little leery of it b/c it is so much cheaper than the big brands (but still not cheap), but I would find it to be an acceptable alternative at this point.

Just a thought, Amy - a new modern look is to use 2 complementary slabs if one countertop is separated from the others. Since you saw a granite that you liked at the one dealer but it was too small to do the entire kitchen, is there another piece that would look good with it? Look up kitchen counters right here on Houzz and see if you see some ideas along those lines that you would like.

The saleslady laughed? The way you wrote, ". . . After she stopped laughing, . . ." makes it sound rather cynical and disrespectful. It sounds as if she has no genuine interest in making you happy, and she's just trying to escape a problem she considers a nuisance the cheapest way she can.

Chefmo--unfortunately I have a U shape, all connected, so two different stones would look kind of funny.

Bruce--unfortunately I don't even know what to think...

I stopped in the showroom this morning to further discuss the slab I put on hold yesterday and the sales lady was very apologetic. She said that if it really came down to needing two slabs she would talk to the owner. She said she was surprised I wasn't picking the same stone, but I said I didn't like the ones I saw as much. She said that they want to get this resolved and make sure that we are happy. We shall see. To be continued...

Seems like your dogged persistence has brought about a change in her attitude!

The owner of the company plus a legit measure tech came out today to get the data they needed. No excuses from them this time. Clearly decent capability is there, as they used a laser to detect the bows in the wall and pass that into the tablet. After that, some manual overrides took place to operationalize the projections into workpieces that could be lowered into place in the real world. Adjustments we made in the process to ensure even overhangs on all sides. The tape measure came out ONCE. They're going to email the plan before it goes into the CAD and the fabrication workflow. Clearly this team is starting off with some effort this time.

Yeah! But this has sure taken a long time - I can't even begin to know how trying this whole thing has been. You and Amy must be saints! Hope when it's all done (correctly!) you'll post a few pictures of the finished product! Have a good weekend.

Thanks! And thank you again to everyone for your input. I'll post something after the counters are in and the cabinets are painted...I'm on my last set of doors so hopefully it won't be too long. The counter installation is scheduled for this coming Friday.

Amy, you and Raymond have been troopers! Hope your kitchen is everything you've dreamed of and you and your family will enjoy every moment using it!

Thanks, this is really actually keeping things in perspective for me...the only reason we could justify new counters was so that I could have the seating on the counter so the kids could sit there while I'm in the kitchen. The almond Formica was in great shape...I would have gone with laminate again but with the new overhang they could only manage a seam right by the sink and I didn't want that (in laminate). I'm looking forward to it being done though! Way too much thinking being spent on this.

We got our new counters this morning...the install went smoother. They still had to cut in the house which I wasn't happy about but the overall measuring and installation is satisfactory. The new question I have is...is Azul platino granite supposed to have pits all over? All of the shiny specks are little pits; I can stick my finger in almost every speck of the shiny pieces. Is that normal?

I have seen some granite have pits but its usually filled so u don't notice it can you show a picture?

I'll try to get a picture, I tried before but it is hard to see.

I have black pearl in my kitchen & blue pearl in my bath. Both have micro indents in some of the sparkle specks. The stone people I talked to said it was normal in many slabs. I made sure The company sealed the granite in both places and have had no problems.

Ouch. Oh dear. It looks like some patches are going to have to occur or we are doing this all over again.

Hopefully a stone professional will pop in to see how this can be dealt with - in home.

Wow! Not even close to what I have - mine are like a few pin pricks.

Oh my, Amy. Do you feel like you are living under a cloud w/these counters?

Please, may we see a full picture of countertop? I'm so happy it is finally resolved.

Chefmo--maybe I only have micro indents and this is normal? They aren't huge craters. They aren't hugely visible unless you feel them and then look for them. It is a zoomed picture--I don't want to be over dramatic or a big complainer. I just don't want to be stuck with something that isn't right...everything I read on Azul platino never mentioned pitting. Usually what I found was that it had a low absorbption rate and should be very durable. I really don't want this to be a problem, I want to move on and finish the kitchen! Haha I've got to get started on my mudroom...

And for the record it fits right this time! I won't get into how they cut into my wall or still cut granite in the house...but here's an in progress picture of the kitchen:

I didn't mean to get two threads going, but after I posted on this one I started a new bc I thought maybe no one would check this (but you are all too kind). Here is the other thread:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/azul-platino-granite-and-pits-dsvw-vd~4230228

It's natural stone and some has natural pits. Don't want pits? Get estone, sintered or Corian.

Joseph--apparently the jokes on me...our last slab was as smooth as glass.. I thought that's how granite was supposed to be.

Thank you for all your responses.

Amy, doesn't it make you wonder, if they knew how to do it, why didn't they bring the guy with the laser the first time? It's so hard to trust any company.

I think the new counters look beautiful.

Ironically the guy who knew how to use the laser was having eye surgery so that is why they sent another person.

Thank you for the compliment, I think they are beautiful too! It just reminds me of a jagged fingernail when I wipe it or touch it.

I had Blue Pearl in my master bath and it had no pits. It was as smooth as glass. I would be concerned about crumbs of food getting in the pits.

Amy have u spoke with the countertop company?

Not yet--I am still drafting an email. I am trying to see if maybe it won't seem so bad after I am using it--on a daily basis maybe I'm not going to be inspecting it so closely? Maybe I'll get used to that jagged feeling when I wipe them? That plus I am afraid that they will say it's my own fault for picking out the slab...unfortunately the large number of sparkles that I found appealing are the cause of the pits...and I don't remember them looking like pits when I viewed it but then again I wasn't looking for it so I can't say for sure.

Plus my 7 year son is excited that we have a piece of rock from the Carboniferous era in our house...