We got our kitchen completely redone last summer. Despite interviewing several contractors and getting several bids, we ended up with a not-so-good company that was really hard to work with. To make a looong story short, they mismeasured the space and ordered the wrong-sized cabinets, so we had to wait an additional 4 weeks to get our kitchen finished (after having waited another 4 weeks before that).

By the time the cabinets were finally installed, we were desperate to get our kitchen finished. We had been so stressed and aggrevated that we didn't realize the importance of the countertop layout. The fabricator came to measure and said that there had to be a seam somewhere because of the dimensions.

The kitchen has an L-shaped section that is 6'x8'. He said it would be too risky to try to transport the L in one piece, so it had to be cut. I assumed that it would be the same whole piece cut in two and that the seam would simply join the one piece made into two, so there would be continuity in the patterns.

I had just strarted a new job so I couldn't go to the fabricator to see what sections would be put where. My wife went but she and I didn't discuss the seam issue. I guess we were not aware of its importance when you are taking pieces from different slabs and joining them, which is what they ended up doing. I think the fabricator was pretty bad at communicating with us, as they could have alerted us that they had to use peices from two slabs instead of one long piece from the same slab cut in two.

I believe my wife approved what they did and didn't question the seam issue, out of not realizing what it would look like. Again, the fabricator should have at least warned her. She was more concerned with picking a nice piece for the island, which she did. In truth, the countertops do look very nice nice but when I saw the seam I didn't like it al all, especially because I didn't expect it to look the way it does. It' obvious when you get close to it, but not so much from a few feet away. Still, I wasn't happy.

After I email a photo to the fabricator and asked why they picked pieces from two different slabs, I didn't hear from them. I could have pursued it with the remoding company that basically hired the fabricator on our behalf, but then other issues emerged and basically let the issue go. If the answer was that the slab was not large enough to make the L one piece and then cutting it, then I guess we had no choice. I still don't know if that's true but I feel it would be a losing battle to blame them for the issue since my wife went there and approved the layout.

I have read many horror stories and seen much worse seams, but I wonder if my seam is bad enough to justify a redone, which at this point no doubt we would have to pay for in full.

I think redoing the tops is risky because they are glued to the cabinets, so the cabinets might get damaged. Also, the sink would have to be uninstalled.

In short, I am trying to live with it but I thought at least I can tell the story and educate other people about this issue so they are more aware of the risks and issues you face when you have to have a seam in your countertops.

Please let me know what your thoughts.