Did he cut it wrong or is the floor not level?

make him replace it.

Is there going to be some furniture base on the bottom to hide the shim?

I am assuming the blue is a cover on the white gloss panel?

What does he suggest? Find out and then post his "fix" to see if that makes sense.

Get a level and see what is uneven.

The floor is leveled, our tilers did a great job and personally witnessed then redo the backerboards for floor and used a leveling device the whole time they were putting the tiles on. If you look closely the panel wasnt cut straight in the bottom. It is a little crooked where gap shows.

Unfortunately there is no suggestion from this contractor, we decided to stop doing business with this contractor due to many errors and other problems with him. We are thinking we can cover it with a small trim? Another suggested caulking w/gray in bottom to match tile? We are really not sure what to do

A piece of quarter round wood put there to hide the gap...Could use shoe molding also........have to match it all away around also....painted like your island, it may not be noticable.

Yes the blue part is a peel off plastic covering the high gloss white panel

Do you plan on having baseboard around the bottom of the island? If the contractor cut something wrong tell him to figure out how to fix it since it is his job

Linda Monier Designs, although the panel is so expensive $250-275, I agree with you best to start over again w/a new panel unfortunately. My second cheaper option was to cover with a thin trim but it just destroys the look

An $8.00 tube of caulk would look a whole lot better to me than spending $250.00. Shop around and get some color match. Trim the shim so you can get caulk around it completely. Fill the gap, spray the caulk with Windex, and tool it with a straightedge that won't scratch the painted cabinet. Wipe off the excess Windex without touching the caulk. Better yet, do this before you pull the protective plastic. This is no where near eye level. It's certainly worth a shot.

caulk for that large of gap?? I say get a new panel. look at how shredded it is where he did cut it. I suppose you could do something like this, but thats not a modern look.

should look like this, no?

or have your countertop go over the waterfall instead of the panel

I'm trying to picture what the end result should look like. Is there a top that will overhang that side panel? Could you remove the panel, flip it around so that top edge is now the bottom, scribe the bottom to floor and cut to fit. The gap will now be at the top and underneath the overhang and can be covered as JC suggested?

$250 is super cheap in the world of cabinet panels. You could hire another hack 3-4 times to fail at that Ikea junk compared to what products from a real Euro cabinet line would cost.

That's a white panel? Caulk that thing and forget about it. This ain't a countertop.

The countertop is quartz which is already installed as shown on photo. There is no overhang. Side panels are suppose to sit flush w/top quartz counter to make it seamless. Unfortunately we cannot flip the panel - the other side is just plain white vs the front side which is gloss white.

The idea is it is suppose to look similar to this side.

That is so sad! I would consider a piece of base of some kind. Id have to "see" the entire island to make a suggestion as to a style to use.

Sophie is right. just get a new panel and have it cut correctly! why try and hide mistakes w/trim and caulking? it will never look perfect trying to do a cover-up. get the piece scribed to the floor and have one of those machines that can cut the panels cleanly do it. sheesh.

Beth H.:

Because not everyone has $250.00 to throw at a problem that's not nearly at eye level that can be fixed nicely for 8 bucks, that's why. sheesh.

wow Joseph, Sophie says the same thing first, but worse. Two other people also recommend a new panel. But single me out. hmmm. ok. I gotcha. was it because I nixed your caulking idea? sheesh.

and quite frankly, I think the caulking would look like hell. so whatever,,,they can put it on layaway, or make payments on the credit card, or save up for 6 months, but I still think getting a new panel is the best way for this new kitchen.

my opinion, worth price charged.

I too think it is best to get a new panel. It will bother you every time you look at it. Enjoy your beautiful kitchen.

New panel 100%. Caulk will fade and discolor quickly since it will get hit with everything on the floor. It's also a different material than the panel and will never match up correctly. That's one messed up piece of panel. Jeez. If the bottom was a clean cut... I think it wouldn't be that bad, but it's really chopped up! There's some panels, like IKEA, where I will place the clean side of the panel on the floor and there's a little gap, but the reason is to save the panel. Even if I caulked the MDF it still blows up with water over time and that looks a lot worse than a small gap in the floor.

On a non ikea panel... scribe the floor every time!

excellent idea.....was your contractor suggested by IKEA; if so take the problem to IKEA.

Can you post a picture from another angle? Everyone talks about a modern kitchen but in the background I see what looks like partial overlay white shaker doors... if that is the case then I think you could get away with a simple solid stock base trim painted in a gloss white and finish the island that way. Your inspiration photo is the countertop that creates that waterfall edge and that is quite a bit more expensive to do....

Obviously do as everyone has suggested and make sure the island is definitely level before doing anything... I wonder why he cut the panel at all - they usually come in standard sizes . Plus those high gloss panels can be tricky ...

Good luck!

If the rest of the kitchen isn't using high gloss slab cabinet doors, a detail that I missed at first look, then WHY is there a white gloss panel on that island?? Remove it, and do the matte panel meant to match the doors, and then use a baseboard molding color matched to it to finish off the panel. It will look consistent, and the skill level to accomplish that isn't as high.

Debbie W is right, why is that panel being cut? The floor might be level as the OP says, but somthing else could be off. You should figure this out before cutting the next panel. If the panel has to be cut at an angle, the same thing could happen. This contractor probably used a circular saw and failed.

The floor is probably "level" so the tile lays flat, but the actual true level of the floor might be off a little. There's a huge difference between the two.

And I thought the blue was a really nice color and something a little different. Hope you get this fully resolved.

Sorry, but I'm unable to see other than through the lens of cost effectiveness. That's where I make my living. An eight-dollar tube of gloss white caulk goes into $250.00 31.25 times according to my calculator. When viewed in context, that this is at floor level, this is the cliched "no-brainer".

The added benefit is that when the floor is mopped, the panel won't suck up any water and pucker and fail as I've seen so many times.

Attempting to fake a waterfall countertop with laminate is just plain unbelievable. Seriously. If you wanted a waterfall counter, then you should have just had the stone fabricator create one out of the counter material.

I still can't believe the guy cut the panel crooked. Wouldn't that be hard to do? Have you measured the panel in all directions? Just to see--might help you not have the same mistake happen again.

leelee:

The panel needed to be "scribed" in place, meaning it may in fact have to be cut crooked to look right.

Were I replacing this panel without removing the top, I would set the new panel next to the top and shim it to plumb. I'd scribe a line at the floor, cut the panel bottom, set it in place, and check for plumb again. I'd mark the bottom of the top, cut it, and the panel must fit perfectly.

Well how'd that work out? If cutting it crooked was the answer then wouldn't it be right? I guess that was sort of my point...They need to determine if it actually was cut crooked because if it isn't crooked then there's another problem.

My thought would be to create a small base trim the same width as the top counter, in white ..keep the clean line but cheaper than replacing panel...this also sorta matches your cabinet look from what I can tell which have raised borders? I think? If I saw a base on it one inch thick I would think it was designed like that. Good Luck.

Sophie W I appreciate your suggestion. We are aware (and thats what we initially wanted) that we could've done quartz all the way down to the sides of panel but when you are trying to cut costs, then eliminating quartz on the sides of the island which serves no purpose other than for aesthetic purpose is a reasonable way to switch to a a more lesser priced panel and use that money instead toward more important things such as appliances.

We measured all sides from top of counter to floor and they are all 34" tall. Panel was cut w/wrong sizes in each side - left and right. Left measures a little bit more than 34 1/4" vs Right side is 34"

Ignore EVERYONE that suggested caulk. That's a hack's way of covering up poor workmanship. As mentioned by others you want panels that were scribed to the floor but... that ship has sailed unless you ready to replace them and hire a proper professional to do the job. If you've already fired the contractor you could cast about your area and find a professional trim/cabinet guy/gal worth their pay to do it right the first time. Also, the end of the panel that contacts the flooring should be sealed BEFORE installation otherwise over time with repeated floor mopping the panel could swell at the bottom and become quite unsightly. Good luck.

thank you John,,, I got scolded for saying the same.

so mdiannechua. you've heard the options. I really don't know why we are still discussing this. what should have been done, or what you should have spent, is moot.

Get a new panel, or do the trim. either way, get someone who knows what they're doing.

Am I missing something? Why not just a wooden island with the countertop flush against the edge? High gloss white paint. Durable and certainly not $250 for material per side. Can look very modern.