Overall view of the island- hate to rip this out, due to the crack on the corner....

Yeah I know. I was floored when the employee told me how it cracked during fabrication! To think that anyone would want a cracked counter top installed is insane. The thing is- he was recommended by Neolith and is one of their approved fabricators. I looked him up online and he had stellar reviews. I’m just sick to my stomache over this. But like you said- I don’t think there is an easy fix to all of this. Sadly, ripping them out seems to be the only option.

Unlike Corian, you can't fix this stuff inconspicuously. It's a do-over.

I think if they were willing to give me a LARGE discount I would live with it. For me though the discount would have to be 30%-50% of the cost for the island piece.

See if that is an option and what they offer. If it's some piddly amount then make them re-do it on their dime.

If your fabricator wants to keep his "stellar reviews", he's going to be eating some Neolith.

Agree! Trust me- I’ll be writing a long review when this is said and done. To knowingly install an island with a cracked corner shows the true integrity of this fabricator.

Yeah- I can’t live with that crack. It’s so visible and that’s the corner that faces the fridge which will be a higher use area. Not only is it unsightly, I worry if the glued in piece will fall out in time, or further cracks can develop...

so what did he say? either he gives you a huge discount, or he redoes it.

He’s going to remove both pieces & replace them. I’m just trying to wrap my head around how he can actually get the island off, without damaging the cabinets. They have to saw off one edge to get into the space- to get it off. And they use water with the saw, which apparently a worker will be fully enclosed in plastic doing the work. The whole thing is one giant nightmare fraught with the potential to damage the cabinets, scratch the existing counters that aren’t damaged & cause damage to the painted island which can’t be disassembled.

This is one of those *fingers crossed*, it all works out in the end.

This is the result of our installers latest attempt to redo the slab bottom left that the put in upside down (Neolith does have a pattern ) then when the prized it off the wall and flipped it realized that it was cut wrong to begin with. A word of warning , these morons love to say epoxy covers all their screw ups. Also the okd Formica days they screwed the plywood backing board in from the bottom so it was relatively easy to remove , not so any more at last I’m our case the ply is screwed dow from the top and muddled over, will never come off without ruining the cabinets.

This was a cut they tried to install with epoxy while I wasn’t looking since it faced the stove they probably thought I would miss it. The resulting attempts to do over the two bad slabs have been little short of a disaster. I’m now at the stafe stage where I’m giving up and calling a lawyer I’ve taken so much time off work dealing with their blatant bs and mistakes!!! Nice looking product but requires skilled fabricators and patient installers neither of which are common apparently.

I meant mudded over above

Wishing luck Waterchic that this all goes well.

following...

Update: the fabricator returned and both pieces were safely removed without having to cut the edge trims off. Using + those nifty suction cups, the Neolith countertops came up. Today is install day...

Glad they came off okay, good luck with the new install!

Everything is done. For anyone following this thread, here is what I have learned from this experience:

1) You have to make things right- even when things are installed incorrectly (no matter how painful that is). It’s the right thing to do vs getting a discount. No one wants a cracked island. And these counter tops should endure the test of time.

2) Inspect the slabs while they are still in your fabricators truck (I did do this- but apparently not as carefully as I should have). My fabricator had a giant blue sticker on top of the slabs, so I couldn’t see the crack on the corner. In hindsight, inspect the slabs again once they are sitting on the saw horses before being moved to the island.

3) Don’t be afraid to contact Neolith. If you used an approved Neolith installer, they don’t want to lose their reputation, referrals and good standing with Neolith.

4) Mistakes do happen on jobs. Yes- the fabricator did something disingenuous. But ultimately he made it right. I think he has learned a valuable lesson here: it’s just not worth trying to pull the wool over clients eyes. You need to do quality work or you won’t be in business long (and certainly won’t be an approved Neolith installer).

5) wrap your island in foam. Don’t let them wrap it in ram board- it will scratch the paint finish (I don’t care what anyone says- it’s cardboard and it does scratch).

6) remove all cabinet door fronts prior to them returning to remove any faulty countertops. A little bit of foresight reduces the amount of potential damages that could occur to your kitchen.

waterchick,,so glad you got it resolved. it's a gorgeous countertop. lets home conod get's theirs resolved as well.

Glad it worked out for you waterchick but my issues seem far from over , waiting for a call to see the owner of the fabrication shop. The Neolith distributor here just “me tops” the fabricator (and why not they want to sell to them). I’m on third or 4th attempt to get this right (including once where a 6 ft backsplace was installed upside down and was removed again just before thankfully it set, when it was flipped round the pattern was off by an inch and a half so another recut. So this is where a good and bad fabricator make all the difference I.e if you have a backsplash of Neolith you must have a good fabricator to lay it out or it WILL be a disaster. Other gripes I have are installers should use wet saws to do any final work, ours do not (they are a sister company if not owner by the shop that sells the stuff) and it’s obvious enough from the attempts to notch things out why they are wrong to use dry saws. All the holes for faucet are chipped ( but that’s fine it all gets covered up by your faucets). The truth I believe is that cutting this stuff dry will maybe one day lead to fractures, but they don’t care. Every step of contacting these people is painful since they want you to feel like your being too fussy , glue and calking will cover those “inevitable” things that occur. The reality is lack of experience and a so what if you have to take another 1/2 day off work attitude while we botch another attempt....

sorry for the rant but be darn careful who fabricated and installs this stuff , they seem to treat it just like porcelain tile and it’s so much a different beast !!!

Since June, nothing that releases silica, such as Neolith, engineered stone, granite, or marble, can be cut or abraded dry anywhere by an employee covered by OSHA. If the owner wants to kill himself, fine by the government.

" You need to do quality work or you won’t be in business long (and certainly won’t be an approved Neolith installer)."

waterchick:

Obviously you haven't spent much time on Houzz, or you'd know your statement is false.

Lol- Yeah there’s plenty of idiots still in business...here @ houzz or beyond. It baffles me how many people can stay in business despite negative reviews. I stand by my comments though. If Neolith keeps getting negative feedback from customers about one of their fabricators, you would THINK they would disassociate themselves from said fabricator. But logic doesn’t always prevail.

The biggest problem with Neolith in the US is the fabricators; they appear to be totally clueless. This is a product that has been used successfully in Europe for years, but its roll-out in the US has been fraught with nightmare installations by less than competent fabricators. I think the US distributors have been very lax about certifying/training the fabricators. This product won't last long in the US if this problem is not resolved quickly.

Anglophillia:

I agree, but what compounds the problem is Neolith corporate's unwillingness to account for their incompetent fabricators. When your guys screw up, you have to pay for them. Instead, Neolith lets the customers twist in the wind along with the brand in a short-sighted effort to save money.

You're right, Joseph. The US distributors are not backing up the customer and coming down on the fabricators. They clearly do not do enough training/supervising these people. It appears to be a US problem, but the World Headquarters needs to be aware that in the US, things are not going well with their distributors and the fabricators. In the end, the buck stops with them. And they are not stepping up to the plate on all these problems (and there are LOTS of problems!).

The Size is conspicuous in his absence here. Shameful.