Well, you answered your own question. They installed the wrong slab. Tell them time's a-wasting. They need to come get this thing, and install YOUR slab. The one you took a photo of. Please let us know how that conversation goes.

By the way, did you hold up your cabinet door color against the slab in that terribly-lighted warehouse? Upthread, you stated that "It was supposed to be white with gray veining." So, a new slab may or may not solve your issues with the very white cabinets, and the creamy look of the slab. However, in every photo you show, there are shadows and the room, while perhaps seeming very bright when you're in there, definitely isn't photographing very bright. I'm not a pro, so won't speak to that, but maybe you could detail/show your lighting situation, so a pro can give opinions about that aspect.

BTW, you have a picture of the slab you picked. For them to say, " nope, this buggy one was your slab". how can they prove that's the one you picked? they can't. you have the upper hand since you took a picture of that other slab. You not writing your name on the back goes against them too.

Don't let them bully you. they will be eating it, big time, on redoing your countertop so of course they're going to try and get over on you. you'll have to stand your ground on this one.

Yelp and any type of online reviews (IG, FB, whatever) have a lot of power.

As for the off white tone, that's acceptable and is common. you should always take a door w/you when picking slabs, especially whites. if you want a white quartz, you'll have to get a diff one.

I’m just taking photos from my iPhone. It is very bright in the room.

I’m going to contact MSI on Monday when they are open. I was told that the black “bugs” can just happen in quartz. They are at the center of the piece and annoy me so much.

I didn’t hold the cabinets up to the piece in the warehouse, no.

There's no way that could be your slab and the black dots prove exactly that. Ask them to show you the black dots on the slab you took a pic of. I don't see them. Even the veining patterns don't match up from pic to installed piece.

That is what I said too- RE veining patterns.

It was a good idea to take that picture. I’ll learn from your situation. Hope it can be fixed to your satisfaction.

Will removing quartz and reinstalling mess up my brand new cabinets?

loren, no. they might have to break off the new countertop, but they can do it w/o damaging your cabinets. I've done it. they should tarp your cabinet while doing so. make sure you advise them that if they damage your cabinet, they're buying you a new one.

you didn't answer my question. When you viewed that slab you took a picture of, did you say, "I want that slab?" Or did you say, I want this brand of quartz? Did they have you choose a slab? what transpired w/the slab?

I said I want that one and they said they would put my name on it.

So the veining on that slab matches that of your counter. The sink would be just below center ...

Black square is the sink.

Here are the corresponding veins indicated on your slab on your counter:

Could this actually be the next slab over? Sure, the same veins would likely run through a whole section of stone from which they cut slabs.

Where did the black spots come from, though? Well, if it's the next slab over, maybe that slab just had those. If tits the same slab, maybe they were barely subsurface and when it was polished they came through? I'm not a stone or countertop expert, but that seems like it might be possible. Bug 1 is unfortunate, but I suspect anything done to try to fix it would end up worse. Bug 2 looks like part of that vein to me ... if the other one wasn't there, it probably wouldn't bother you.

Or am I confused and this is an engineered stone? I was reading this as a natural stone, since you said that you were told the spots were 'natural in the stone.'

The color is definitely an artifact of your space ... you can even see the variation in appearance in your pictures. The first two look darker, but the third shows a nice creamy tone that goes with the wall above it quite nicely. It's not as white as your cabinets, but it wasn't white at the stone yard either. It was whiter than its neighbors, but still creamy.

If that vanity is the only piece of the slab you used, it's possible they ended up just giving you a remnant from a previously cut slab.

We had a small piece used for a sink in our laundry room.

I said I want that one and they said they would put my name on it.

well, sounds like you have a valid argument then.

If you paid for that whole slab, where is the rest of it? Your countertop may be half of it

they are supposed to give you the left overs. figure out the sq ft of the slab, and then subtract your countertop dimensions from it. You'll find you have quite a bit left over. sounds like they may have done a little 3 card monte on you

that slab is larger than the slab I got and used for my 7X4 island. I had quite a bit left over. your countertop is only 22" deep. another 4" for the backsplash. that's only 26 (i'll be generous), 30" of depth, times the length they used. where's the rest??

"Will removing quartz and reinstalling mess up my brand new cabinets?"

No. The risk is very small.

Look at the difference in your backsplash and your top. Yours is a lighting issue.

The black spots can be drilled and filled inconspicuously. Estone manufacturers allow themselves some contamination as acceptable; they've written it down. Those are small enough to qualify.

Don't mean to hijack your thread Loren. Just hoping Beth will take a look at my dilemma when she gets a minute. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5908454/any-ideas-on-how-to-fix-this#n=0

Another key question: did you ever have a sample of your quartz in the same space with a sample of your flooring? Because I'd say that the quartz is a warm gray/cream while the floor is a very cool gray. Maybe they're just catching different lighting, but I don't think they'll ever make a coherent bath, so you might just get the fabricators to come get their flawed slab and start over with a new one entirely.

I was told I do not get the leftovers and they cannot give me the leftovers. I even asked for the remaining and was told that they are not allowed to give me the remains, that’s why I used a small piece for my laundry room.

Id rather have a completely new piece of quartz that looks nothing like this one. The color is horrible and clashes with everything.

whoa, what? did you pay for an entire slab? lets say the slab price was 2K. You bought it for 2K? It's your slab. Now, if they wanted to tell you, "we only use half a slab for your bathroom counter, therefore, your cost will be 1K", that's fine. But you BOUGHT THE SLAB.

That's how they double dip. they charge you full price for the slab, then put up the leftover as 1/2 slab or remnant, and charge the next person 1K for it. pretty good deal, eh?

Loren, you got ripped. I would be in there or on the phone raising holy hell w/the manager. then I would go on Yelp and write a scathing review. then I would contact MSI and speak to the supervisor and inform him of what's transpiring.

I have bought at least 10 slabs. in every single case I got the left overs, if there were any. they never said, "you can't have them". I paid for the slab, I get the entire slab. period.

That IS a lighting issue. Turn on some lights and see for yourself. Daylight from 20’ isn’t going to give you “good” lighting. The resin pool dots are within the realm of acceptable from all quartz manufacturers.

Drill and fill and it will be fine. It meets industry standards. No one has any guarantees about picking out quartz slabs. Also industry standard.

It may be a state thing. I was told it’s unsafe to give a person the remainder of the slab. And, I supposedly did get a discount...

I promise you guys it is not the lighting and the quartz is an off white. The cabinets, though, are a very bright white.

I do not want anyone drilling and filling anything. I didn’t sign up for that.

following to see how this turns out. I wouldn't accept that counter-top and I would make sure I didn't pay for a full slab and get that small portion!

You mention that the room gets natural light so it’s not a lighting issue but the pic of the slab you show looks like it’s inside, which wouldn’t be natural light. If that’s correct then it definitely wouldn’t look the same. Why don’t you try changing the lighting?

live-wire

No one has any guarantees about picking out quartz slabs. Also industry standard.

Sorry, but I completely disagree with you.

She viewed the entire slab. She picked that slab (in her pic). They told her, OK, we'll put your name on it. Now, I don't where you pick your slabs, but it's not industry standard when you go through a warehouse and view tons of slabs, pick the exact one you want, pay for that one you want, only to have them randomly show up at your home w/ something else .

when I picked my marble slab there were 23 of them. I chose the one I wanted and that's what I got. Why you think it's ok to pick the one you want, pay for the entire thing, and then have them show up with something different, I don't know. But it's not a standard thing. I see slabs w/buyers names on them ALL the time.

Loren, Call around to other Slab warehouses and just ask them over the phone, "if you purchase a slab and there are leftovers after fabricating, are you allowed to keep the rest of it? or if there is any law stating you can't keep what you paid for. have them cite you the city code for that law "

As for being unsafe , why? I have at least 6 remnant slab pieces on the side of my house. it's perfectly safe.

They're feeding you a line of bull.

Beth, you get me!

I will do that. It was the company I went through to buy the slab that told me I can’t have the rest of it for safety reasons. I’ll call around tho.

yeah, that's theft. because what they do is sell your pieces (that were already paid for) to someone else for more money.

Honestly, what this looks like to me, is you got the remnant leftover of someone else. They prob decided that since your countertop wasn't going to take that much, they could use a leftover for you and you'd never know the difference.

Your perfectly good slab is prob still sitting in the warehouse waiting for the next mark to come by and purchase it. They figured you'd never notice.

I'd also be filing a complaint w/the BBB should they refuse to refund you, replace your countertop, AND give you the remainder. Them telling you it's 'unsafe' is ridiculous. They aren't your care keepers.

That slab is not what they gave you. The veining is different. Ask them to show you how the veining on what they gave you matches what you picked. They won't be able to.

Loren, did you pay for the whole slab or how did your fabricator charge? I used a fabricator once (before I knew better) that let me pick slabs but I only paid for the square footage that I actually used of the slab. I didn't get any "extra" but I didn't pay for any extra, either.

Plain and simple, though, you got a remnant and the fabricator is trying to pretend otherwise. His gig's up, though, and he needs to make this right.

I was told I only paid for what I used.

Here’s the whole thing.

Loren, you only paid for what was used? So they told you up front that you were only paying for half of that slab? Can you tell me what the price of the slab was and what you paid for it? and then how much was fabrication/install?

Now I'm confused. you never said you paid for a portion. You said you picked out the slab.

You could have just said that up front rather than saying they told you that you can't keep leftovers

btw, it looks perfectly fine in that picture. I can't even see the dots.

If you want, see if they will fix them for you.

but I still think you got another remnant from some other job.

I was told I only paid for what I used.

That's why you don't get the remnants, then. It's also the reason you got the remnant off slabs they used to do another job. Instead of being stuck with two half slabs (one they already had plus what would be left from yours), they now have one whole slab to offer someone. Or they never actually bought the slab you picked out, which is what I suspect most likely happened.

My experience with natural stone. I purchased through HD, the stone was "on sale, including fab + install" for X per square foot. After viewing and selecting slabs (3) at MSI, I was provided a printout of the slab numbers. When I informed the fabricator the slabs were ready I told him, "There are 3 slabs, total sq footage @ price = $X. My job requires X sq footage. I am willing to pay "full boat" for 3 slabs and I wish to retain any excess material. I do understand that there will be some "waste" in the fabrication process". After a pause, he agreed. By buying 3 slabs, when 2 (multiple seams) would have been "enough", I was saving myself, and him, most of the inherent issues involved in seaming a stone with a lot of movement. Just FYI.

When buying by the square footage alone, there’s no customer ownership of any slabs. Just the finished product. Which is within industry standards. And which is fine. It’s all fine. Much ado about nothing.

well, if she would have said that when asked, we could have saved a lot of time. at no time did she say, " I only paid for what I used".

And I'd still like to know what the price was on that slab, and what she paid "for what she used".

I still don't think she got the slab she picked. And that's not industry standard.

“I was told I do not get the leftovers” . Standard for when buying by the square foot only. And the quartz is not beige, as just a smidgen of extra light shows. Even the resin pools are well within industry standards. Drill and fill would be an extra that no one even requires. It’s just good customer service.

I think live_wire_oak is still missing the point that those black spots do not appear on the slab the OP chose for her counters. The veining doesn't match either. It's not the same slab!

The talk about "industry standards" has no place in this conversation. The OP did NOT get a countertop from the slab SHE CHOSE. Period. End of discussion. "Drill and fill", "industry standards", yadayadayada, is absolutely meaningless right now. And we don't know if the slab is truly beige or not but it certainly looks MORE beige than the slab that was chosen by the OP.

I don’t think that beige is ever going to work. Maybe you can work out a credit and pick something else that will be work with your cool white and grays, sorry. Very painful.

If they were going to use a remnant why not simply show her the remnants in inventory, so she could pick from that? Most reputable slab yards will have a section with remnants that customers can look through.

I've been to the MSI showroom here in LA ... let's just say that I got a feeling that they might not be the most upstanding businessmen out there. Did MSI do the fabricating too?

All the slabs I have used (granite, quartzite, quartz, limestone) have always been bought through a slab yard and fabricated by an independent fabricator hired by me. I pick out the slabs and my fabricator picks them up the next day. No danger of any bait-and-switch.

chispa, exactly. I thought the same thing. why not show her a remnant. because then they can charge her full price for the slab that she things she's getting.

And I agree. I've heard more than one story about MSI's less that stellar rating when it comes to doing business.

I don't know how anyone can make the determination that the chosen slab wasn't used. The veining at the bottom middle of the photo of the slab looks like the veining on the left side in the photo posted just after that one. Of course you don't see the spots in the photo of the slab--it isn't a close-up photo like the countertop ones are. You also can't see the spots in the photo of the counter that is taken further away (but still closer than where the photo of the slab was taken).

I also don't see anywhere that the OP stated that they bought the whole slab. Why would so many people make that unreasonable assumption? In fact, when the OP stated that they weren't allowed to keep the remnants, the logical assumption would be that they didn't actually pay for the whole slab.

All valid points, but the OP saw the slab and her counters and she doesn't think they are the same, so that is all we can go on.

I have learnt over the years that a slab standing on edge at the slab yard can look like a totally different product once installed in a house, so I also understand how OP thought they bought a grey slab and ended up with a beige slab.

I just scanned back through the posts and didn't find any info about the OP having taken her cabinet sample to the stone yard. If she didn't, then that was the first and main mistake.

Chispa, this was up in yesterday's comments

• I didn’t hold the cabinets up to the piece in the warehouse, no.

Thanks Kat. That is too bad that OP didn't check the slab against her other elements or even a 8.5" x 11" piece of white paper. It would have been obvious that the counter wasn't white.

IF you can get the GC to agree that they gave you a different piece of stone and to replace with the slab you picked, you can pretty well guarantee that when you now tell them you want a different color slab they will tell you you to pound sand.

We are getting brand new quartz at no charge to us. Install happening soon. We picked different quartz this time and have all our ducks in a row.

Glad to hear that you're getting something that you'll be happier with.