Oh this is resin pooling? It has a different feel/finish on it though.

The plot thickens. I have a picture of the slab that I actually took from when the layout was done. There was plastic shrinkwrap on it so I couldn't see all the detail, BUT on close inspection, there actually looks like a white mark on it where there is now this dark spot. Seems like the fabricator made a repair and didn't tell me? Would this be standard practice with Cambria quartz installs?

Please take pictures in better (daylight) lighting and that show the difference in texture.

Here's a really good pic with a light shined right on it. There also appears to be a faint scratch coming off of it.

"Seems like the fabricator made a repair and didn't tell me?"

Apparently.

"Would this be standard practice with Cambria quartz installs?"

Yes, with all engineered stone installations. I've done it myself. Fix it, shut up, and hope you don't get caught. I broke this estone sink rail, fixed it, and no one is the wiser:

If they would have gotten their color match better, or better yet used two colors for fill, you probably wouldn't have found it. The finish match is excellent. It's not a big deal to drill it and do over, but you are never going to "unsee" it. A potential homebuyer's inspector would probably never find it and that seems a fair criteria by which to judge.

It was resin pooling and they could have hung their hat on that.

Ugh. It’s going right under a pendant spotlight so it’s going to be pretty obvious. If I saw it within 5 minutes of the installers leaving, a home inspector notating this defect is actually quite a possibility.

A home inspector poring over a countertop? Not likely - at least not in my experience. If there's a chunk of something missing or the countertop is in overall terrible shape yes -- but they don't get into small defects like this. If you're not happy you're not happy, but I wouldn't worry about a home inspector -- they're not even going to be looking.

A home inspector is not interested in the counter tops in my experience and to be honest that is not what I want them inspecting. I agree this could have been done better and I would see what can be done to make it less visible but be careful what you ask for it could look worse.

I’m not happy with being sold a damaged product at full price without being told. If there was an issue with the slab they are selling me they need to tell me. I would have asked to avoid the area in templating. The way I see it I bought a product from an authorized retailer (of Cambria) who delivered it to me damaged and refurbished and tried to hide that fact. These counters were $18k and from a reputable and highly rated fabricator so I’m just shocked by the lack of transparency. They s add slo damaged a drawer front severely and showed it to me at the end saying “I asked my guys and none of them think it was us”. Well I used that drawer about 30m before they showed up...

This is why I don't like Cambria. I have seen too many times color blotches and they say that is normal for the product. No thank you.

Your situation is quite different. After hearing from our experts here, would you be willing to negotiate a discount?

You have proof that is hard for them to deny.

You are absolutely right to want a brand new product.

I have a repair that was done in my granite that I didn't notice until a few months in. It's on the edge so not as noticeable like yours. but one day I was just being particularly diligent about wipe down the counter.

Can you but a fruit bowl on that spot?

I’ll probably see what they say then also ask Cambria for a remediation if necessary. This wasn’t an installation issue. It’s a finishing issue and these slabs are sold with a factory finish which I paid for and did not receive from their dealer.

I would not accept that especially when it's a different texture, obviously something happened they tried to cover up. Those who are brushing it off or saying "it's just resin" would definitely not be happy if this was their stone in their kitchen. We have a relatively inexpensive quartz and it's perfect no marks like that. Tell the fabricator to replace and if they don't, have cambria come out to replace.

Thanks for the input, all!

My contractor looked it over and agrees with me that it looks like an epoxy fill with a finish that has not been buffed to match what is around it. There is a very faint scratch coming off of it so you can kind of see where something (probably) hit the slab and caused a divot which was repaired and not well. I will have Cambria look at it and determine what it is if the fabricator says this was not their repair. Will keep you posted. I absolutely thought it was resin pooling at first but the way these slabs are finished makes it impossible for a resin pool to have a different sheen than the surface around it.

Aaron:

When a fabricator cuts a sheet he owns it. Cambria's attitude is "We make it; it's up to you to gauge the sophistication and fussiness level of your customer." Cambria may give your fabricator a free slab, but he's eating the removal, fabrication, and replacement.

It was a white resin pool. It looked out of place to the fabricator so he took a shot at filling it before you objected. He didn't do it well enough and lost.

I've removed hot pot marks from engineered stone. You grind out the particulates made white from the heat and fill them with color matched methacrylate. The methacrylate polishes much faster than the estone; so much faster that you have to knock the shine off the replacement particulates. When your filler is removed and done over, the shine is easy to match.

That’s an interesting assumption. I’ll keep an open mind and usually do assume best intentions.

I just found 2 more chips. One has a little crack in it. I guess what I need to know is am I being ridiculous to ask these at least be fixed properly. Seems to me they didn’t QC their work before leaving and I just need them to make some good repairs.

The crack is from too much catalyst in the filler. He was in a hurry, got his quick kick, but the fill continued to cure after he scrapped it flush and cracked.

So is this “normal” for a top tier (top 10% of quality, also price) fabricator to 1) damage the slab during fabrication and install enough to warrant repairs and 2) leave these kinds of issues post install?

Reading reviews and these forums it just seems to me like they’ve been careless with the merchandise. I’ve been in several high end rentals lately and looked at the renovations including the counters and while I have spotted poor seams, etc, I haven’t noticed surfscevchips snd cracks in the face of the quartz. I also had a large custom vanity prefabbed from MSI quartz and shipped to me for install and there were zero dings or fills (at least they I can find with the same level of effort)

I’m thinking I should be paying a lot less for a rush job where things are damaged then for a careful fab and install at top dollar

If what I should expect is simply they repair any damage and that is standard for a great install then I can understand and focus on that. I.e. if they redo it am I likely to just see the same issues... because my expectations are too high or am I being a prima donna asking for a discount?

I had nothing like that on my slabs. The finish was actually perfect. I am a bit of a perfectionist, I know, but still, I don't think those are acceptable. But that's just me.

Fabricator’s owner came came out. Told me this is normal and that there are repairs basically every time. Initially he said the slab came that way. He did not offer the following info up until I showed him the pic of the slab prior to templating. Then he said what actually happened is the installers noticed the larger divot post install and did a field repair which they did not mention to me. He said while they can change the color, I’m not going to get a better finish. They claim fixing the smaller chips is “not possible” due to their small size. They claim the slab came with all of these issues from Cambria and they would never mar the surface of a stone. They suggested I contact Cambria and take it up with them but also opened the door to some type of discount or redo if that’s really what I want but he was pretty aggressive and made me feel like I was being unreasonable to complain at all.

It will get a better finish. A little MB 20 on a rag by hand and it will be fine. Easy to make it more shiny than the estone.

If chips are too small to repair, 1/4 of a match head or so, you enlarge them first. Geesh, I should start charging for this.

Finally got my faucet repair pics to post ^.

You should. Hopefully I don’t have to DIY it. Cambria is sending their own tech on Friday who I hope will be able to make swift work of it. My contractor who I trust was none too impressed with the fabricator’s attitude, multiple changes in story as to what happened, and belief that it could not be repaired better than what was delivered to me.

Joseph - you keep saying resin pools but what I have are chipped slabs and a large filled divot. Fabricator did not try to correct a resin pool, they said they installed the slab and then noticed a defect which was a divot in the surface and attempted a field repair post install. They claim the slabs came with all these chips and there is no repair that will create a consistent finish, and that all this is normal. I'm getting some conflicting opinions from this board for sure.

These chips are not near any fabricated areas (not on miters or edges). These are between 4” and 2 feet from the edges of the counters depending on the chip in visible work areas of the counter. I really don't expect things to be perfect, but when mistakes happen I want to be given a straight and accurate answer as to what is normal and what I can expect to be done about it. I'm sure it will be worked out though between Cambria and the fabricator. I'm pretty over it at this point. Like a new car - the first scratch is always the most painful. I just would have liked to be responsible for it!

Here's how this ended up after Cambria's tech came and re-repaired it. I think it looks much better as a white pool vs a gray chunk and the finish is much better matched. However my wife now says it looks like someone used white-out on our counter! I think I need to get her to accept it but would like to know what folks think of this repair now.

Honestly? On your farther away view I can't even tell where it is without really, really looking and trying to find it using your close-ups as a map. IT'S FINE.

That's an excellent repair. He two-toned it, just as I suggested earlier. Color matches couldn't be better.

Move on. I can't see it in the farther back one either.

😀

It's an excellent repair. With all the little white spottiness in that pattern, it fits right in. Call it done.