Software
Houzz Logo Print
noah_tye22

Help us decide on our countertop seam placement

4 months ago


We have a long L countertop (114" one leg, 166" the other leg), to be made from natural stone (quartzite) slabs (107"×72"). We're having trouble figuring out where to put the seams. I think the cleanest is probably to run the seams under the sink and cooktop, but my wife thinks that's ugly, so I'm looking for alternatives.


Our stone slabs are Super White Quartzite, they're a light textured gray with no large patterns or veins to speak of.


Any ideas??

Comments (11)

  • 4 months ago
    last modified: 4 months ago

    The most common choice, is B…down the middle of the sink, and cooktop. The seams will be the least noticeable there.

    Look how small the split seams are, in front of and in back of the sink and the cooktop. Compare those to the long seams in the other scenarios. No one will notice the tiny seams down the middle of the sink and cooktop. Not so, for the large seams in the visible areas of the countertop.

  • PRO
    4 months ago

    Were I your fabricator, you'd be getting "B". If you're really looking for seam minimization, get an apron front sink.

  • 4 months ago

    @Joseph Corlett, LLC ah, I confess until reading your comment I did not understand why anyone would want an apron front sink. Thanks!

  • 4 months ago

    Set up an inspection at the fabricator's shop before the material comes to your home. Ask for very clean sharp cuts up front. Quartzite uses up expensive diamond cutting tools the most. Cuts with worn tools create chipped edges that some guys try to fill to hide. Ask about seam seal matching.

  • 4 months ago

    B is the logical choice. Why would you go for anything else?

    Why is your sink shoved all the way into the corner? Not the best layout.

    I have a 48" opening for my main sink, with the seam going though the sink.


  • PRO
    4 months ago

    I agree B and that is always the best placement of seams but the layout of the sink is poor in B

  • PRO
    4 months ago

    Noah:

    I'm curious as to how you and your wife got the notion that seam placement was your decision. I could see a fabricator giving a customer a choice between two nearly equal alternatives, but to give them 8 seems a dereliction of duty.


    Before I retired, my customers always got what, where, when, and why. I always kept how and who and I decided which was which. Seam placement is "how" in my book. This was nonnegotiable. As in "Here's your deposit back" nonnegotiable. It is your money and home, but my name is on that job. I don't care how much you pay or insist, I'm not doing any work which I'm not proud to have my name on. My name isn't going on a giant ugly diagonal material wasting corner miter seam under any circumstances.


    When your femur is broken, you don't get to debate with your surgeon as to whether he'll use titanium or stainless steel to pin your bones back together. It's his call. Alone. Same thing here.



  • 4 months ago

    This range of choices might come into play when the stone has a lot of movement and grain or other wide variations in color and tone areas. It doesn't seem like this is a problem here.

  • 4 months ago
    last modified: 4 months ago

    Whichever you choose (for me it would be B, but with the sink moved to the left away from the corner), make sure you see and agree to the template / plan before any cuts are made.

    That quartzite looks beautiful and I can see why you like it. Be sure to do a bit of research on this forum regarding white quartzites and staining (like this or these) You might want to ask your fabricator about how they prevent staining. Do they seal the edges? How do they prevent moisture and silicone bleed?

  • PRO
    4 months ago

    Fix that darn layout before it's literally set in stone. It's just not good.

  • 4 months ago

    B.