YOu are way over reacting. All counters get shimmed. No cabinets are as level as the counter. It's normal. What isn't normal is that the shims shouldn't be moving. That just means it needs a bigger shim to replace a too small one.

This isn't a Dekton problem -- it's an installation problem. Shims are normal, but you shouldn't be aware of them in the finished product.

The only answer: You've gotta get the installer out there again.

Shimming it what is done when cabinets are not level so who did the cabinets? I have done many kitchens and believe me you start with level cabinets .

agree... it's the cabinet installation. You level cabinets from the base/floor, not adjust at the countertop.

Yup…the contractor shimmed my cabinets at the floor, before the soapstone counters were installed.

The gap in the 2nd photo is large. Don’t pay the final 10% until the install is complete and correct as that is your only leverage. A quality contractor would be out to look at your issue first.

Thanks everyone. I agree. We asked the cabinet company and their subcontracted countertop installers to come out and take a look at the install, but they refused and demanded the final 10% payment immediately--even going as far as to threaten a lien on our property without coming out to assess.

It sounds as though neither your cabinet company nor countertop installers are particularly ethical. If they're threatening a lien, you need to start documenting every request and response in writing.

Our cabinets were always leveled with shims at the base, not above. Also, with a level even cabinet surface, our countertops were installed atop a plywood top that sits above the cabinets. None of this seems to have occurred. Where did you find your installers?

The countertop installers from Victory Stone have a great reputation here on PEI. We're so disappointed about how they've handled our concerns and refused to come to look at the problem, insisting that we make the final payment to the design & cabinet company first.

Do not pay them. Send a certified letter telling them you are not satisfied with the end result and ask them to make it right to receive their final payment. If they will not take them to small claims court.

"You need to go back to the cabinet maker and installer for this one. The countertops did not suddenly make the tops of the cabinets not line up."

No, when you install tops, you're blessing the cabinet installation as if you'd done it yourself. If the cabinets are too far out when you arrive, you reschedule or bear the risk of not doing so.

At least they shimmed; Dekton and other sintereds are very fussy about flatnesss.

If you'd like to never hear from anyone again, pay the balance now.

I would not make the last payment before this issue is resolved. Once you make that payment, you lose all leverage.

I've never heard of a contractor with a "great reputation" refusing to come look at the issue until the last payment owed to the design & cabinet company is paid first. Is Victory Stone part of the design & cabinet company?

Not part of the cabinet company, just subcontracted by them.

The unfortunate part is as Joseph states, the top installer should not have installed the tops. They want to be paid because their work is technically finished. The GC needed to step in and stop the tops from being installed until the cabinets were leveled properly.

The cabs required shimming underneath when they ere installed. Imptoprt cab install. The top was improperly installed because the cabs were unevenly installed.

To correct remove the counter. reinstall the cabs level and reinstall the counter. And as you go forward be ready to deal with edge chips.