I can't really see the crack you're referring to in the pic of the top of the counter. At casual glance the corner area looks okay, but maybe the pic is just making it look ok. Can you take a closer-up picture or at least circle the area?

But that second pic -- ouch! That is a badly done joins, and the color of the adhesive makes it even more apparent.

Unfortunately, you paid in full, so I'm not sure what your recourse is. I hope others with more knowledge in this area will chime in.

Thanks for the feedback. I feel a bit better that it's not so obvious at first glance. I've added a cropped photo of the corner that may give a better idea of the finish.

A waterfall is supposed to look like the same material/pattern flowing over the edge.

Yours looks like two different slabs butted together, and the joint is not done very well.

All those scratches also makes me suspect that you don't have quartzite ... more likely a marble/dolomite.

Did you test with a glass tile? Glass tile will not scratch a real quartzite.

Did you test with some lemon? Lemon will not etch a real quartzite.

Your fabricator lack skill and pride.

I agree about the scratches and the corner looks like it was repaired.

"I've added a cropped photo of the corner that may give a better idea of the finish."

Now I can it see. Yea, it's bad.

That would be a no go for me

I had an installer chip and make a repair to the edge of a marble countertop in a bathroom. He didn’t mention it and I didn’t notice it at the time, the repair looked good.
Fast forward several years later, and whatever he covered it with to hide it is long gone, and I have a hideous beige repair on the corner of a beautiful slab of light blue marble. He did the same thing in my daughters’ bathroom, do not accept that.

Thanks for all the feedback. It didn't occur to me that it may not be real quartzite. It is a reputable supplier and I just trusted them. I'll test with glass and lemon to check. The original stone was polished and I wanted it honed. They are trying to tell me the scratches are an acceptable part of the honing process. Surely this can't be right? They put the same honed stone elsewhere in the house and it's not scratched at all

The issues you've shown would not be acceptable to me.

I saw the repair immediately. It does not look like a natural fissure.

The mitered edge not only has the wrong color used - it also should have been done in a manner that continues the top slab to the mitered piece (or waterfall - I don't know if there was just a mitered edge added to make the slab look thicker - or if you have an actual waterfall down the side of your island.) Your fabricator has used a portion of the slab that does not work with the top of the countertop at all.

Now - if the fabricator told you that you needed to purchase an additional slab in order to have the mitered edges done so that they look correct, and you declined to purchase the additional slab = the fabricator had no choice but to use non-matching leftover pieces.

NO - visible scratches are not an acceptable part of the honing process! If the fabricator couldn't hone the slab without causing these types of scratches, he/she/they shouldn't have agreed to do it. PERIOD.

The type of scratches shown in your photo are not the type of "scratches" that are part of the honing process

The matte look of a honed slab comes from millions of tiny, uniform microscopic abrasions. These are part of the finish and are not visible as individual scratches or damage.

If a slab is poorly honed by hand on-site or by a fabricator that doesn't have the required proper machinery, it can result in patchy or blotchy scuff marks that look like accidental damage.

Now, if you had a contract that contained the following provision, I would have a different opinion:

Customer has requested that the selected polished quartzite slab (#________ - hereinafter referred to as the "Slab") be honed by Fabricator prior to installation. Customer acknowledges that he/she/they are aware that the honing process may result in visible individual scratches ("Visible Scratches") on the face of the Slab (in addition to the uniform microscopic abrasions that are part of a honed finish), and hereby agrees that the presence of any such resulting Visible Scratches shall not be an acceptable reason for Customer to refuse installation of the Slab.

I drafted the above provision very quickly - I just wanted to show they type of provision that would be required in order for the fabricator to force you to accept the scratched slab. Of course, you wouldn't have had the slab honed - OR would have found a different fabricator who could either (i) properly hone a quartzite slab, or (ii) purchase an already honed slab from a distributer.

It is rarely a good idea to have a fabricator hone or polish a whole slab in their shop. They just don't have the proper equipment. The stone quarries have industrial equipment that is designed for honing or polishing large slabs, so it is better to buy a slab that already comes with the surface finish you want.

Hi. That is not something normal to have any broken stone or scratched on the surface for that matter. With that being a quartzite it will be a challenge to address those scratches as the stine is very hard and only a skilled profesiinal can do the job right. Not just a fabricator.

Thanks so much for all the feedback everyone. In relation to questions and comments; The piece was added as a true waterfall (see photo I have just added). I ordered a number of slabs as I have the same stone in other areas around the house so the quantity should not have been a problem. All the other areas were also honed and have no scratches on the surface. Why did this piece, which was the most important area of the house, end up with scratches? I have been to their factory and it is huge with many machines being used for fabrication. They've been around for 50 years. It would be nice if they were honest with me rather than giving me false excuses. I am organising for the owner to come to the site for an assessment. I want to be able to have an informed discussion with them in relation to all the issues, however it's hard to know what is acceptable and what is not. The contract has 28 terms and conditions all with a number of sub categories. At no point does it state that scratching may occur or is acceptable if the product is honed in the factory. I'm not sure if they can fix these problems but I'm also doubtful that they will replace the whole island install with non damaged stone and a cleaner installed product

They deserve a chance to make the repair more inconspicuous. The scratches are unacceptable. They want this to go away as badly as you do, believe me.

Thanks Guys for all the feedback and advice. Let's see how I go with meeting the fabricators/installers

Lowest cost fabricator searched for, with COM. It’ll get blamed on the COM. Because there is no accountability to 3rd party anything.

The fabricator supplied the stone and installed the stone, so from start to finish they have been accountable. There is no third party involvement. I used a reputable company that's been around for 50 years so I expected a much better result than what I ended up with