Need serious advice please

16 days ago

We just had all of our kitchen granite replaced. We also had our two-tier bar leveled to one to make our island the focal point of the room and have seating there. We purchased 3 slabs, 2 of which were bookmatch pieces. We asked our contractor multiple times to see the layout of where the pieces would go before install and never received them. Now we're left with weird noticeable seams in almost all locations which fine it is what it is, but what we're mainly upset about the island seam. There's also a small crack in the island. Looking for unbiased opinions instead of hearing what our contractor keeps saying now 'it's natural stone blah blah blah'- this was the main reason we picked the slabs and why we asked to see the layout before cutting. I get it, nothing can be perfect with natural stone, but to me it just looks like they were rushing through the job and didn't really try to hide the seams and wanted to keep as much leftover granite as possible. What would you do?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

dan1888
16 days ago
last modified: 16 days ago
The aesthetics of the kind of finish you wanted, with the movement of the stone you chose, it takes a lot of careful layout work to accomplish. This layout work needs to be done when you select the slabs. Everything could be photographed and the cuts and seams locked in before the slabs are accepted. Mark off the photos. Cut them up and piece them together. Go over this with the fabricator. Set up the requirement of an examination and sign off at different stages. Especially before it leaves his shop. And before you pay for the work. You didn't do that. Yer. You can begin again. You may find it's not possible to get the stone you like to blend together at the seams and joints in your kitchen. Then you make a different choice for part or all of the project.
PRO
Minardi
16 days ago
3 slabs is not enough when you want a bookmatched island and bookmatched splash. You would need a minimum of an extra slab for that. The island seam is obviously not bookmatched, and it may have been because of the limited amount of materials available. That's obviously conjecture, but stone IS a natural material, with lots of color variations. And that is why the side splash on the full height splash is not better matched. They had limited material to work with, and a full height side splash is a very odd choice.
Related Professionals
Clinton General Contractors · Jamestown General Contractors · North New Hyde Park General Contractors · Clute Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Wesley Chapel Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Feasterville Trevose Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Elk Grove Village Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Cottage Grove General Contractors · Leominster General Contractors · Shorewood General Contractors · Pico Rivera Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Rochester Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Trenton Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Forest Hills Cabinets & Cabinetry · West Freehold Cabinets & Cabinetry
Kristen MI
Original Author
16 days ago
@Minardi Oh no, we didn't ask for a bookmatched splash. The island was the focal point and most important of the project. We asked to see layouts of where the cuts would be and never got anything. We matched up all the pieces and there should be 3/4 of a slab left from this project- not enough to fix any of it now though.