Yikes, bbstx. I am so sorry this is happening. I have never redone a kitchen but I can tell you that I would not accept that. At the least, I would have this run replaced. And that is only if you find a slab that is acceptable to you. If not, replace it all. You should be happy with it and I think you'll regret not having it fixed to your liking.

Good luck.

I can understand your frustration. I agree with Mamorella. I think it depends on how much you want to put yourself through. It sounds like it would be more work to just find a slab for the one run that would match your other two counters than to replace it all from one new slab. I know how tired of it all you must be at this point, but I would hate looking at that every day. It's their mistake, not yours and it sounds like the builder is backing you up. BTW I've had seamed granite and if done right, it hardly shows.

I would make them rip it out and replace it. If you are like me, and it sounds like you are, every single time you walk into your kitchen, the seam will be glaringly apparent. You are spending too much to have that disappointment every day.

I would not allow that. Not only does it look unpleasant for you every day, but it reduces the value of the granite countertops. When we were looking at houses to buy, there was one house with granite that had terrible seams and we noticed it and it was a deterrent because we wondered what else was done shoddily. If you can't find one that matches, they'll have to replace them all.

Here is a close up of the seam in my granite for comparison. And your seam should have been easier because it doesn't look like your granite is as busy:

This post was edited by beaglesdoitbetter on Tue, Mar 18, 14 at 22:12

We only have one seam in our granite, and you have to hunt to see it. I don't think you'll be happy with what you have. Our installers had to do our island 3 times, because they kept goofing up. I felt bad, but it was their mistake and they made it right with no complaining.

Wow, beagles, that is some gorgeous granite. I think I can see the seam, but I'm not really sure.

This is my 3rd house with granite. This is the first one I've had this kind of problem with.

After consideration and listening to the voices of this community and DH, I believe that the minimum necessary is to change out all of the granite to the right of the range. I'm told it can be done in one piece with no seams at all (then why wasn't it before?).

So, now the question becomes, how do I assure that the one run of granite is sufficiently similar to what we have that it won't look odd? While replacing all the granite is a possibility, I don't want to do that unless it is absolutely necessary. I'm angry, but I'm not punitive.

Just sent an email to the fabricator, GC, and construction supervisor telling them the seam is unacceptable and the entire run will need to be replaced. And, if it can't be matched with stone so similar no one can tell, then all of the kitchen countertops will have to be replaced. Done!

I'm sorry you're going through this. That would bother me. I agree with everyone here and I think you should send an email like Bbstx said.

Remember there's a difference between being picky and expecting/wanting things done correctly.

This post was edited by sheesharee on Wed, Mar 19, 14 at 1:23

I agree with Mamorella. I live in Houston and there are just huge warehouses full of gorgeous granite. Some of course more expensive than others. I would not accept a seam like that.

That's not a seam, it's a crevasse that he filled with gunk. How can he not be able to tell you the type of resin? Did he just find it in a blank container in the middle of the street? I'd be worried about later staining and discoloration.

I know you don't want to be "that" customer but that seam is a big mistake.

You absolutely did the right thing asking for a redo....that was unacceptable....you're spending way too much money for it not to be perfect.

Dee is right--- that is not a "seam" within the meaning of the act. They should replace the entire run and if that does not match the rest of your kitchen they should replace that as well.

I think the markup on granite is be incredibly high to cover mistakes such as this. The owner of the granite company is being disingenuous about the filler material.

I agree, that's not a seam it looks like a grout line. I hope you get it all worked out.

bbstx, great email. I know this will get resolved. Don't settle!!

GC was at my house before I got out of the shower this morning (thank goodness, DH was still home!). He is committed to making me happy. He has agreed that this is not something he wants his name on and it will be replaced.

there is barely any difference between the before pics and the after pics!! i wouldn't be happy with that either, tho it looks better than some of the jagged edge seam pics i've seen!! :)

if your granite co is anything like ours, they will be insistent that the granite is a close enough match or will suggest you replace everything without you even requesting it... the co we've used is very concerned about their reputation in the large community it serves and makes sure their customers are happy.

Definitely not acceptable. I WAS in tears when my granite was badly mismatched. The seam was almost perfect but the colors were so off that it was totally unacceptable. Unless the granite comes from the same run it most likely will be impossible to match and they will end up having to replace the whole kit and caboodle.

To me, that looked more like a wide grout line in tile than any sort of a seam. Replacing it certainly seems like the correct way to go and I'm sorry that you've had so much trouble with it. Please keep us updated on your situation.

I honestly felt my blood pressure rising as I was studying your pics:)

The GC and granite fabricator have agreed that the correct thing is to replace the entire run of countertop to the right of my range. I have slabs 1, 2, and 3 out of a lot. The granite guy thought he could get #4 for the re-do. It turned out to be #5. I looked at it today and it is a match!

I will have to recant all of the harsh things I've said about them. They are being very nice about correcting the problem. I feel badly that a small business man like the fabricator is having to take it on the chin, but he is being quite cheerful about getting it right.

Here is the new countertop and its seam. The seam shows up much more in the photo than in real life. When DH and I returned Saturday evening (we were gone the week while they made the repair), we thought it was one solid slab. It wasn't until Sunday morning when we went over it with a fine tooth comb, that we discovered the seam.
I'm glad the builder and the granite fabricator stepped up to the plate and repaired the problem.

Very nice result and outstanding seam! You must have had one big sigh of relief!

Took me a while to find it. So glad it worked out.

Looks great!! So glad you got it fixed.

yay!

What's sad is that there are people who would have lived with the "old" seam and not known that it was unacceptable !

forboystoo, you are so right. It takes a toll on me to stand my ground, but it would have been a bigger toll, and a daily one, to look at the crummy seam they originally did.

Obviously, they are capable of doing a much better seam than they originally did. Do they have so little pride in their work that they were willing to let it go? Do they not have some level of ethics that says someone who has paid for a product deserves to get the best product they can deliver? Climbing down off my soap box before I start talking about the moral decay of granite fabricators...

Thank goodness you did not let it slide. It looks great now, before looked DIY.

You are right, THEY should have pointed it out to you and offered to fix it or give you a huge discount.

Sorry the joy of reno includes so many similar stories!