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beachcomber000

What to do about quartzite counter

Beachcomber000
10 years ago

I'm just wonder what you guys might think or do about this. We're just finishing up a kitchen remodel. Our quartzite counters were recently installed. We think our counters are beautiful, and are happy with our choice of quartzite - Taj Mahal. The problem is that there is a place on the counter where two pieces meet that are different colors. It's not as obvious in bright daylight, but if the kitchen lights are on, this is what we see.

This picture was taken with my iPhone (didn't see how to upload more than one), and I'm hoping for some opinions here.

Thank you!

Comments (11)

  • andreak100
    10 years ago

    I'm not an expert, so maybe one of them will weigh in here for you, but in my layman's eye, while it's unfortunate that the colors are off, from the photo, the seam seems to be good - tight, level, etc. I understand that it's not nice having the colors a bit different, but the stone is what it is and if there was a seam necessary, the company probably did what they could to match it up as well as possible.

    In some cases, doing a bookmatched seam (two slabs that shared the same top surface at one point) makes sense if it's a seam that's in a highly noticeable place like an island...bookmatching will keep you closest to the color, although you wind up with grain and veining running opposite then, so to me bookmatching is best done when it's centered in a run, particularly an island.

  • Bunny
    10 years ago

    I see the seam before I notice that the two sides are different shades. Could the seam be redone in a lighter color?

  • Gracie
    10 years ago

    Agree with Linelle. Can't tell anything from an iPhone pic, but the seam looks more obvious than it should.

  • PRO
    Granite City Services
    10 years ago

    The seam looks well done to me. re: the color match; depending on the available square footage in the slabs and how much was used for your countertops it's quite possible that no better option was available without purchasing an additional slab.

    In my own experience I have actually had a customer insist I used material from a different slab due to a slight color variation when the piece in question came out of the exact same slab as the rest of the tops.

    The best way to avoid this kind of situation is for the fabricator to review the layout of the parts on the slab(s) prior to cutting.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    10 years ago

    Beachcomber000:

    Please lay a straightedge across the seam; it should not rock or show a dip. If the pieces are not on plane, they will reflect light differently. It's a longshot, but maybe.

  • Beachcomber000
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you all for your responses. I appreciate your input and knowledge. My apologies for not acknowledging them sooner - as dealing with this saddens me.

    The iPhone may not take great pictures, but this pretty much shows what the counter looks like to the naked eye -- actually the right side looks a bit bluer in person. IâÂÂve pulled our camera out of storage and may post another photo after IâÂÂve uploaded more pics.

    When I asked our contractor about the counter, his answer was that this was the stone that we picked out. It was frustrating to hear that answer since we had asked him for his help or the fabricator's help several times while looking for stone. I asked him questions about what to look out for, etc., and he gave us one answer - and no other information -- and that was to just pick out what we like. I researched the subject as much as I could on the internet and talked with people in the business. Somehow, we missed the importance of bookend slabs.

    Andreak100, IâÂÂm pretty sure that our slabs were not in sequence or bookend. We originally had three slabs picked out that were numbered in sequence, but they were 3 centimeters thick. We were told by our contractor that they would be problematic for us -- as far as getting the desired height for our counters as we wanted our counters a little higher than normal -- so we went to another showroom and found these.

    Two slabs were used for our kitchen, although we had a third one held in case it was needed. I embrace the fact that stone is not perfect, but the meeting of the two pieces goes beyond that and the place where the two pieces meet is in a pretty visible location.

    When the stone was first installed, I was surprised to see how noticeable the seam was. This stone has a beautiful soft white coloration that seems to float above the other colors. I think I would have gone with something closer to that for a filler before the darker color.

    Oldryder, IâÂÂm pretty sure that our fabricator did a layout of the parts on the slab, but he did not mention to us, prior to installation or after, that there was a problem with the pieces matching.

    Trebruchet, I laid a level across the seam and then I put the level on each side of the seam with the end of the level at the line and there was no difference from one side to the other.

    I was told by someone in the business that both the coloration and seam were unacceptable; thus my posting here.

  • Vertise
    10 years ago

    "When I asked our contractor about the counter, his answer was that this was the stone that we picked out. "

    This is the typical blow off response from someone who is not very educated or experienced at something, or who is trying to pull something over on you. Natural variations are expected, but as Oldryder noted above, a good professional would have done a layout approval and discussed the issue and options prior to cutting any stone. They are your guides, so should have advised. So your GC will not be helpful with this, as he writes it off as your choice in stone. Have you talked with the fabricator yet?

    The seam is what I noticed when opening the thread. It looks wide and rough to me and too dark. The right side does look darker and grayer as if in shadow, so not a good match that anyone would notice and be disappointed with. Can you go look at the other two slabs to see if they might work better?

  • bookworm4321
    10 years ago

    When I saw your picture, I thought you had pyrex cutting board on right side, on top of the taj mahal. (I have 2 clear cutting boards, and keep 1 by sink and 1 by stove, as I still don't trust cutting or putting hot things on my quartzite.)

    Then I wondered if light was reflecting differently, as one side more polished. Is this a possibility?

  • NewEnglandgal
    10 years ago

    The right side definitely has a blue hue to it and I agree the seam should be much lighter.
    My granite that was installed years ago had a bad seam and a couple other things we didn't like and we didn't say anything.Now we are pulling it up. I wish we had complained and made them change it.
    I would find out from the fabricator what happened here. Can they use anything from the third slab they were holding for a better match? Even though you know not all stone will always be a perfect match, the coloring is off and noticeable to the naked eye. Don't settle for it. Find out what they can do to fix it. I'm sorry this has happened to you.

  • Vertise
    10 years ago

    Yes it does look like a piece of glass sitting on top of the right side of a counter. I wasn't sure what I was looking at when I first opened the thread.