Granite installation-DId not polish edges

10 years ago

We just had granite installed in our kitchen by a pre-fab company. What a mistake that was!!! First....We paid for the bullnose to be turned into Ogee and the 7" backsplash to be rounded over. They said that was not a problem. They came and installed it and we realized that both the backsplash and Ogee edge had not been polished. Literally you can see a line where the polish stops on the rounded edge of the backsplash!!!! It's not as noticeable on the Ogee edge but you can definitely see the dullness and feel on the underside where the polish stops.
The other huge issue is on the installation of the bay window. We have a small bay window that steps down onto the countertop. Instead of laying flush onto the counter there is a gap of about 1/4"!!! When the installer left he put a huge bead of silicon in the gap. It looked absolutely ridiculous!! So my husband scraped it out and the installer came back and put some epoxy (that we helped match to the color of the granite). I guess we would have lived with this but then the polishing issue came up. They are wanting to come back and polish all the eges (about 20ft of backsplash edge and 30ft of Ogee edge). From what I have been told there is no way to polish that much once it's been installed. So.....we will not be paying them the remaining 50% we owe and I want to have them come and get their granite and refund me the 50% deposit we made and try over with a custom granite company.
Can anyone please tell me their thoughts on this and whether or not the edges can be polished and if they would be able to salvage any of the pieces to resale.
I have pics of the backsplash to but I'm not sure how to add more than 1 picture??

Featured Answer

sjhockeyfan325

10 years ago

Well, homeowners insurance won't cover that claim but I agree that you should keep your money, give them a chance to fix it, and see what happens - after all you went with the "low bid" in the first place.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

cjrand
Original Author
10 years ago
Here is another picture. You can see the line where the polish stops and also the white caulking on top (which I think looks ridiculous and the clear silicon used in the crack where the backsplach meets the countertop
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
10 years ago
You have an obligation to give them a chance to make it right.

Granite edge profiles can be polished on site. I'd recommend the 3 step dry pads from Braxton Bragg.
Related Professionals
Clute Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · United States Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · West Virginia Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · South Barrington Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · University City Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Centerville Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Channahon Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Cocoa Beach Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Key Biscayne Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Los Alamitos Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Patterson Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Dover Cabinets & Cabinetry · Fort Lauderdale Cabinets & Cabinetry · Palisades Park Cabinets & Cabinetry · Channahon Tile and Stone Contractors
mark_rachel
10 years ago
It can be polished after install. They had to polish my corner after install and it looks perfect. That white caulk looks awful. I would make them change that as well.
User
10 years ago
Pretty typical of low bid bandit prefabbers in my experience. They abound in my area. Anyone with an angle grinder and an A frame on a trailer can buy pre fab blanks and call themselves "fabricators".

A real fabricator is usually twice the price because he actually has a shop to work out of instead a shed and a garden hose. And a real fabricator pays his workers a living wage because they are craftsmen, not some poor guy with no papers who isn't even paid minimum wage or offered safety glasses and hearing protection.

Even though they probably don't have the skills to make it right, you do need to allow them to try. If they screw it up worse by dry polishing in your home and ruining your drawer glides, then you may need to get your homeownes insurance involved for a claim.-
PRO
Granite City Services
10 years ago
Hollysprings made a very good point.

A "real" fabricator has at least several hundred thousand dollars worth of stone finishing machinery (a milion dollars or more would not be uncommon). Real fabricator also have skilled craftsmen that measure, fabricate, and install custom work every day.

WE see "prefab" going into hotels for vanity tops and mini-bars all the time. Those finished parts are delivered to the job site for less than I can buy the material. of course the finish quality is very marginal and since those prefab parts are usually installed by the general contractors crew the installation is awful. (I am regularly astounded by the horrible work I see in hotels.)

Granted I am biased but IMHO prefab for residential is just throwing away money.
ardcp
10 years ago
what is a prefab granite installer?
cjrand, in hindsight what advice do you have to avoid someone like this? i will be looking at granite or quartz in the near future and am pretty clueless about countertops
PRO
Granite City Services
10 years ago
prefab granite is parts made to standard dimensions and then cut to fit; typically manufactured in China or India. The edge finish quality is poor and sink cutouts are drop-in since the prefab installers lack the equipment and/or expertise to execute an undermount sink cutout.

A "real" fabricator works with the client to select slabs of an appropriate material, measures the job, fabricates the pieces for the job, and then installs the custom made pieces.