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eric99_gw

Serious Help!!! Can granite be 'unsealed'?

eric99
15 years ago

Hi there,

I just had granite installed yesterday (Sun) which turned out to be a disaster (long story) and I watched the installer use "Liquid Nails" as the adhesive between the plywood and stone (Uba Tuba).

Anyway, shortly after install, I noticed large dark circles forming in the same spots as the liquid nail adhesive was squirted out of the caulking gun. It appears that the liquid nails may have stained from under the granite and seeped to the surface.

When I first saw it, I thought it was just moisture that would go away once the adhesive dried out but it's been over 24 hours and the spots are still there.

I'm having the installer come back out tomorrow to see if there is anything they can do, but I'm not holding my breath with them providing any solution.

Assuming they don't fix it, is there any product that strips away granite seal so that it can be more uniformly "stained" on purpose? Then once it looks okay, re-seal and be happy?

Thanks for any advice.

Best regards,

eric

Comments (39)

  • eagle100
    15 years ago

    Question, have they been paid? Don't want to be too blunt, but that is first and foremost here. Glad he's going to come and see, that is a good sign.

  • eric99
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Hi Eaglemom,

    Thanks for the reply, yes unfortunately the job is fully paid for and in cash, so I'm pretty much at their mercy at this point. When the installer left, the spots had not shown up yet. It wasn't until about an hour after he left that they started to appear.

    I'm just hoping there's a solution that does not involve ripping up the granite and making an even bigger mess of the situation.

    Regards,

    eric

  • vrjames
    15 years ago

    eric,

    you have a bigger problem.

    Any good fabricator knows not to use "Liquid Nails" as it is a petroleum based product. The stains are permanant.

    Since it is obvious you do not have a good fabricator and I assume you do not want to tear it out and start over.
    I will hope our old friend Kevin might see this and have a solution for you.

    Good luck

  • ccoombs1
    15 years ago

    Oh man...that is REALLY bad. I sure hope they are willing to tear the granite out and start over. I think it's probably ruined.

  • danielle00
    15 years ago

    I'm sorry that happened to you. I'd be aggressive with them. If they do not come back and fix it (sounds like it needs to be replaced), deal with the BBB, your county's consumer services division, or even the home improvement commission. You are not at their mercy even though you've paid them.

  • nutbunch
    15 years ago

    There is a liquid nail product for granite & marble. Did they not use this one? Do you have a canister of the one they used?

    It seems if the stains are coming through they must not have and they need to buy you more granite & plywood and start over.

    Was your granite a slab, or a prefab ubatuba?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Liquid Nail Marble

  • jejvtr
    15 years ago

    I'm wondering about the effects of liquid nails on food!

    Sounds bad ....... Please have them take this out - I don't even know how you would properly get the liquid nails off the base plywood to prevent that happening with new stone

    Good luck!

  • eric99
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks for all of you that replied. I fear all of you are correct but IÂm praying that the fabricator (can I even call him that?) used Liquid Nails - Marble and Granite, which the website claims doesnÂt stain. All I could see in the caulking gun was "Liquid Nails", so IÂm not too sure exactly what he used.

    ItÂs been about 36 hrs since install and I can still see the circles but they look like theyÂve improved just slightly. I really canÂt imagine this outfit going out and installing the wrong product like that under everybodyÂs countertops. You would think they would have figured out theyÂre using the wrong product by now.

    Nutbunch, I donÂt have the canister of what they used, IÂm hoping it was the Liquid Nails for Granite. It was two 9 foot prefab UbaTuba pieces already pre-sealed.

    WeÂll see what they say when they come out today. IÂll update later.

    Thanks again for all the replies. Great forum!

    -Eric

  • nutbunch
    15 years ago

    Hopefully it'll all work out.

    I heard that the prefab slabs are a little less thick than 2cm slabs. Maybe it's just that.

    Good luck!!!!

  • sprengle1
    15 years ago

    How did it work out for you, eric99?

  • eagle100
    15 years ago

    I've have a family emergency and just was able to get back on line here. I too was wondering what happened?

  • bill_vincent
    15 years ago

    Just one correction to what I've read so far. The stain is SEMI permanent. it WILL dry out in time. By "in time", I mean by the end of the year. As for sealer on the Ubatuba, it's not necessary. If they sealed it and you didn't see the stone haze up afterward, it's because they wiped all the sealer right back off. Ubatuba's too dense a stone to take a sealer, and therefore shouldn't be sealed.

  • HammerMom
    10 years ago

    I was about to post a new post until I finally came across this from a google search....

    had granite installed Sept. 9 - immediately noticed many circular spots and automatically figured it was the moisture from the adhesive, but did confirm with the installer and they agreed. In fact, they recommended not to seal until they evaporated. Most of the spots did dry up within a week....however, there are still 3. I touched in with the installer this week and asked if they had any suggestions - they didn't offer any (in fact, they basically said they'd just come out and seal anyway - I said no) I then asked if applying heat (like from a work light) and they said to try, or even a hair dryer. I'm just wondering if anyone has tried heat to eliminate the glue spots? Any other thoughts or suggestions? Meanwhile, how concerned should I be about grease/oil splatters on the unsealed granite? I wipe down regularly with soapy dawn water...but I am noticing some darkening adjacent to the stove. Thanks in advance for any replies!

  • PRO
    Granite City Services
    10 years ago

    you can use a blow dryer or heat lamp to dry the stone; just make sure it doesn't get the stone hot to the touch as you could end up cracking it. warm to the touch is fine and that will help.

    Only a total bonehead would use a petroleum based product to set granite. we had a incident once where 2 kitchen sink tops and 4 vanity tops were all oil stained from plumbers putty that a rookie plumbers assistant stuffed into all the faucet holes. Somewhat miraculously we got all the stains out with with a polutice so that might also be worth a try

  • HammerMom
    10 years ago

    Thanks oldryder. Will try the heat and hope that's all it takes!

  • kitchenbacksplash
    10 years ago

    We are using Caesarstone in our kitchen. ItâÂÂs better than granite. We have to not seal it each year.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen backsplash

  • Buehl
    10 years ago

    OldRyder - what poultice did you use to remove the plumbers putty stains?

  • Buehl
    10 years ago

    I assume you used the "OIL BASE STAINS" poultice...am I correct?

  • PRO
    Granite City Services
    10 years ago

    yes, oil base stain

  • karen_ohio
    10 years ago

    I just had Blue Pearl installed and I forgot to tell them I did not want it sealed; however, it came sealed from the fabricator because the 15 year sealer box on the work order had a big circle on it. Guess I will have to see how it looks when it gets some use.

    Karen

  • nancylouise5me
    10 years ago

    I was wondering the same thing as some others...why did you purchase a pre-sealed slab of Uba Tuba. It does not need sealing. Sealing mares the finish. I have had my U.B. for over 15+ years. Never been sealed and they still look great. Once you take care of the spot problem have the "fabricator" remove the seal. NancyLouise

  • threeapples
    10 years ago

    Order some DuPont oil stain remover and try that. It's the only thing to get the glue from painters tape that out tile installer put on the perimeter of our marble and limestone floors off. This tape was left on for months and nothing else has removed the glue that seeped deep into the stains.

    Good luck.

  • Chrissie333
    9 years ago

    This is mine 2 days after install. I was told it is perfectly normal and the spots will go away on their own??

  • MelPen33
    7 years ago

    So what happened with the spots? Mine did the same thing and I'm REALLY nervous the spots won't go away!

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    7 years ago

    Granite only needs to be siliconed at the front edge if a backsplash is installed. Where do these guys think this stuff is going to go?

  • sunkissedout
    7 years ago

    Can someone please send an update on the status of their granite or marble that had this issue? I just had my marble installed yesterday and have this same issue. I am wondering if it did in fact go away on its own. Thanks so much!

  • sunkissedout
    7 years ago

    Since no one else updated, I thought I should. My super white cararra marble was stained for several days after they used liquid nails despite my request that the marble not be glued down in the first place. There is NO need to. Each day the stains were lighter and today they are nearly completely gone. Only one spot seems to be super stubborn and the rest are very faint. I did not use anything, I just let nature take its course and it managed to evaporate. I really lucked out. I hope you all do not have to go through this as well.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    7 years ago

    "There is NO need to."


    That depends. If you have backsplash capturing the top, maybe, but I wouldn't want any upward pressure on one of my tops especially near a seam or plumbing.

  • mlb88
    7 years ago


    We had granite counters installed last Sat. Here is how it looks 4 days later. The are insisting the used a water based adhesive. The Svc tech came out Mon to look at it. (Prior to that we held a hairdryer to an isolated spot for 50 mins - no change) He pulled up a smaller section removed the existing adhesive and applied what he said was their "standard". 24 hours later and there were NO marks from the "new" adhesive. We've been given every excuse from weather conditions (Laugh) we live in AZ sunny and dry!, new vs older caulking, the color we chose, etc. I find this unacceptable. First they said it would take a couple days - be patient it will dry out...then it became a week... now it's several weeks. Meanwhile our remodeling is held up because we refuse to install plumbing for sink/new dishwasher until this is resolved. It's been an absolute nightmare!! I feel confident they used the wrong adhesive. Otherwise why did they pull up the section of counter and add new - indicating the same result would happen....low and behold it DID NOT!

  • Crystal McColley
    7 years ago

    Help what happened to everyone's granite? Ours looks absolutely awful! And the installer claims it happens to everyone's and it dries out in 3-4 days. He insists he used water based adhesive and this is normal.... it doesn't look normal to me! Please respond!


  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    7 years ago

    This is like being pregnant. He is either completely right or completely wrong. Sounds like he's seen it before, so I'd give him a week or two. I'd only put a customer through this once, then never again.

  • Crystal McColley
    7 years ago

    Joseph do you know what a good water proof sealant for my granite is? That won't stain it

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    7 years ago

    I prefer Tenax Proseal and get it from DeFusco Industrial Supply.

  • Jessica Anderson
    6 years ago

    Crystal, what happened with your granite? Did it dry out? How long did it take? We have the same thing that just happened with our granite install.

  • Crystal McColley
    6 years ago


    Here's a pic now

  • Jessica Anderson
    6 years ago

    Thanks for the response! Yeah, some of ours are starting to fade but I can tell it will take awhile for a few of them to dry out. Definitely a little stressful though! I think it's just that the pre-fabricated granite we got is a lot thinner than the normal granite, and we got a lighter color too so it made the wet spots really stand out.

  • Crystal McColley
    6 years ago

    No problem on the response! I wanted to pos a pic because when I was going through it it was super stressful and I just wanted someone to respond in their previous post and let me know the outcome! Hopefully this will ease other people's minds! Best of luck to you!!! I think you're right that the lighter color granite shows it more. Who knows maybe it happens to the dark granite too and you just don't see it.

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