OMG, I'm so sorry. What a mess. Hopefully they will respond and can make it right.

Insist that they bring the sink cut-out from the replacement top. Lay a towel on the island, place the sink cut-out on it and make sure the stones match. Do this in sunlight first and reserve approval until you see it at night too.

Hehehe...it's so bad it laudable...

Don't you hate when that happens ...

I'm so sorry you are going through this. It's good that you have a sense of humor about it.

this is so awful! stories like this scare me because i know i would be stroking out right now if i were you! just reading your story makes me not want any stone! yikes, 10 days became 5wks, ridiculous!

Did they just leave it like that? What a bunch of morons!

Not knowing anything about it, but it seems to me that it would be (theoretically) possible to polish the bottom side to the usual level of polish and install it upside-down. However now that I think about it it they were skilled enough to surface polish the stone that well, they'd likely be skilled enough to not cut the stone with the template upside down in the first place.

So maybe instead if the company is closed, and you cannot find a sufficiently matching piece to complete your kitchen, you can find a skilled fabricator to take and polish that piece and use it.

I was thinking what bob said. Reverse the charges if they won't get you a brand new slab, then have someone else see if they can polish the under side. I hope that works!

I'm so sorry this is happening. I can imagine being half-way between laughing and crying. hmmm... I think that place is called "shock and disbelief."

ardcp, I'd be stroking out right now if I wasn't almost 12 months into my build as my own GC and general laborer and this is like the "norm" for me. I'm told I just attract morons.

Hell, Thursday my lumber yard wouldn't let me put anything on my account because they said I wasn't authorized...even though the account is under my name and I've charged over $100k to it at this point...

Two weeks ago, my kitchen sink backed up. I opened the cleanout in the basement and was showered in raw sewage. Turns out the drywall tapers had washed their mud down the drain without enough water and it formed a 2' thick wall inside my sewer drain pipes...8 hours of drilling to clear it out...

My house inspector held up construction 6 weeks because he thought bedrock was an unstable soil for building on...

I'd probably be hospitalized if I hadn't learn to start laughing at these things (after a reasonable freak-out, a good cry and a box of wine). ;)

Can they polish (or hone or whatever your finish is) the other side and flip it? I worry about you being able to find a match.

OMG.
Do tell.
What did the installers have to say?
Or did they wait until you weren't looking and RUN LIKE HELL?

Yikes! I would have definitely stroked out. I was soooooo nervous picking my slabs and during the install. I just kept thinking, "written in stone." I was so afraid I or they would do something wrong and I'd be stuck with it.

I would try a new cocktail this weekend. Our new one is as follows:

1/2 part St. Germain
1 1/2 parts Gin
3 parts toinic and add a lime

Notice that I said "parts" you can decide if those are ounces or pints!

I. am. speechless. Completely flabbergasted at that.
I am certain that I would have not only stroked out, but gone insane had all these things happened on my build.

You are a stronger person than me by far. My ability to laugh doesn't extend to misshaps like this. Truly incompetent people.

We are rooting for you and hoping that it all works out. I agree with Bob...confiscate that piece just in case you need it! Perhaps it can actually be reused.

ummm...flip it? or is there a beveled edge of some sort?

I would call Mastercard, if you haven't already, to make sure you can wait until Monday to reverse the payment. You would think the installer would have called the manager, who should have immediately called you to assure you this would be remedied. You have to wait over the whole weekend?
So sorry. It looks like beautiful stone.

good grief what next?

You have plenty if time to make a claim with MasterCard if the fabricator doesn't fix the problem. There's no need to call mc today.

This happened on one of my jobs once. Oopsie.

Commercial. The millwork shop man wrote on the back of his templates, I wrote on the front of mine.

What a thing to happen and on a Friday no less! I understand how upset you must be!! But I'm glad that at least part of your reaction includes laughter!

I agree that you should try to see if the underside can be polished and work that way, and it probably can if you have a flat or eased edge. I actually had this happen to me so I know it can work! A section in my master bathroom of book-matched patterned honey colored onyx, that they cut backwards, was the opposite pattern it needed to be for the space! I was so upset but tried to stay calm and professional while we worked it all out. But inside I was screaming! But they could polish the underside and it and it saved the day! Worked out great! (Ours turned out to be a templating error too from one of the guys of writing on the opposite side that was different from the others. There were lots of sections from different slabs that were mirror image patterns. Very confusing).

It did need extra polishing for the hand polished to equal the polish of the regular slabs, but it worked great. So if you have it done be sure to verify it matches the other quality of finish. And if it needs additional support that might come from a mesh backing, have that added too. You may not need it.

So I would try that first and of course all of this is on their dime and not yours and to your satisfaction. So look at everything and see that the direction of the pattern, edges and sink cutout are all ok for you. And if not see if there is another slab that could work. Hope this all works out for you and you can laugh at this later. Hang in there!

Oh....my.....seriously? I have to say I'm laughing so hard right now, I have tears rolling down my face! Not because of your situation...which is pretty unbelievable...but from the responses from some of these clever folks! I'm keeping 1929's cocktail recipe handy for my next mishap!

Bless your heart. I'm so sorry you're having to go thru this. My hat goes off to you that you're laughing. I'd probably be in jail now from trying to kill them! Hang in there & hopefully it'll work out.

If it makes you feel any better, you're not the only one that attracts the morons! I'm right there with you. However, unfortunately I think there are a lot of morons out there working on houses. They can talk the talk, which sucks us in...but they end up not being able to walk the walk very well, if at all! Really sad situation out there.

Let us know how it goes. Good luck.

UPDATE: So yesterday at 3:30 pm, I called the company. Told the desk ladies that the owner was *going* to call me back that evening, left a number and waited.

And he called back.

We went back and forth where essentially *nothing* is the fault of him or his company (the machine mis-fed the template! Bad, bad machine), and his solution was to come down, rip everything out and give me my money back. *Which* should be a great resolution, except I've got a $700 junk sink, interest on $5k and a bank appraiser coming.

Told him I didn't want to let the community know what sub-par service I was getting (business is in a small town that I live in, he commutes in front his city house). He finally conceded to talk to the ladies in the office and see what he could do (yes, the owner needed to discuss his options with the clerks...).

Promised to call that evening, or this morning at the latest.

It's 11 am...

We're one hour until he yet again fails to deliver.

Pretty sure I'm going to tell him to take out his granite (which is essential $3k in waste for him, plus the piece he re-did and I'm going to refuse), and take my money to another fabricator. I might be out time and money, but he'll get to enjoy a little loss too.

And see if I can work with the company I purchased the sink from to see if they'll help me out. They've been great with things like this in the past, so I'm kinda hopeful there...

Everyone makes mistakes, but not taking responsibility for mistakes, very
disappointing. And they scratched your sink & have not made that right. Ask him for reimbursement for the sink. How do people like this sleep at night?

This place sounds like it's open purely by virtue of luck. Terrible.

We went back and forth where essentially *nothing* is the fault of him or his company (the machine mis-fed the template!..

This is simply astonishing!

Gee, who owns the machine? If he really thinks the machine did this all by itself (and someone didn't put the slab in upside down), then maybe he should file a claim against the manufacturer ;-)...but make things right with you in the meantime.

Did you bring up the possibility of polishing the (original) underside, flipping and reusing that slab?

UPDATE: So at 1 o'clock I finally get the call back, and he takes the time to reiterate that:

1) They didn't miss any promised deadlines (you can't count time to fix their screw-up either...okie, cause I've never been good at math)

2) That he doesn't see how the sink was damaged at their place (the bag they took it in is even covered in holes, but okay, maybe I like beating the snot out of pretty things I paid good money for...)

3) YES the fabrication machine was responsible (yes, I suggested he makes a claim against the company and the robot that feeds the machine, and the robot that quality checks his product before they leave the store...)

4) That his communication has been great (he just can only *read* emails and not *send* emails on his smartphone when he's out of town...apparently he has a not-too-smart-smartphone...)

But he will be gracious enough to purchase a replacement sink at his company's cost, and they have ordered new slabs and will have replacement countertops ready by next Wednesday. Should the replacement sink not arrive in time, they'll leave the old one for me in the interim.

I should add, that polishing the underside wasn't an option because it is actually seamed to another slab, which should we flip one, the seam would no longer be matched appropriately. And that portion of the counter would have a double bevel as well. So essentially he had to replace 2 piece for a few thousand dollars (which is probably why he didn't want to do much more).

After all that, *if* installation and replacement of the sink occurs, I'll be happy to be done. That will make 6 weeks from templating, but I'll have them *just* in time for my next building appraisal, my housewarming, birthday and be DONE all jobs on this house that requires hiring PEOPLE! So I'll take it! (because I've decided to make my drybar out of butcherblock to save myself having to deal with another granite company!!)

Yay to no more customer service headaches after this one!!

...oh no, wait. We all know that's a lie. We just can't escape these people! ;)

So good you can keep your sense of humor. Fingers crossed for Wed! And cheers to DIY bb for the bar!

P.S. What a good guy for him to take care of all this for you anyway. Hope you give him a good review.

It's too bad he didn't contact you on Friday, tell you he'd make it right & then follow through, which it sounds like he is going to do. If he had done that & the final job turned out well, you could happily recommend his work to others.
The coverup is almost worse than the crime.

Good luck - I hope it comes out perfectly this time, and in 6 months you'll have forgotten the worst of it!

Wow. Just wow. If you have to put up with any more mind-boggling screw-ups like this, I think we should all buy stock in boxed wine.

Sorry you're having to deal with this headache. Fingers crossed the company comes through as promised and you can wash your hands of them.

You are so brave letting them have another go at it. I would run in the opposite direction so fast, his head would spin! I will keep my fingers crossed it all turns out well. Just curious, are you going to look at the new granite he's going to redo it all with? Something to think about doing. Best of luck!

I am so sorry about your moron magnetism. And here I thought I was in a minority of being magnets. Guess not.

I agree, be absolutely sure the replaced slab matches. It wouldn't be the first time a fabricator has substituted slabs.

If you ever have a kitchen, post your pics for us all.

Wow what a saga. I can't believe all of this. I hope you get everything resolved to your satisfaction including getting a new sink. I'm crossing my fingers for you.

I'm loving this thread for all of the comments too.

One time I was frustrated with the absolutely A_ _inine Modernaire Hood installer who really should be called a crook, but who I wrote off for just being an idiot....(I digress, sorry!) and my contractor told me that he often feels like the driver of a "special needs" bus where he has to shuttle, organize and coerce a group of people without the mental means to all cooperate and get to one place. (I promise you, I am not meaning to make fun of those who are mentally challenged.) But, the group that you have run into is more moronic than any group I have ever heard of.

I hope you cross over from the dark side......make your way to the land of the living and the thoughtful, the place where remodels happen in a gentle world and workers show up on time. Does it exist?