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| Hi, new friends. I have been lurking since about June, when my kitchen remodel started...a full gut of our 2-bedroom condo's kitchen, which hadn't been updated since 1922! Still loved it, but when the fronts of the drawers started pulling off, I knew it was time. We were having mushroom Krafmaid cabinets installed, all going very smoothly until our contractor went bankrupt in the middle of the project, took a couple thousand dollars and didn't order the rest of our cabinets, brought us to a little standstill for a couple of weeks.
Anyhoo, onward and upward, I have gotten so much inspiration here, as well as hope, and now I have a question: we just got our granite countertop installed (Ceara Brown, we love it, so unusual), and I was so excited about the stone and things finally progressing. But within a day, I noticed the overhang is kind of weird. The fabricator never really discussed it with me, he took the template that came with my Allia fireclay farmhouse underhang sink, I guess I assumed he would do it flush. Well, the back of the sink by the faucet IS flush, but the front side hangs over nearly an unsupported half inch, the rightide 3/4 of an inch, and the other side just a few millimeters. I have to assume this is a sloppy install, and though I'm not too happy about it it's not that noticeable, I am more concerned that it makes the overhanging edges susceptible to chips. I know nothing about Ceara Brown granite, I couldn't find on-line whether it was "bullet proof" or not, I just fell in love with it. Ugh. My question is: Can anything be done about this overhang, is it worth mentioning to the guy that it looks like it was rushed or poorly measured? Can he shave it off to even it out? I'll probably tell him anyway because I'm peeved, but I wondered what is a reasonable expectation for fixing the situation, if any. Thanks, all... |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by numbersjunkie (My Page) on Mon, Aug 6, 12 at 20:37
| You don't by any chance live in MD or PA do you? Just asking because my SIL had new granite installed and I was shocked at how much of an overhang she has on her sink in some spots. I'm talking about an inch! I wouldn't have accepted that. It does make it more likely to chip. BUT, you don't want them to try to fix it in place. They will damage your sink and get granite dust everywhere. I had to have my granite top trimmed a bit to fit my cooktop and downdraft (precision required), and the dust ruined my drawer slides underneath. |
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| Wait -- the guy used a template, and also back and left are flush, while the front and right have a large overhang. Sure sounds like the sink is not lined up with the hole. I would move the sink, even if that puts it a smidge off-center of your cab. No one will notice that half inch. |
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| No, I live in Chicago. Dumb me, I didn't know what to look for in the installation, I was too busy looking at the stone itself. :-( |
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| It is not right, IMO. I don't know if it can be fixed easily, but that's not your problem. When we had our bathroom redone without the benefit of GW a few years ago, we had an expensive solid surface put around the tub/shower area. After it was all done, I noticed that the faucet and spout and shower head did not line up. Well, I thought, not great, but what can they do now? The holes are cut, slab is ruined, and it will take forever to get another one made. It's all done. When I was getting kitchen quotes, I mentioned it as an example of a bad contractor, and one of the guys I talked to told me that the beauty of solid surface is that you can effectively "cut and paste" it and it could have been fixed. So I learned (the hard way) that you shouldn't assume that the fix can't be done or is too difficult, it's not your problem. They have to make it right. I get mad very time I take a shower. Don't get mad every time you use your sink. Complain. 3/4", even 1/2" is not correct for a negative reveal. Oh and they did drill and grind my granite in my kitchen a little bit while they were installing it, and they were very careful to clean up. It can be done. Isn't there a stone installer from Arizona on here? He should know if they could fix it in place. Good luck! |
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| I guess I don't trust them to make it right, or wouldn't they have done it right in the first place? But maybe I will mention it. It's too big, not too small, so that's good, maybe it could just be shaved to size and they can clean up after themselves; I don't know if that's in the realm of possibility, it's just what I am fantasizing. I don't know if I can move the sink, though that's a great idea, it seems to be attached to the granite with some goop? I probably would live with it, if not for feeling sure I will crack it in a month's time by banging down a Magnalite pot full of pasta and water on the edge. My uncle says, "just be careful," but what about the one time I'm not! |
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| Have you looked at Angie's list? My friend was not happy with her marble, and I found a report on Angie's list that suggested she was not the first person to have a problem with that fabricator. She wrote a very direct letter to the fabricator, and she got some money back. Maybe if they can't fix it, they can at least take the sting away. In any case, you haven't lost anything by complaining. I have a friend who is French but has lived here for over 15 years. She said one of the big differences (besides the facts that they speak French, they eat lots of bread and cheese but are still skinny, and their children apparently eat anything put in front of them)is that there are no returns in French stores. The customer is never right. Act on your right as an American to complain to your vendor! |
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| don't know if I can move the sink, though that's a great idea, it seems to be attached to the granite with some goop? Yes, with some goop, and probably some clips. Goop can be cut with a knife. Granite cannot. |
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| Looked underneath, there's not an inch of room to shift the big ol' sink. I'm still going to call him and ask him to look at this. He should see what his guys did. I'd rather he give me a written guarantee to replace the stone if any of the incorrect overhangs break rather than any partial refund. Or maybe it can be fixed in some way I don't know, like Ginny20 suggested. Kitchen = always something!!! |
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| Fabricator error = fabricator fix, whether it's new countertop, altered countertop (outside your house) or adjust the sink. |
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| We had to have the fabricators come back to reset our stainless laundry room sink that was undermounted in granite. It was crooked and it was driving me insane. I admit that I am a bit of a perfectionist but it was clearly visible. I told the place about it and they just put it down on their punch list along with all the other stuff and it was done! Those farmhouse sinks are very heavy, it should have a cradle built for it underneath your sink to support it. Maybe that interfered with it at the back of the cabinet. They build a little stand for it underneath your cabinet so it won't fall away from the granite. Don't let him do it by himself! Takes two to reset these big mamas. |
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| I called him and he said he would come out with one of his guys to look at it. He didn't specify when, but I expect sometime next week because he is working with our other contractors. And I tried to sound curious instead of angry so he wouldn't be scared to come. :-p I'll keep you all posted...thanks again for your support and insights!!! |
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| Unacceptable for a couple reasons: 1. good quality work requires a consistent overhang. yours sounds like really poor quality. 2. a large overhang in a kitchen is unsanitary (and often a code violation) since it creates a breeding area for bacteria that is not washed on a regular basis. (this is why most OEM sink cutouts have a reveal.) 3. the size of the overhang has little to no impact on susceptibility to chipping. much more important is the size of the radius on the top and bottom corners of the edge. yours looks too sharp to me to be considered acceptable. if it was mine I'd make the fabricator do it over. full disclosure: I am a fabricator and deal with these kinds of details all the time so I am somewhat opinionated. While there are regional preferences on a lot of details a wide variation in overhang and a large overhang on a kitchen sink is considered poor quality pretty much everywhere. |
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| Oldryder, thank you for your feedback, can the fabricator actually do it over? By that I mean, can it be removed from all the new cabinetry they attached it to without damaging it? Would he need to use a different stone? We chose that one especially and I like it, I'm just so bummed it was installed so carelessly. Also, is there any way to test if they actually sealed it (he said they did, but after this sloppy job the trust is broken)? Thank you so much for your expertise... |
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