If it annoys you i would have them to reinstall a new counter (although they will not be happy about it).
They should not have made those cut outs.

Tell them you want it ripped out and redone. putting caulking there would look very sloppy almost "homeowner installed" and you payed for it to be done professionally.

why did they even make those cuts?

Really good question, tlbean2004....really good question.

No idea why they made those cuts.

Thanks for the response.

scoyne999:

What is the make and model of your cooktop? It looks to me like your fabricator cut for the wrong one. Even so, I can tell from the picture the cut is out of square to the front edge.

scoyne999:

What is the make and model of your cooktop? It looks to me like your fabricator cut for the wrong one. Even so, I can tell from the picture the cut is out of square to the front edge.

I would not be satisfied with that cut. It looks like an obvious error to me.

No one would be happy with that. You're not over-reacting at all. How much did you pay for these countertops? Unacceptable. Where did you purchase and who installed? They are hoping you are too dumb or compliant to fuss.

Caulk does not sound good.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Fri, Dec 26, 14 at 12:11

Thank you all for your feedback. We are requesting new tops. Agree that it's unacceptable. We paid appx $6k for 70 sq feet installed. Only paid half so far.

Is the gap the same on both side of the cooktop?

Personally, I would ask for the new top but take a big credit, caulk it and see if the cooktop can scoot over a tiny bit to cover that cut

The gap is not the same on both sides of the cooktop. One cut has a rounded, smooth edge....the other has a square, rough edge. Here's the other side.

Total cost was appx $6k. What would be a fair credit to settle on, in your opinion?

Is there a support for the cooktop edge they had to let in?

It looks to me like they forgot to smooth the right side as much as the left. If they did that and caulked with clear it might not stand out as much. But I am a rather understanding customer. (but not stupid like the one granite guy who said the dots showing up after installation were naturally occurring and not his cheap glue)

That appears to be a range top, not a cooktop. Do you have a shot from straight on? Not a top view. One that shows how much it sticks out from the cabinets.

I agree that a credit would be much preferable to redoing the job: who is to say that it would be done better the next time. That is an expensive counter; you might ask for a credit of 2.5K and then have negotiating room to go down to 2k. Somewhere in that neighborhood seems reasonable to me since otherwise the contractor would need to supply all new materials.
Renais

That would not bother me so much if they did in fact agree on a credit. $2000 is good.

But do what you want. Dont get the credit and then be upset down the road that the countertop is not perfect.
If it really bothers you then go ahead and just have them redo the install with a new counter.

Good luck!

I am a fabricator.

The gap you show in the pic is either a measure or fabrication error.

The fabricators cost to replace may be a lot less than you think depending on the size of the part to be replaced and his remnant inventory.

Personally I would never give anyone a 33% discount for 2 reasons:

1. the problem can probably be corrected for that much or less (possibly much less).

2. more importantly, even with the discount the customer is probably going to note that error whenever the tops are being discussed which for me and my business is a big negative. I'd rather fix it and have the customer be impressed with how we stand behind our work.

my 2 cents.

Agree with oldryder. Even if they agreed to a credit, I wouldn't be happy with that result. The point of paying good money for a good fabricator is so that we can enjoy a good result. If we didn't care about the result, why not just hire the cheapest guy from the get-go?

What blows my mind in these situations is that they walk away from the job, leaving an obvious error. Where is the pride in workmanship? If these people really cared about impressing their customers, they would have already pointed out their error, said they were going to take care of it, and proceeded to do so. THAT is standing behind your work. Leaving it as is and hoping the customer will accept it is NOT.

Really appreciate all the feedback! You all make some very good points here.

That's a re-do in my book. I could maybe, maybe live with one small boo-boo with a sizeable credit on a $6K countertop...

But this is a case of two Big boo-boos in a highly visible part of the kitchen--front & center on a bump out! for goodness sake (unlike a little glitch hidden back in the corner & underneath the toaster.) Every time you use the cooker, you'll see them--there is no way to cover them up--and you will get PO'd with yourself all over again for letting them remain.

$6K ought to buy you near perfection.