Another picture. The seam is where the coffee maker is.

How would you feel about a having a 1/2" bigger hole for your DW? You may be able to have them slide your corner cab and peninsula over by 1/2"....

We had Caesarstone removed because the installers messed it up with Barkeeper's Friend. We got an even better seam because their best guy came out and matched the epoxy better. They used one of those machines that pulls the seam tightly together.

The only problem from the reinstall is a small chip out of the top of one of my cherry cabinets. It's pretty well hidden underneath the countertop and took me two months to notice it. Our cabinet maker had mentioned the possibility of damage to the cabinets.

It looks beautiful and you are thrilled with the one seam. I think this may be one of the things you scrutinize everything thing as it happens and when it is all done you won't notice it. I agree with your DH, this is something that probably isn't worth rocking the boat & risk damage to the stone and the cabs. That said, it is your kit, if you can't get past it and you see it everytime you enter then the risk of damage may be worth it to you.

Hmmm... tough decision. One question is how confident is the fabricator in replicating the good (the perfect seam) and fixing the bad?

Just curious, any reason why the flooring does not go all the way to those cabinets on the left side?

I just can't figure out where the area of concern is. It looks smashing the way it is.

Yes, I forgot to say that the different overhangs are not obvious to me even when I look for the problem in the picture. So, if you don't tell anybody, it'll just be your secret.

If it were a wet area I'd say get it redone no matter what. But there? I guess it depends on how it looks in person. If it's something you'll only notice when inspecting a brand new counter, I'd leave it. If it's something that you notice every time you aren't admiring a brand new counter, I'd fix it.

The floor is being replaced, this is the old one. We moved the cabinets off by 8 inches.

The overhang problem it's really not obvious unless you point it out.

The fabricator seems confident they can do it. I think DH is leaning towards taking a chance.

Thanks for all who have taken the time to reply. It's been helpful.

When you just look at it could you tell the half inch difference? If its only when you measured it I, would leave it. If it were a inch or more than maybe.

You can tell without measuring it. Then again, we didn't notice until DH carefully looked, so someone visiting probably would not notice right away (except for all the people DH has been venting with :)). So basically it's an internal problem. Does it bother us enough to do something about it and take a risk that something else gets messed up.

I had soapstone installed and had a similar issue. I had originally spec'd 1" overhangs and then made them all 1.5 inches. But when it was all finally installed, I didn't notice the missing quarter inch until that evening when I walked around with a measuring tape. I haven't told anyone, not even DW. It's been over a year now and I'm still the only person who notices it. It's subtle enough to be easily overlooked. We store most of our everyday flatware and dinnerware in the peninsula and it hasn't been an issue. Come to think of it, I think the shorter overhang might have worked out a little better for the top drawer with the flatware. I think this is one of those "it's up to you" things where it's not really a show stopper.

ETA: I edited the above to change it from a half inch to a quarter inch. I remeasured it when I got home. In my case, a quarter inch is negligible. See I even forgot how much the difference was until this thread prompted me to remeasure.

This post was edited by jscout on Sat, Dec 8, 12 at 7:09

DH annotated pictures to show the problem.

View from the bottom.

Another one.

I would probably leave it, unless you think it will bother you forever. Your kitchen looks beautiful. I have lived in my current house for over 10 years - we bought it new, totally completed, from a builder. It was only when I was prepping our house for sale a couple of months ago that I happened to notice a small countertop defect similar to the one you have. It's possible that if you had moved into the house with the kitchen already in place you might never have noticed it.. but I know it's hard to let go when something you have planned so carefully for goes awry (even if only a little).

Ten years ago I had Silestone counters installed over older cabinets in a layout similar to yours. Fast forward 8 years, I was getting new cabinets in a new layout and the granite people asked me what overhang I wanted. I went to measure the overhang I had with the Silestone, and noted that, like yours, mine were not the same on each side. Never noticed.

Of course no one can tell you you should not be disturbed, but I can almost guarantee that after your kitchen is all done you will never think of it again and no one else will ever notice. You will, however, be able to admire your beautiful seam every day.

Helene

Too bad you can't move the cabinet back that 1/2"...

I may not be understanding correctly, but won't the repair add a second seam?

I would ask them for $100 off the bill and call it a day. Then buy something nice for your new kitchen.

Hehe. I like the way Debrak thinks.

Will the overhang cover the doors/drawers and knobs/pulls? If so, then I think I might ask for a discount (or wait for them to offer me one - it might be bigger...if it's not, you can always dicker with them...) and let it go.

However, if the doors & knobs stick out past the counter overhang, then you need to do something b/c spills could go into your drawers or cabinets and down your doors & drawer fronts - possibly causing damage over time.

Did you decide what to do? I have a similar problem, except the overhang is even smaller, so it's hard to clean crumbs off the counter ( catch them in your hand while wiping down). Test that out...otherwise it's hard to tell it's off. Good luck!

Also curious what you decided to do.

And I was also curious enough to go measure my own counters which are 8 or so years old (also Cambria). The overhang ranges anywhere from 1.5", 1.25" to 1" and I never even knew it till now! It's never been an issue and obviously, nobody has ever noticed.

I would rather have a perfect seam than the 1/2" discrepancy. I think in time you won't even notice that unevenness, but I would notice a poor seam job every day.

Your kitchen looks beautiful!