Might help to give us a dimension, so we can relate to how large the gap is. If not 30", What is the distance between the two sides of the countertop?

It's 30.5" and my stove is 29.5". So you can see why I'm not very happy with 1/2" gap on each side.

I have a slide in 30 inch stove/oven and the oven came with strips to place in the gap to make everything look "built in".
You may want to contact the manufacturer of your oven and see if this is an option.

well, that would help with the space below the countertop but there would still be that gap where the countertop stops on both sides.

I would be unhappy with that gap, too. If your GC arranged the granite fabrication then this is his problem, because it was his job to communicate to the granite guys what he wanted them to do. If you hired the GC for his part of the job, and you hired the granite people separately, then I'd say it's your problem because it would've been your responsibility to coordinate the two.

Well, as you now know, work should have been stopped the minute you saw the gap. Now that everything is finished there is a chance the cabinets and backsplash will be damaged if you remove the granite.

Did you ask for compensation? Has the GC been paid in full?

The fabricator, or whoever made the template, made a huge error. If the granite guy is responsible then he should be held accountable, but your GC should have overseen the project better.

If you don't want to pursue having everything removed, then some of the gap fillers may work for you. I'd have the GC track them down and buy them for you........in addition to some type of discount on the granite!

Here is a link that might be useful: Gap fillers

Thanks for all the input. See, the problem was...all the appliances except the fridge were removed from the kitchen and were not put back until everything else had been done. So, I didn't even know that the cutout was the wrong size until after they put the stove back. The GC had his granite company do the fabricating and he was there when the fabricator came out to do the template; I wasn't there. I was thinking about how it might be worse to have that portion removed and a new piece cut. Unfortunately, I did pay the GC in full. I have ordered the gap fillers and hope they will work for me. It's just very disappointing when you pay good money and expect things to at least be right and then they aren't. I have another issue with some of the cabinets and where they used filler and shouldn't have. Their measurements must not have been right to begin with. What can I do now?? Plus, my dishwasher wouldn't work after they reinstalled it. I had to have a company come out and it took them 2 visits to finally realize that the GC workers didn't hook it back up properly. So...I'm making the GC reimburse me for that fee and I'm going to bring up the other things too. I'll probably have to do something drastic [BBB] to recoup any money I paid him.

Let me just say this, having work done in my home sure has left a bad taste in my mouth and I feel like I can't trust people to do what they claim they are going to do. If I hadn't of paid him according to the terms of the contract, I bet he would have stopped immediately on the job and maybe reported me.

I just wish I could get past the gaps on both sides. I'm a finicky person and I care about things being "right". If it didn't bother me, I'd say "Oh Well" and move on:) The granite is beautiful and then you see the gaps:)

Does this happen often to other people? My GC acted like it was no big deal and I was going to live with it until I started doing some research and found out the the standard size is always 30".

***If I hadn't of paid him according to the terms of the contract, I bet he would have stopped immediately on the job and maybe reported me.*** Reported you to whom?? We've had to deal with many issues in remodels and never did I worry about what the contractor would do to me.
Most GC's want to finish the job, be paid and hopefully leave a happy customer.

He should be willing to repair the cabinets so that you're satisfied. Call him, have him come by the house and discuss the issues.

When you say filler on the cabinets, do you mean caulk/wood fillers or wood strips?

they are wood strips or fillers that match the cabinets. they are used to fill in the space when the cabinet doesn't meet all the way to the wall. In my case, they used it at the cutout for the microwave. Apparently, that cutout was too big as well. I don't know what the heck they did but the old cabinets were not like that. No, I met if I didn't pay him, most likely he would have just stopped the work on my place as he was doing other jobs and spreading himself too thin. He was over a month and a half late starting this job! I should have cancelled right then but the cabinets were already in and I had already given him the 1st draw. I brought this to his attention and he acted like there wasn't anything he could do. This whole thing is just so upsetting to me and I wish I could move on but I can't.

I don't see where he did wrong. A 1/4" gap is fine, all you need is a standard size stove; did you tell the contractor your stove wasn't standard or tell him not to use a standard size? And are you sure you're not trying to butt the countertop to a curve built into the edges of your stove?

Do you also expect them to make the hood 29 1/2 and the cabinet, if any, above the range 29 1/2" so everything fits perfectly?

I'd just get one of those spacers that fills the gap between the range and the countertop and enjoy the kitchen.

Response to Ahomeowner...no, the gap is 1/2" on each side all the way back to the wall. Most stoves are called standard and really measure on 29 7/8 and mine is more like 29 5/8 so therefore, there would be enough space if the standard cutout of 30" was made. In my case, the cutout was made 30.5". My old countertops were snug against the stove. I was told that the new cabinets were the same size as the old ones, so why don't they fit snug against the stove? The cabinet guy told me that the filler in the above [the stove] cabinet should not be there. So, that's why I feel they measured wrong. The countertop and stove do NOT touch at all on either side. You can actually see down the space to the floor. I've never lived anywhere where the space was that big.

I've ordered some spacers to see how they wil look. Trust me, I want to enjoy my kitchen but it's hard whenever I look at the stove and see the spaces. And I'm pretty sure that my stove is a standard size. I didn't say anything to my GC because at the time, I didn't even know what the cutout measurement should have been. It wasn't until I started doing some research. The dishwasher cutout is 24" standard size while the cutout for the stove is 30" standard. Now, these are the measurements used by builders and remodelers when it's not a custom-made kitchen. This is what I have read. My kitchen is definitely not a custom kitchen; it's a galley kitchen and very small. Nothing really changed in the design of my kitchen and the cabinets were the same size as the old ones...so why don't they fit is my question?

If someone measures 30 inches from side to side on the granite counter top and the granite installers make the cut out to that specification, the actual cut out will end up larger than 30 inches due to the saw blade width. Did the gap fillers work? Where did you find the gap fillers?

As far as the filler wood strips, I believe you're talking about shims and they use them in order to level the cabinets. Cabinets are leveled front to back and side to side which sounds kind of tricky, right? In the end, they get it close but there is no absolutely perfect. The level tool, etc. are only so close. What is probably the case is that your wall actually isn't level but the new cabinets are and hence the shims. You can check that out by using a level tool on them. If I am correct about him using shims there to level the cabinets then he did do that correct. I think what he should do is put some fancy trim wood on those exposed edges to hide the shims though.

From Bosch's web site, specifications for their freestanding ranges: "Required cutout size: 30" width slide-in". The ranges are 29 7/8" wide, not 30".

GE Monogram says 30" cut-out for a 29 7/8" wide range.

LG says 30" for a 29.9" range.

Going a hair beyond the manufacturer's specs to 30 1/8" might make installation easier in the real world (though it throws the bases slightly out of alignment with the uppers), but we are talking about 30 1/2" here, which is indefensible.

gfinale: "Please be patient" comes across as pretty patronising. And we already established the "filler" is what cabinet people mean by filler - strips at the ends of cabinet runs to make up the remaining space left when you use stock cabinet sizes.

What you can do is put cover plates in the gaps, and glue some sort of spacers on each side of the ridge so it fits firmly in your gap. No matter what your gap is, these cover plates are something you want to prevent food from falling down - we have them in our kitchen. Still, you will have a gap showing from the front - maybe you can do something to hide that. Our quartz tops are about 1/8" from our stove, if that. And we can pull out our stove just fine - this is what my carpenter friend recommended.

Here's a previous thread. Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: gap next to stove

I just noticed this thread was started in 08. Anyway, hope someone else can use the info.

PeterH2, I was not meaning to patronize at all but rather help this person enjoy their kitchen. You seem to be splitting hairs as my main point is the majority of ranges are 29 7/8-30 inches and you confirm that yourself. You seem to have missed or disregarded the main part of my explanation which was to point out that the range she has is 1/2 inch smaller than "standard" and that is the main cause of the big gap. Also, I readily point out the GC could have gone 1/4 narrower, however, the range is cause another 1/2 inch and 30 1/2 will nicely fit just about any "standard" range for the future. For instance, a beautiful old fashioned Elmira stove will even fit at 3 1/8 plus legs sticking out a little further I believe. And no, PeterH2, I am not affiliated with them but I know someone who has one. I also further pointing out that she doesn't want to narrow the gap so much that "standard" ones don't fit. That was all meant to purely help.

"the actual cut out will end up larger than 30 inches due to the saw blade width."

This is not correct.

The kerf of the blade is accounted for in making cuts.