Is this a lousy granite installation?

Bud Cline

That would be my position also.

NCpaint1

I dont know what to say.....I think Ray Charles could see the flaws in that job. Kudos to you for giving them the chance to fix it, and having the patience to deal with it all.

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Benjamin Moore, Sikkens, TWP, PPG, Airless sales and service

yummy mummy

You have been way too nice in his situation.
Every time I see pics of their work, my blood boils......

My advice would be not to let them touch anything else.

Good luck, you deserve a nice countertop after all your anxiety.

tcleve4911

I agree with Yummy

That second go a round is unacceptable. Especially with the damage to your cabinets

They were given a chance to fix their mistakes
They failed
Do not pay them
Demand that they remove the countertops and refund your money back.

This is a case to be settled in small claims court

sorry ...they hurt the reputatation of the industry......

..and there's no reason why you should have to settle for this kind of work that does not meet industry standards.......

timbo59

Hmmm, well I have to say the Ray Charles remark drew a laugh.

Well, I'm still curious on the part of the actual granite cutting, not having seen what 'good work' is like. That jagged join that they 'puttied up', for use of a better description - is the granite cutting usually a lot cleaner and finer than that? I looked at it as I took the photo and thought 'what the...', but like I said, I'm a woodworker. To me, that's the equivalent of cutting a slab of wood and somehow contriving to cut it so badly that the wood is badly splintered and torn along the edges to the point where I have to ladle on the wood putty to mask the flaws. Should you expect as clean a cut from a stone-cutting saw as you would from a table saw through wood?

Also, having had a closer look at how they operate, it's very clear that liberal use of epoxy everywhere is their 'get out of jail free' card, masking all the flaws.

We tried giving them another chance, and you would think second time around that they would have tried all the harder to get it right and get us off their case. As I said though, I honestly don't think these people are actually capable of any better work.

We'll see where it takes us I guess. At this juncture, if they were to offer us half our money back I think we'd probably consider ourselves square - well sort of, if you take all the time and aggravation out of it! I can touch up the drawer fronts, or have them replaced if need be.

Thanks again one and all for the feedback and kind thoughts - at least towards us! With so many bad vibes, the guy who owns the store must be wandering around feeling jumpy and constantly looking over his shoulder nervously without knowing why!

Bud Cline

timbo,

About all I do is high-end tile jobs and all of those jobs also have plenty of granite counter tops. I've seen too many granite installations to count since granite tops came on the scene. Not bragging just trying to qualify my comments.

I don't want to be mean or hurtful but I gotta tell you my friends-yours is by far the worst granite counter top installation I have ever seen at any price or any level. Sorry!

You paid good money for that abortion and you deserve much better for what I know it cost you. The entire job should be torn out and re-done by others with new granite everywhere. The entire kitchen cabinet ensemble should also be refinished. All at the cost of those jack-legs that screwed it all up.

I'm sure a judge would agree.

Also...have you ever heard of the Better Business Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, Angie's List? Get my drift?

timbo59

Hi Bud,
No offense taken. This was first time round for us with granite - hard lesson to learn! I tiled the countertop of our last kitchen myself (came up well, if I do say so myself) but this time around we thought we'd go for the nice upgrade of granite.

We may well try the courts, bus as for BBB - talk about a toothless paper tiger! We've filed one or two complaints with them before, but really, unless the business is a member they don't do much - threaten to complain to BBB with some of these people and they just laugh it off.

I've found in the past that one of the better ways to go is simply set up a web page at one of the free hosting sites highlighting the business and their practices, with plenty of pictures. It's done the trick for us before, and believe me, these people have provided plenty of photographic evidence of just how bad their workmanship is! If need be, I'll park myself outside their business and hand out fliers to potential customers with the web address of the site.

cheers.....Tim

Bud Cline

I couldn't agree more. The BBB is as useless as boobs on bacon but some people are impressed with what they think they can do.Wouldn't hurt to have the company's name on file at the BBB. Like it isn't already!!!

WOW! Last night I was going to suggest just such a thing but based on your (seemingly) willingness to accept the job you received, I just knew you wouldn't ever consider such a thing.

yummy mummy

Go to the media. I am sure you must have some program that looks into bad home improvement jobs, in your area?

Threaten them with handing out fliers, going to the media, etc., unless they refund you the money and remove the countertop, asap. Don't be nice at this stage of the game.

Good luck. I will not be happy until I see a nice countertop in your kitchen.

timbo59

Well then how about putting your principles where it counts and coming down from Canada to help to install a new one! You can even bring the new granite with you - I'll give you the measurements and even supply a template! How fair is that? And Bud can come over and help refinish the cabinets. I'll put on a traditional Aussie BBQ afterwards with some real Aussie beer - none of this weak Nth. American stuff!

@Bud. We are nice people, but I guess what I meant was an acceptance that they really aren't capable of doing any better work, so it's pointless asking them to replace the stuff, as they'd just repeat the same crap workmanship. What I do expect is fair remuneration for the trouble they've put us to, the poor quality of the work, and the damage they've done to the cabinets. We can live with the results of what we've been given - but not at the price we've been charged.

Bud Cline

Where will this "party" be taking place?

timbo59

Orlando, Florida. Why, you hankering to see Disney World? We practically live at the place with our kids.

Bud Cline

Yow, I could handle another trip to Disney World. Haven't been there in years.

yummy mummy

OK, I've just packed the granite.......I just need to get a lot of silicone first........

Here are some pictures of my countertop that was done 7 years ago.

timbo59

Okay, go ahead, make me feel bad - I'm going to go outside now and slash my wrists! Now be sure not to crack the granite on the way down from Canada, okay? As for the silicone, that's okay, I'll chip in and pay for that.

That looks like a lovely job by the way. I should show them to the meathead who did our job as an example of how it's supposed to be done.

If we do take this to court, I plan on presenting pictures just like that as a counterpoint to the ones I took of our granite installation.

As for Disneyworld, here's the punchline. In 1981, I was on a major trip round the world for a year or so - sort of standard fare for Aussies and Kiws, a kind of right of passage before we settle down to careers and family. Having traveled to Hong Kong, Sth. America, Europe, etc, I decided I was going to come home via the USA for one major reason - I wanted to fulfill a childhood wish to see Disney World. So I did, and loved every minute of the experience. Flash forward 30 years, and what was once a major detour on my trip round the world is now, rather ironically, virtually in my backyard and kind of ho hum - trust me, it gets like that when you have annual passes and take the kids 30 - 40 times a year. Wasn't until recently that it dawned on my seven year old daughter that it's rather unique and that not every city in the world has such a facility on its doorstep.

And what does this have to do with granite countertops? Absolutely nothing. Though I tell you, Disney is a great place to go and look for ideas for everything and anything, from architectural touches, ponds, pools, and particularly the garden. I'm putting a lattice feature set into the dining room ceiling that I'm copying in part from something I saw at the Japanese pavilion in EPCOT. People must think I'm weird at times, but on occasion I'll even wander down with a camera and take pics of various plants, flowers, and particuarly the arrangements with a view to trying for something similar in our garden.

Finally, I'm looking for ideas for the backsplash in the kitchen. Inititally I thought of using travertine, with some featured highlights over the sink and cooktop. Then I started wondering if it might be too light for the cabinets, paint, floor tile combo. I considered using the same slate as I did for the feature round the built-in pantry, but it doesn't work - too close in color and too busy - they compete. I'm usually pretty good with colors, but this one's got me thinking. Any suggestions?

Ciao for now......Tim

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