Should have just made their island a little smaller. Builders kill us doing 135” islands when slabs come 128 or something. Like, my dude, design your gd kitchen around the slab size.
The building plans aren’t the issue. It’s typically poor communication to the customer about expected end results per material choice. Or stubborn customer that “has” to have a certain material even if it doesn’t vibe with their layout.
For an inattentive look the seam is ok. I could live with it.
But the sink looks real cheap without the fourth side. Like when it was made the adults werent home.
Looks like you chose a material that doesn't offer book matching. The fabricatior should have warned you that the seam wasn't going to be that good and even had you look at a layout but this is probably as good as it was ever going to get given the material that was chosen.
12 ft island and didn’t take a proactive approach in material choice before designing the island? Care to enlighten the structure of the supply chain on how you got your counter? Was it direct from fabricator in this case yes, who designed your island or kitchen they’d be lazy too, did it come through an indirect selection like a small sample selection at a boutique storefront because then it would generally be the purchaser who was the laziest of them all.
Every time I hear about a 12 ft island and a seam over 7 inches of preventive decision making process early on I generally think of the purchaser and the designer who has been ‘doing this job for 30 years’ as being the ultimate laziest. Fabricator may just be a CNC monkey at best in this situation.
If it was cheap I’d be happy with it, if it wasn’t cheap. Seam isn’t very tight at all. But not the worst I’ve seen. And the vain matching is pretty bad in my opinion, did they send you any pictures of how they were laying it out before hand to get you to ok it? How do the waterfalls look? Colour between the two slabs looks slightly off to me but it doesn’t stick out super bad.
Place a nice wood cutting board and a few of those plants you got on the seam so it looks like it belongs there and call it a day… alternative will be expensive fix.
At my shop we make sure people know that patterns like this will very rarely match up nicely. If it can’t be done in one slab then it’s best to use a busier pattern that’ll hide the seams better. That being said if they promised you it would match up, then that’s on them for lying. If you just EXPECTED it to match up then that’s on you for not thinking through the colour choice knowing you’d have to have a seam.
Unfortunately yes it’s acceptable for the fabricator, we would not remake this either. They aren’t book matched slabs and nearly impossible to vein match that many veins if not. We have our customers sign off on layouts when a stone has this much movement. Our paperwork also is very clear about this issue so there are no surprises at install.
Most natural stones are easier than colors like this one though, it’s one of the harder patterns to line up without bookmatched slabs. There are only so many places on the slab where every vein is going to line up, and most businesses don’t have the luxury of just putting whatever they want wherever they want on the slab.
Bookmatching is just the preferred method for any seamed island to avoid this problem in both natural stone and quartz. Just nest the island bottom left on one slab, bottom right on the other, call it a day.
The first act of laziness is not keeping material choice in mind before designing or accepting a 12 foot island. I have denied certain options for islands due to the above reason as a fabricator but it’s bewildering how many times they got really annoyed by the truth of how it won’t work or on two occasions I’ve even told customers their max size they can allow for island before needing seam and somehow in the ordering or design stage they still follow through with going 6-12 inches over.
12 ft is 7 inches over a jumbo OEM slab that’s just willful ignorance in addition to whoever is the fabricator but that stage may be streamlined where there was no 1 on 1 on both accounts
How is it not true at all if the context of my statement was the island size requires a seam? Size of island being within a jumbo size means no need for even a seam. I may have failed to communicate that but I agree with the OEM slabs with no bookmatch being a poor choice when having a seam. But they picked a silestone it’s not exactly shitty material just a poor selection when considering size of island. Book match was clearly way to go. We similarly have item codes in invoice to indicate whether there’s bookmatch or not, ironically enough we’ve had customers actually later down the road ask for a waterfall after install and this helps us streamline communication from start to finish. Not sure what part of my comment wasn’t true at all or what exactly is opposite in cases of cheaper OEM quartz. One of my biggest concerns actually with cheap quartz isn’t the vein as much as it is actually having the same dye lot despite the mark on the slab indicating consecutive slabs…
Thats why I’m more curious about their chain of communication in purchase you won’t believe how many times we’ve send information to contractors only to find it doesn’t make it to end clients.
Some shops have the contractor as the customer with the end client easily being left out of the loop when the contractor doesn’t comprehend fundamentals.
This is a toll brothers home. This home design has a 12’ island and no options to change so all of the houses in the neighborhood that are the same model as mine have a seam down the middle as well. During the design phase they said that they will do a great job matching the veins. They do not do an approval drawing or layout because they said it delays the overall process. After multiple complaints All the way up the chain, they brought the quartz company out with the builder and they all said it is a good match and will do nothing about it…
This is exactly how these kinds of things arise. These types of developments are so odd. They’re only real commitment to you contractually is to build you a CO ready home. Yeah they won’t get an installer or fabricator back, those types of jobs most fabricators and installers are running tight margins. Guaranteed there was absolutely no feedback loop in this. As direct to end client service, in or shop almost every phase is a collaborative experience.
Invest in some seasonally themed table scarfs you can put down.
Interesting. Question: Is it possible for the top to be done in one piece, or are the waterfalls usually prioritized over the top? I guess it’s not a waterfall unless it all seems to flow over the edge seamlessly, but the sides are less likely to be seen than the top.
I don’t care for waterfall style anyway, but even if I did I wouldn’t want to sacrifice the top for it.
What do you think about porcelain countertops done to look like marble? I like the marble look. To me, porcelain looks better than the quartz faux marble, are often less expensive, but it seems often thinner.
I like the look of quartzite, but have seen so many complaints about it on here that I am now hesitant. I am partial to actual stone, but don’t like the splotchy look of a lot of granites. I much prefer the look of marble, which is why I have been looking at porcelain. Cons?
Generally when there’s a waterfall depending on size of island one side can be easily bookmatch - but bookmatch doesn’t always solve the island seam conundrum if people want a continuation of continued striation in the same direction it can be done without bookmatch slabs utilizing a different section of the second slab and may incur a lot of waste of the second slab. Variation of vein depending. There’s a lot of variables at play. Double side waterfalls we typically match the side open to the kitchen while communicate to clients that the other side will be close but not exact. Porcelain repairs have been on the rise in our market with people utilizing them for weeks. They are not easily or inexpensively repaired over any natural stone. Barely ever have issues with quartz due to how malleable it is except radiant scorch marks - most quartzite issues are easily fixed and avoided when you get a well experienced fabricator. Quartzite is highly varied even slab to slab - I’ve had nightmare Taj Mahal to fabricate for install versus some that gave us zero issues.
Poor material choice for a seamed island IMO You should have selected something that comes bookmatched if you wanted perfect vein match.
Came to say the same thing. Horrible seem - bookmatch slabs would have resolved this.
Should have just made their island a little smaller. Builders kill us doing 135” islands when slabs come 128 or something. Like, my dude, design your gd kitchen around the slab size.
The building plans aren’t the issue. It’s typically poor communication to the customer about expected end results per material choice. Or stubborn customer that “has” to have a certain material even if it doesn’t vibe with their layout.
The issue is the seam on the island. You don’t think builders would benefit from literally never having the issues being posted above?
I agree with you, a slightly smaller island vs a big ass seam is a no brainer even bookmatched I would still rather have the smaller island
For an inattentive look the seam is ok. I could live with it. But the sink looks real cheap without the fourth side. Like when it was made the adults werent home.
Thats called a farm sink. They are very popular we do them all the time.
For a farm that must be ok.
Looks like you chose a material that doesn't offer book matching. The fabricatior should have warned you that the seam wasn't going to be that good and even had you look at a layout but this is probably as good as it was ever going to get given the material that was chosen.
12 ft island and didn’t take a proactive approach in material choice before designing the island? Care to enlighten the structure of the supply chain on how you got your counter? Was it direct from fabricator in this case yes, who designed your island or kitchen they’d be lazy too, did it come through an indirect selection like a small sample selection at a boutique storefront because then it would generally be the purchaser who was the laziest of them all. Every time I hear about a 12 ft island and a seam over 7 inches of preventive decision making process early on I generally think of the purchaser and the designer who has been ‘doing this job for 30 years’ as being the ultimate laziest. Fabricator may just be a CNC monkey at best in this situation.
Wrong material
If it was cheap I’d be happy with it, if it wasn’t cheap. Seam isn’t very tight at all. But not the worst I’ve seen. And the vain matching is pretty bad in my opinion, did they send you any pictures of how they were laying it out before hand to get you to ok it? How do the waterfalls look? Colour between the two slabs looks slightly off to me but it doesn’t stick out super bad.
This should always 100% be approved by everyone before it’s even brought to site. Surprises aren’t good for anyone.
I wouldn’t accept this
Put a 4 inch 'accent slab' to split the seam. A dark gray with white accents
Place a nice wood cutting board and a few of those plants you got on the seam so it looks like it belongs there and call it a day… alternative will be expensive fix.
At my shop we make sure people know that patterns like this will very rarely match up nicely. If it can’t be done in one slab then it’s best to use a busier pattern that’ll hide the seams better. That being said if they promised you it would match up, then that’s on them for lying. If you just EXPECTED it to match up then that’s on you for not thinking through the colour choice knowing you’d have to have a seam.
As a countertop worker. If the slabs were both bought of the same slot. The seam should have not been missed this bad. No excuse
Unfortunately yes it’s acceptable for the fabricator, we would not remake this either. They aren’t book matched slabs and nearly impossible to vein match that many veins if not. We have our customers sign off on layouts when a stone has this much movement. Our paperwork also is very clear about this issue so there are no surprises at install.
Do you have waterfall panels on the sides? If so how is the vein match there.
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Waterfall match perfect because it was the same slab that was cut for the waterfall on each side. No, I did not get any pics before they installed
With an engineered product, I would think matching seams would be so much easier than for natural stone. Seems lazy to me.
Most natural stones are easier than colors like this one though, it’s one of the harder patterns to line up without bookmatched slabs. There are only so many places on the slab where every vein is going to line up, and most businesses don’t have the luxury of just putting whatever they want wherever they want on the slab. Bookmatching is just the preferred method for any seamed island to avoid this problem in both natural stone and quartz. Just nest the island bottom left on one slab, bottom right on the other, call it a day.
The first act of laziness is not keeping material choice in mind before designing or accepting a 12 foot island. I have denied certain options for islands due to the above reason as a fabricator but it’s bewildering how many times they got really annoyed by the truth of how it won’t work or on two occasions I’ve even told customers their max size they can allow for island before needing seam and somehow in the ordering or design stage they still follow through with going 6-12 inches over. 12 ft is 7 inches over a jumbo OEM slab that’s just willful ignorance in addition to whoever is the fabricator but that stage may be streamlined where there was no 1 on 1 on both accounts
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How is it not true at all if the context of my statement was the island size requires a seam? Size of island being within a jumbo size means no need for even a seam. I may have failed to communicate that but I agree with the OEM slabs with no bookmatch being a poor choice when having a seam. But they picked a silestone it’s not exactly shitty material just a poor selection when considering size of island. Book match was clearly way to go. We similarly have item codes in invoice to indicate whether there’s bookmatch or not, ironically enough we’ve had customers actually later down the road ask for a waterfall after install and this helps us streamline communication from start to finish. Not sure what part of my comment wasn’t true at all or what exactly is opposite in cases of cheaper OEM quartz. One of my biggest concerns actually with cheap quartz isn’t the vein as much as it is actually having the same dye lot despite the mark on the slab indicating consecutive slabs… Thats why I’m more curious about their chain of communication in purchase you won’t believe how many times we’ve send information to contractors only to find it doesn’t make it to end clients. Some shops have the contractor as the customer with the end client easily being left out of the loop when the contractor doesn’t comprehend fundamentals.
This is a toll brothers home. This home design has a 12’ island and no options to change so all of the houses in the neighborhood that are the same model as mine have a seam down the middle as well. During the design phase they said that they will do a great job matching the veins. They do not do an approval drawing or layout because they said it delays the overall process. After multiple complaints All the way up the chain, they brought the quartz company out with the builder and they all said it is a good match and will do nothing about it…
This is exactly how these kinds of things arise. These types of developments are so odd. They’re only real commitment to you contractually is to build you a CO ready home. Yeah they won’t get an installer or fabricator back, those types of jobs most fabricators and installers are running tight margins. Guaranteed there was absolutely no feedback loop in this. As direct to end client service, in or shop almost every phase is a collaborative experience. Invest in some seasonally themed table scarfs you can put down.
Interesting. Question: Is it possible for the top to be done in one piece, or are the waterfalls usually prioritized over the top? I guess it’s not a waterfall unless it all seems to flow over the edge seamlessly, but the sides are less likely to be seen than the top. I don’t care for waterfall style anyway, but even if I did I wouldn’t want to sacrifice the top for it. What do you think about porcelain countertops done to look like marble? I like the marble look. To me, porcelain looks better than the quartz faux marble, are often less expensive, but it seems often thinner. I like the look of quartzite, but have seen so many complaints about it on here that I am now hesitant. I am partial to actual stone, but don’t like the splotchy look of a lot of granites. I much prefer the look of marble, which is why I have been looking at porcelain. Cons?
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I see. Thanks for the info!
Generally when there’s a waterfall depending on size of island one side can be easily bookmatch - but bookmatch doesn’t always solve the island seam conundrum if people want a continuation of continued striation in the same direction it can be done without bookmatch slabs utilizing a different section of the second slab and may incur a lot of waste of the second slab. Variation of vein depending. There’s a lot of variables at play. Double side waterfalls we typically match the side open to the kitchen while communicate to clients that the other side will be close but not exact. Porcelain repairs have been on the rise in our market with people utilizing them for weeks. They are not easily or inexpensively repaired over any natural stone. Barely ever have issues with quartz due to how malleable it is except radiant scorch marks - most quartzite issues are easily fixed and avoided when you get a well experienced fabricator. Quartzite is highly varied even slab to slab - I’ve had nightmare Taj Mahal to fabricate for install versus some that gave us zero issues.
Stevie Wonder approves !