We just had solid surface countertops installed. The seam that was done on-site is basically invisible, but the two that were done in their shop show a very visible seam (glue line?)  which is about 1/32 to 1/16 inch wide. This becomes even more pronounced at night because it is more shiny than the rest of the countertop. Is this a common experience? An error in fabrication? Any advice would be very appreciated.  The fabricator/installer seems to think it is an acceptable seam. 

Make sure to tell all your freinds about this fabricator (so they can go somewhere else).  That seam is not accepted in my shop.

Johnny C

It's not acceptable in our shop either. Depending on the brand of solid surface you bought, you may be able to call the manufacturer's warranty center and have them inspect the seam. If it's DuPont Corian, and the fabricator was certified, you have what is known as an Installed Warranty and may be able to get this resolved at that level rather than arguing with the fabricator.

To my knowledge.   DuPont would not cover the appearence of the seam under warranty.  they would only cover failure of the seam if not caused by customer missuse.

Johnny C

It's Staron -- Pebble Gold. The fabricator claims the seam is acceptable. We're learning that customer service / satisfaction is not his priority. He said "I can tear your kitchen apart and re-do it, but I can't guarantee it would look any better than it does now" . This guy came recommended by two of our customers -- the only thing we can figure is that because they both are well known in the construction / real estate community, their projects were given a little more attention to detail. The installer told us that the guy who glued our top was relatively new -- this was his first top. Seems we're in a bit of a sticky wicket.

Do you think these seams could be successfully repaired on-site by a reputable (aka different than this guy) fabricator, or will this require the top to be taken out? It's a U-shape, with one bad seam on each arm of the U. One side is 35" wide and the other is 27" wide.

I really appreciate your input -- just trying to figure out our options. Deb

Yes, they can. Especially if you have some remnant material from the sheets used to make your tops. Back To Perfection could fix that easily, if they have someone in your area (any *good* fabricator could fix that.)

Posted By Len Smith on 08 Dec 2011 05:39 PM
Yes, they can. Especially if you have some remnant material from the sheets used to make your tops. Back To Perfection could fix that easily, if they have someone in your area (any *good* fabricator could fix that.)

+ 1 ... Yes any good company can redo a seam on site with minimal to no dust and make it darn near imposable to find as long as you have color matching die lot material.

PS - Thanks for the vote of confidence in our company Len.

Hey Len and Karl -- that's really good to hear. We have the sink cut-out.

Karl -- Does BTP service Northern California -- Humboldt County?

Can't tell you how grateful I am for your help!

Deb:

What is surprising is that the field seams are better than the shop seams. Secondly, that is a very forgiving color for seams. While I'm glad you've gotten an near invisible seam, the standard is inconspicuous.

Joe

Posted By Deb on 08 Dec 2011 05:59 PM
Hey Len and Karl -- that's really good to hear. We have the sink cut-out.

Karl -- Does BTP service Northern California -- Humboldt County?

Can't tell you how grateful I am for your help!

Yes we do, its a bit of a trip for us so you may want to wait until we have another job in the general location. Or we can come up and just service these issues.

Here is our web sit and locations

http://www.backtoperfection.com/cou...ontact.cfm

.
Thanks for looking ether way

.

Deb,  I commend you for having the courage to pursue customer satisfaction.  On the rare occasion we may get a call,   I leap immediately and correct the  problem.   Right now I have a customer who said her island top moved a shosh when she leaned on it.    After several months in a new home with an air to air heat exchanger running,  I'm sure the substrate and cabinets have shrunk away.  Because we screw our tops down  I may need to snug up the screws.  Her satisfaction is my first concern.    When those of us who sell and fab our own tops convince you the customer we are the  best, customers are reluctant to challenge us. 
Thanks for keeping us honest and doing the right thing.

Deb, to a company that really cares about their reputation, this matter would have been dealt with differently.

Acceptable means different things to different people. The better fabricator is one who's standards are higher than the customer's.

Good luck with your repair.

Thank you all for your input -- we really appreciate it. 

Could I ask just a couple more questions? In these two pics (which show what we see at night)  is the shiny seam line that we're seeing the glue line?

Also, at the edge of the counter in the first pic, and in the brightly reflected spot in the second pic, there are little black lines. These are scattered along both seams and I can feel them when I run my thumbnail across them. They feel like tiny cracks in the seam. The fabricator claims they are "glue bubbles" . Could I get your take on what they might be?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and respond, and for the chance to have such a great bunch of folks to bounce this off of.

Deb

The one in the second picture is a void, due to not enough glue in the seam. With a really tight dry seam, there wouldn't be enough room in the seam for that large a void.

When you get the tops repaired, you won't see those anymore.

Poor quality control.

Could anyone give me a ballpark estimate of what it would cost to repair these two seams, one 35" and one 27"? We do have the sink cut-out and another color-matched piece also. We're in Northern California, and I realize costs may vary depending on location, but a ballpark figure would be really helpful.

Thanks!! Deb

Ahhh...  The voids could give you cause for a warranty claim.  The voids are more than an asthetic issue.  They are a fabricator error and seam integrity issue.  Fabricating guidlines mandate that a seam not have any voids in it.

If pursuing a warranty claim fails and you decide to pay for the repair yourself, I would think that the ball park would be in the $500.00 range give or take.

Johnny C

maybe you paid by credit card and can just call your CC company.

I would take them up on their offer, take it out. I would tell them you are not going away, their seams are not the industry standards according to some of the best in the business, and if they cant put it back in better, then give your money back or pay to have it repaired.

Deb, is there anyway you can take a picture or two underneath the seam areas and give an overall of your kitchen too. 

It looks as if it was a quick and fastseam, just wonder if time was cut underneath too?

Posted By John Christensen on 10 Dec 2011 03:19 PM
Ahhh...  The voids could give you cause for a warranty claim.  The voids are more than an asthetic issue.  They are a fabricator error and seam integrity issue.  Fabricating guidlines mandate that a seam not have any voids in it.

If pursuing a warranty claim fails and you decide to pay for the repair yourself, I would think that the ball park would be in the $500.00 range give or take.

Johnny C

I would check on the warranty due to the glue voids.

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Posted By Kelsey Crisp on 11 Dec 2011 07:42 AM

maybe you paid by credit card and can just call your CC company.

I would take them up on their offer, take it out. I would tell them you are not going away, their seams are not the industry standards according to some of the best in the business, and if they cant put it back in better, then give your money back or pay to have it repaired.

Deb, is there anyway you can take a picture or two underneath the seam areas and give an overall of your kitchen too. 

It looks as if it was a quick and fastseam, just wonder if time was cut underneath too?

We paid with a check, with a remaining balance of 530.00. We're going to call Staron tomorrow morning and see what we need to do to have a rep come out and see it in person.  We're also going to call the other local fabricator to have them come out and evaluate the situation.

Here is a picture of the underside of the counter under one of the seams. The other one I can't get to, as the Lazy Susan cabinet  is obscuring it.   Also, there's another pic of the glue voids. Wish I had a better camera, as the pics don't do them justice.





Honestly, we would have been lost at sea without you guys.  He was ready to schedule the installer to come out and fill in the "glue bubbles".  Thankfully that didn't happen. 

So again, thanks for your help!  Deb




 

Deb, I'be been following your post here and am wondering if you had gotten qoutes for your countertop, and did you see any of the actual quality of the work from the fabricator you chose before you decided on them?
You mentioned that your recomendations came from a realtor & a contractor. Have you told them about the issues you have with the quality and asked for there opinions?
It's unfortunate your spending your time after the purchase to educate yourself.
My point is most realtors don't know the the first thing about countertop fabrication, and most contractors go with the cheapest bid.

Fortunately it can be repaired and who you chose will make the differece.
By posting on the FabNet it looks like you have learned a lesson about recomendations from realtors and contractors.