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Andy wrote
I have seen this type of failure with all materials and would be interested in know how to avoid these issues.
Solid surface implemented seam reinforcement, cooktop reinforcement, seam placement and hot cutout rules. Before this, we had problems that occurred years after the initial installation.
Laminate faces the same fate around sink openings when the water wicks in and causes the particle board to swell.
Tile invariably fails around a sink. Just a matter of time.
I think we will see more and more problems with both quartz and granite because of the high demand and the speed at which many were installed. Not to mention improved fabrication and installation methods will make the product better over time.
Kevin,
What are some solutions to the problems you see with this granite job?
Andy
The first problem is of course the laminations falling apart… I know the left coast does a lot of it but for god sakes get someone that can read the expiration dates on the lam glue or better yet the instructions. The right coast uses 3cm as a standard and eliminates a lot of the lamination problem unless it is an UPGRADED edge and the folks doing them can afford to be educated because they don’t work for wages on that type of work.
As far as design goes it looks like someone just stuck a bunch of pieces together and neglected to think about what short glue joints one would have to hold things together. As you state most materials would fail with no thought given to structual integrity.
The material choice is not 1st choice, 2nd choice, or even commercial grade stone! It looks like some bad indian or china stone that should have never gone into a countertop.
Poor workmanship, poor materials, and poor design equals to total failure.
Heres a problem i am starting to hear that sounds ……ah lets just say it sounds weird…. Alot of people say this….”oh the reason that failed is because its Chinese granite…oh that piece is Indian granite….Oh you shoulda bought the American granite”..Does it really matter what mountain gets chopped down into 2cm & 3cm slabs, does traveling it from overseas make it weaker????
help me understand this, I understand alot of tools and jewelry and handbags,etc are made into knockoffs…but is Chinese granite fake…kinda like a mixture to resemble granite, what about Russian granite?…is it soaked in Vodka?
My ancestors tried to market Irish Granite, but the Drunx passed out and the Scottish robbed it….I just cant wait to see how strong and how much money a slab will cost when they start chopping up Mount Rushmore….i want Washingtons nose chopped into my Kitchen….American granite that is…..The best in the world
Kevin,
How can you possibly prove the quality of the stone from that picture?
I think those short peices used to be several larger ones till they fell off and hit the floor. Scrap like that is too easy to come by for them to use a bunch of short peices.
Just another stone job. I see a lot of restoration guys in the stone business, so something is keeping them busy.
My ancestors tried to market Irish Granite, but the Drunx passed out and the Scottish robbed it….
Sorry ’bout that, laddy.
It was after we had a wee dram and thought it had fallen off the lorry, mate.
I have fond memories of my maternal Irish Grandfather coming home well lubricated. Grandma, Scott-Irish, would chase him with her broom, swatting him. He always headed for the dinette set, would dive under and pull chairs around him to keep from getting broom beaten. Grandma would start jabbing till she flushed him out. No telling how many years this had been going on.
Never knew if Grandma was just against drinking or it was the waste of money…
Refresh Gene wrote
Heres a problem i am starting to hear that sounds ……ah lets just say it sounds weird…. Alot of people say this….”oh the reason that failed is because its Chinese granite…oh that piece is Indian granite….Oh you shoulda bought the American granite”..Does it really matter what mountain gets chopped down into 2cm & 3cm slabs, does traveling it from overseas make it weaker????
No, Gene….
It was the cabinetmakers fault…..
Refresh Gene wrote
Heres a problem i am starting to hear that sounds ……ah lets just say it sounds weird…. Alot of people say this….”oh the reason that failed is because its Chinese granite…oh that piece is Indian granite….Oh you shoulda bought the American granite”..Does it really matter what mountain gets chopped down into 2cm & 3cm slabs, does traveling it from overseas make it weaker????
help me understand this, I understand alot of tools and jewelry and handbags,etc are made into knockoffs…but is Chinese granite fake…kinda like a mixture to resemble granite, what about Russian granite?…is it soaked in Vodka?
My ancestors tried to market Irish Granite, but the Drunx passed out and the Scottish robbed it….I just cant wait to see how strong and how much money a slab will cost when they start chopping up Mount Rushmore….i want Washingtons nose chopped into my Kitchen….American granite that is…..The best in the world
Too bad America wasn’t blessed with the resource of beautiful granite colors found around the globe or we could say something about American granite – very few colors in America.
Whats wrong with China and Indian stone Gene is that the porosity and compaction. A lot of the Indian stone is like a sponge sucking up water and stains very easily. Most of the blanks from China are real grainy and have large granules making up the stone. Both countries have some top end stone both hard and dense like Blue Eyes and Absolute Black.
Blue eyes – one of my favorites. Where does that come from, Kevin? Both countries or one of the above?
For having such large quartz crystals, it is really that tight?
Tom M wrote
Blue eyes – one of my favorites. Where does that come from, Kevin? Both countries or one of the above?
For having such large quartz crystals, it is really that tight?
I recently read somewhere that it is from China – whoops big correction on my part! I really meant to say Blues in the Night! We have only done a few jobs in it but it is really a pretty tight grain black with those beautful blue translucent flecks. Have you seen it yet Tom?
Blue Eyes is from Canada I believe… pretty stuff!
I have an absolute black sample that has those iridescent violet thingies. I wonder if it was mislabled?
No other absolute black sample I have has the particular coolness in them. Just black.
I know this because I just checked them all.
Guys –
Sorry about the delay in responding but as Al indicated I have been in Mexico as part of the team Honda motorcycle racing pit crew. More to follow on that in the Swamp…….
I agree that stone durability has much to do with many factors. Installation, stone density and composition just to name a few. The more variation in the stone (i.e. more quartz or veins of different material), the more it seems to fissure with time. Pure stones, like absolute black, seem to wear better as they are true all the way through. These stones also usually require less preventative maintenance than the variable composition stones and people just aren’t doing it. Another problem is that the varied stones are often the prettier ones and most customers are choosing thier stone based chiefly on appearance.
Al is correct, there are no seams in that front edge. It exploded as it hit the floor. The house is on a hillside, so I am sure that is not helping, either. Will advise as this unfolds. I hope we get it too, Karl.
Here is another one for you, Al. This should keep you until I get an answer on the big job.
BEFORE :
AFTER:
We repaired the top and underpinned the whole area to keep it from re-cracking.
Al, I can e-mail you the full size shots if you want them. Love them stone tops, baby!!
Please do, Mr. Gordon. Send all you can find, we have DSL. They will be put to good use. I’ll link them to your website as well, might get you some new business.
That is an amazing repair job. Great job…
What does a job like that cost?
I got them off to you tonight, Al.
Thanks for the review. I would rather not quote prices herein, but safe to say that the homeowner was more than happy to pay the bill as it hovered around only 15-20% of the replacement cost.
30 day warranty only, though.
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