The seam looks fine but the corner blob does not. How wide is the corner blob? It may look better with a better color match of caulk. This would bother me too. Hopefully Joseph will weigh in here. I think I would complain to Home Depot and be satisfied with getting a discount from them. I am not sure they can remove the edge and redo it. So disappointing.

I wouldn't be happy. I'm interested to know what others say. Sorry!

Not helpful, Sophie. ):

Sophie is referring to the proper way to have stone seamed, I saw her post this elsewhere in Houzz.

Honestly, I would be very upset at the quality of the corner. Communicate thoroughly your issues with the install and insist on a fix. When the workers show up tired and without the proper tools they weren't likely to do quality work.

PS - My corner wasn't seamed to Sophie's standards either but it looks amazing anyway, not a noticeable seam unless you are looking for it. My install team was amazing and the guy doing the seam took about 30 minutes to mix and match the epoxy and he dry fit it 3 times with the proper equipment before going for it.

i am a fabricator. That's horrible. Insist it be redone and that they use a "french mitre" in the corner as depicted in the drawings by Sophie. The offset on the bottom is not uncommon but should've been eliminated by the fab shop before the parts left their building. Given how poor this work is I'd recommend you simply get your money back if possible and go find a competent fabricator. You might even find going direct to the fabricator is no more expensive than HD's price since you will be eliminating HD's markup. Also; an $800 upcharge for Ogee on a $2000 job seems quite excessive. Many fabricators have ogee as one of their standard edges with no upcharge.

Godswood: That's beautifully done! Wish there were more 'guys' like your 'guy' out there to provide better service/results for us consumers.

OP: It befuddles me that your installers did such a nice job on the seam, but completely blew it with the corner. Hope you get satisfaction, eventually.

It befuddles me too!!

Surely the pictograms were self explanatory. Sharp 90 corners are prohibited unless they are created by a French miter. The job is not fabricated correctly. They need to remove it and replace it with better quality work. Work that they may not be capable of producing.

I have been in the stone industry for 18 years, and we see this sort of thing all the time. I highly recommend to everyone out there to NEVER use "big box stores" for skilled labor. Big box stores keep their prices low by purchasing in high volume and by consistently using the lowest bidder. Great place to buy a component but not a high end product. When our clients question our pricing vs. that of a big box store I explain it like so.... Sure McDonalds is a great place to grab a quick and cheep bite with your college buddies, but not the kind of place where you are going to go for your anniversary. Why? Expectation. You expect a lesser quality meal for the super cheep price, and you usually get what you pay for.

With that said, you may already be in a pickle. Most big box stores have a pretty extensive contract and included in the fine print you will probably find something to the effect that if the installers where allowed to leave without you filling a complaint, you have agreed to accept the project. Some will ask if you have questions, and if not then the work is accepted. You may have also signed to complete the installation. Hopefully not, and your first course of action should be to file a claim with Home Depot. The correct fix will be to remove and replace the tops, and to change the seam configuration. A real fabrication shop would never seam like this.

If Home Depot is not willing to fix the issue properly, then I suggest finding the most reputable custom shop in the area and have them take a look. Our office receive similar calls on a regular basis. We are always happy to help, but make it clear in every situation that we are the last resort. Once you have someone else do anything to help fix the issues, the original supplier will wash their hands of the situation.

" A real fabrication shop would never seam like this." +1. The McDonalds analogy is excellent. I will be using it in the future.

Thanks! I'm using some of this verbage for my defense.

But I do want to say, there's nothing that made us think HD would be a bad way to go to have some recourse if things went South with the install. We'll see! Where I live there's not a ton of options and unfortunately there have been issues with other fabricators/installers as well. The fabricators we got the quartz from is used by all of the high end designers in our nearest major city and our particular quartz is popular. But, it is possible they don't do their best work for HD, because people, in in general, suck. ($$$) That's how I feel this morning anyway.

Regardless, how effing hard is it to do a French mitre? With the right tools not at all, so I'm so befuddled! I always say it takes more energy to do a half ass job 2x than to do a good job 1x, so do a good job! Am I right?

Thanks again for chiming in. Still no answers on how I could go about fixing this cosmetically if I can't get replaced. I have some ideas though. As an artist, with some patience and a magnifying glass I might be able to get this looking like there's no seam at all, but one solid piece. But I'm leaving the rest of the seam alone. It's not the best but far from the worst. Oh, I saw a hair thin scratch too this morning. I was able to get a picture of it, so hopefully because of this I can get it redone. Anyway, off I go. I wonder if I should put makeup on and wear perfume and a pushup bra. Desperate times call for desperate measures! *Laughing crying*

OP: Please refer to [this thread[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/counter-top-dispute-with-fabricator-dsvw-vd~4687970) posted last summer by a dissatisfied Home Depot customer. The subject of cc disputes and what the/your cc company might actually cover comes up @ June 10 - 4:11 p.m. post. Might be worth a read.

For our reno, I specifically avoided big box stores and hired a local (Houston), multi-generation, family run fabrication company (touted MIA membership, decades in the business, state-of-the-art CNC equipment): our installation was/is a disaster, with the company not even adhering to the most basic MIA standards (max span between shims < 2').

Sorry to go off-topic, and I realize Ancient Elements Stoneworks isn't painting with a broad brush and insinuating that all professionals do good work. Just wishing there were more oldryders around -- or, at least, a better way to find them.

Thank you, javiwa! I'm so sorry you had a bad install. It sucks do bad. ): Did you replace it, fix it, or make peace with it?

I spoke with HD, gave them pictures. So far they've been very nice and receptive. I'll know in a couple of days. I and HD still have to talk to the fabricators. They've left a message already but I need to wait til I'm home to call back. *Fingers crossed!"

javiwa - It depends on how you define "professional". The difference is that a true professional is capable as well as willing to fix issues if they do arise, not just ignore them. A professional would have never left a project looking like this. Even my most novice employees know full well that this would be unacceptable. Not to mention would be embarrassed if it had been their work. We have built our business' reputation on striving for the highest quality, but that does not mean we have never made mistakes. Although it does not happen often we are 100% up front with the client if an issues does arise and we work together to get it resolved. A professional understands that it is inconvenient for the client and is definitely going to be costly for them. I have found that in the long run, some of the most appreciative clients are those who are fully aware that there was an issues, have seen a company go the extra mile to rectify the situation, and in the end, who are able to truly enjoy the beauty and craftsmanship of a job well done.

Thanks, Ancient. There is simply no excusing this company's work, which speaks to their incompetency. But I'm absolutely galled that, after I allowed them multiple opportunities to 'make it right' (and there were numerous "its"!), they counter sued me for all the extra labor hours to make it right -- that speaks to their integrity, or lack thereof.

ispeakwhale: Sorry...not sure how I missed your post. It's been almost a year of trying to walk away from this, but there is just no making peace, try as I have. I actually spoke to the owner last week (about the bar top not being level -- off by > 1/4" over 6', which exceeds MIA standards -- as this will impact how our backsplash tile will look). He went off topic and told me about a job they pulled on-the-spot because of issues during installation. I asked him why he denied me that option during our install (I specifically asked him to pull the tops and redo, but he told me it couldn't be done.), and he's claiming poor memory ("I can't remember having that conversation with you, but there MUST have been something about your situation/kitchen that we couldn't have done that."). I told him there wasn't, and would he stand by that offer now? He claims "too much has already been done" to revisit that now. Nope -- kitchen and tops are pretty much as he left them. Then he said he was in traffic, didn't have my file with him, etc. Have not heard back. I'll post reviews to their Facebook and Houzz pages, and any other public pages where they publicize (still need to send a formal follow-up to MIA). Sorry for taking over your thread with this rant: I'm obviously not over this yet, the feeling of being ripped off.

I so wish to hire a recommended tile setter to do our backsplash, but am having trust issues right now. And, yet, if we DIY, it could be another year (or more!) before it gets done. I've gotten recommendations from friends; but with all due respect, the recs sound very much like all-purpose handymen.

...how effing hard is it to do a French mitre? I'll see your rhetorical query, and raise you two: How effing hard is it to cut right angles after two measurements and two template preparations? How effing hard is it to do a dry assembly to assure fit, before gluing everything down?

Any progress on your end? :)

It's a do-over.

Contrary to AES's comments, when I worked for a HD countertop contractor, I watched HD make him eat a perfectly fine installation because the customer didn't like it. HD tells the fabricator "Eat it or we'll pull your contract."

When a guy just financed a $300,000.00 CNC machine to be able to produce the volume of work required to fulfill an HD contract, he's in no position to argue.

Unlike Neolith, HD does not want that picture on Houzz, believe me.

In my area, intelco in nj does Home Depot and Ikea quartz installs. I’m so sorry to see such poor quality. Thank you Sophie for posting those diagrams - I’m happy to see my kitchen countertop was done appropriately (figure #3). My quartz countertop gets installed this Friday, I’m hoping the installers can be proficient enough at their job to do a straight run with a single seam. Oh boy.

Good luck, Mags438! If you think to share I'd love to know how yours turn out.

Thanks, Joseph. That's reassuring. So far, customer service has been pleasant and HD extra reassuring that they'll fix the issues. I meet the manager over installations on Friday. *Crosses stuff*

I'm sorry to hear that, Alice. Eff it all! ):

@ispeakwhale - My quartz countertop was just installed. As picky as I am, I am very happy with the install. My straight run was only 15’1” long without any holes. I was told during measurements that putting a ledge in the open desk area would be helpful. I had the wood cut and the guys that did the install attached wood to wall. A good install. Attached are some pics. The seam is nearly right under the ceiling spotlight and the seam is not noticeable.

I’m so glad things are headed in the right direction for you!!

Hi guys! I finally got the redo completed today. They replaced the entire right side. These 2 guys (not the original guys) worked very hard to remove the mis-cut side and put the new one in. I think they did pretty good considering? It's not as 99% as perfect as I'd like it but I'll say 97% as I had to clean up a but of epoxi they missed and the seam isn't as tight towards the front. I think this is due to the original cut on the left. It was hard to see the epoxi smudges with the light the way it is this time of day. So anyway, Home Depot really stood behind their values, as they say. We'll be compensated in some way as it's been 2 1/2 months delay on our kitchen remodel. They were really great in making this right.

Now on to the backsplash and floors! Thanks for all of your input!

Ok, 98%. :)

Ok 100%!! Yay!!! :) Thanks for chiming in Joseph. They really did do a great job. And I'm so relieved!!

That is awesome. WELL DONE and good for you for speaking up and expecting a good job.

I'd like to add, a magic sponge takes the epoxi smudges right up if it hasn't cured yet. I'd say, within 20-30 min.

Very nice. That was worth waiting for.

I love my quartz so much I want to play floor is lava in my kitchen all day long!

Happy things worked out for you. It looks nice

So glad you got such a beautiful seam. Can't wait for the reveal.

Thank you both! :-)

WOW! I'm so happy to see the new seam (even though it's hard to detect)! Looks awesome!!

Thanks, @Featherbee!

I have a similar situation, which company did home depot uses....if you don't mind saying publicly.

HU:

HD contracts with different fabricators all across the country. They like to award all the work in a particular state to a single fabricator.