Granite Top Crack Repair

Elaine Maxam has a new kitchen remodel going on at her Clermont, FL home. Her new granite top has a crack in it and the installers tried a field repair. Let her tell you the tale:

"We hired a company to install kitchen cabinets and granite counter tops after a recent fire. The granite installation has been a nightmare, one piece was cut 1 inch too short and they wanted to "fill" it.

That was the least of the problems. They cracked the granite at the sink edge during installation and epoxied it hoping I wouldn't notice.

You can see the crack clear as day. Photo credit: Elaine Maxam

The crack is all the way through. Now they want to just come back and polish it so  I don't see the crack on the surface, but the crack will still be there.

Will this be a problem in the future? Also, when I looked underneath, they only used five clips to hold the sink, there is no other support, the sink is crooked and they cut huge side holes in my brand new cabinet  so they could maneuver my sink.

Is this proper installation procedure? The owner of the remodel company came over and looked at it and offered a discount.  He didn't give me a figure, but basically feels I should just let them fill the crack and live with it. I'm concerned about the weight of the sink, the crack and the lack of support, not to mention the damage to my cabinet. What would be your recommendation?"

Here's my answer for Elaine:

Elaine, you need a new top.

You need a new sink cabinet.

You need a new remodeling contractor.

You deserve a NEW flawless granite top. Do NOT let them talk you into accepting this top. Be SURE you're there when the new one comes. Take GREAT photos of the top pattern now to make sure they just don't bring this one back to you saying it's a different one.

Ask the contractor if he'll accept a NEW table saw that's been cracked and epoxied back together. Or perhaps a new truck that has a cracked chassis that's been epoxied and welded.

I sure hope that you're still holding LOTS of your money as leverage in this transaction.

All too often people give contractors too much money in advance of the work and the contractors then just walk or become hard to deal with.

You need to go visit a few kitchen showrooms in your area that sell granite tops. Talk to them about the BEST installers.

Take a bunch of photos with you showing the horrible work you're experiencing.

Was the contractor you hired offered up by your insurance company?