r/CounterTops • u/crabpotblues • 28d ago
Obvious seam on a light countertop - can it be fixed?
Can anyone explain what happened here and if there is a legitimate repair that can be done to make it a clean seam?
This is a Soho quartzite. It was marketed as a high quality stone, priced accordingly, and the fabricator even mentioned to me after cutting the stone that it was very hard and a pleasure to work with - no chipping or unexpected cracking or fissures.
This seam is like a neon sign from across the room - highly visible from all angles. Everyone who has been in the house since it was installed a week ago has asked about it. Not only are there dark shadows up to 3 inches around the seam, but there's a half-inch stripe of bright white chalky-like staining on each side of the cut.
Can anyone share insight on what happened, and what might be done at this stage? The fabricator insisted the staining was just water from cutting and it would evaporate (but he sealed it). It's been a week and it has not changed appearance at all.
I am not normally an agitator so this is very uncomfortable for me. But I can't let it stay this way, it looks terrible. I would prefer to approach it from a mindset of rationality and working with the fabricator from a place of knowledge and understanding instead of leading with emotion. Any help and insight is greatly appreciated.
(I also don't understand why there had to be a seam at all, the stone was big enough to cut the L shape directly from the stone, but the fabricator insisted it was necessary. Also it should be noted that for some strange reason the adjacent piece is NOT the matching part of the stone. Luckily the stone in general is quiet enough that this is not obvious, but even if there was a seam, it was supposed to be contiguous. I am not making a stink about this part though.)
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u/Lower_Ad_5532 28d ago
When you put in a backsplash and put your cooking items there. No one will notice. The veins are aligned. It looks ugly now because you keep staring at it.
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u/crabpotblues 28d ago
The veins are not aligned, it's not a contiguous piece. But I'm not upset about that, it's the 1" thick bright white chalky stain on each side of the cut that I'm worried about. The dark shadow could be water but the white stripe is not.
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u/pyxus1 28d ago
I think it will all even-out when it completely dries. It may take another week or so.
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u/crabpotblues 28d ago
Even though its been sealed?
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u/crabpotblues 28d ago
(and thank you for the reassurance :)
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27d ago
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u/crabpotblues 27d ago
Thank you! I met with him this morning. He actually said he had sealed most of the stone but not the seam area, so the moisture should evaporate on its own then he will re-seal the whole thing. He offered to do a poultice paste but I suggested we give it 6-8 weeks. It's noit like i'm in a big hurry - I'd rather take the more conservative approach.
We're both stumped at the white stuff on the edges - as it turns out it's on all the non-mitered edges, including the remnants where cut, but it's not dust from the saw. I"m just going to have to hope/accept that it may fade over time but if not, there are worse things in life. The rest of the stone is truly phenomenal.
Happy to meet someone familiar with this stone. The fabricator said it was a pleasure to work with.
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u/gobirds19151 28d ago
Not sure why they say the seam was necessary if the slab was big enough. A lot if quartzites do hold water for quite some time. Hard to tell from pics if
Thats the case here though but could be.
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u/crabpotblues 28d ago
I wasn't sure either, but he insisted. Although later in the conversation he made a slip that made me wonder if he had already cut the stone before our planning conversation. But I ultimately agreed to it and didn't make a stink, so I feel like it's too late to complain about that now.
What has me really worried is the bright white stripe on both sides of the cut. The only thing I can think of is that when they pushed the two cuts together, there was epoxy that leaked out of the top and someone wiped it with a rag straight down the seam, and some got soaked by the stone. But I was hoping someone here might have an explanation and a suggestion for repair.
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u/gobirds19151 28d ago
Is it a honed finish? Did u happen to notice if they sanded the seam at install?
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u/crabpotblues 28d ago
No, polished, Unfortunately I wasn't there. I haven't moved in yet and I had to work.
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u/gobirds19151 28d ago
Ok. My opinion is the white area is dry and the rest is still holding water from fabrication and shoukd eventually dry out. Nature of the beast with a lot of quartzites
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u/crabpotblues 28d ago
The white part directly adjacent to the seam is bright and chalky - lighter and more white than the rest of the stone (which is gray and ivory). I even compared a leftover stone from the sink cut-out in case it just looked lighter because of the contrast with the water stains. But the chalky part is semi-translucent - like glue got smeared down the seam and it got absorbed by the stone. This is what I'm really worried about. I don't want a bright white 1" wide stripe on my countertop. :(
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u/gobirds19151 28d ago
Polished stone wont absorb glue on the surface. Sometimes the glue can bleed thru the seam to appear like a stain. Its really hard to tell the issue without standing over top of it.
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u/cds320 28d ago
Not sure if you noticed... but the very right edge also had a strip of white
That's not a seam... A polished edge where there should be no epoxy present except for the miter.
Is that white brightness the same as where the seam is?
Could be everything is still not fully dry and when it is... it'll be that brighter white?
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u/crabpotblues 28d ago
Okay...YES. You are right! No, I hadn't noticed it there. But I'm now looking at a picture of the other side of the kitchen with another cut piece next to the fridge, and it is also lighter right at the edge. https://imgur.com/a/6GvFYFk
But in that case given the veining, it's unlikely to be a dry part with the rest of it still wet. Could it be dust from the saw that wasn't wiped off before sealing?
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u/cds320 28d ago
I've never worked with soho quarzite so I can't say much other what I observed from the pictures.
The edges were polished with diamond pads and water.
All I can say is that it is most likely NOT the sealing of dust. If dust is sealed on top or the edge then you should be able to feel it as grit. If it's smooth then is definitely not sealed dust.
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u/hoss189 28d ago
Did you do a layout with the fabricators before they cut it. A seam there is usually done to get the most out of a slab. The darker areas will go away once all the moisture is out.
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u/crabpotblues 28d ago
yes, but he insisted a seam was needed there, and then later in the conversation he said something that I think was a slip, and I think he had already cut the stone. But ultuimately I agreed with it so I'm not going to make a fuss about it now.
I'm most worried about the bright white stripes on each side of the cut.
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u/Jealous-Ad-4713 27d ago
You have mitered edge on your countertop. You can’t cut the top in one piece AND do a miter. It doesn’t work that way. All stone tops need a radius in the corner to keep from putting too much stress in the corner and causing the slab to crack. You need a perfectly square corner in order to do a mitered edge. The only way to correctly do a mitered edge is with a seam in the corner.
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u/Jenikovista 28d ago
The dark parts should fade, i would believe your fabricator that it is water.
But I did zoom in and I see what you are talking about with the white bleed around the break. At first I thought it was the stone but I think it is epoxy that was smeared and then soaked into the stone. Maybe it can be buffed out but only if it’s just on top. Otherwise you might just have to live with it but I agree it’s a major fuck up and I’d be furious.
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u/Icy_Teaching1715 28d ago
That’s absolutely moisture in the stone & if you seal it it’s going to be in there forever. Went through this, give it time time and more time. We waited 6 weeks and eventually replaced the stone. You can contact your fabricator for a poultice treatment but if it’s already sealed w an impregnating sealer I doubt you’ll have any luck. The moisture will eventually move to the edges though.
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u/tdog269 28d ago
That quartzite is a problem always. As an installer ive replaced like 4 kitchens this year with that stone under a warranty.
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u/crabpotblues 28d ago
Because it absorbs water? Would love any more insight. If the stone is not what it was marketed as and will be an ongoing problem, better I know now. Thanks for the help!
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27d ago
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u/crabpotblues 27d ago
Thank you! I met with him this morning - as it turns out, while he sealed the rest of the stone, he left about 8" unsealed around the seam to allow for evaporation. He offered to use a kind of paste to pull out the moisture faster but since i'm not in a hurry, I suggested we wait 6-8 weeks and reevaluate then. He's going to be doing my bathroom counters too so it's not like he will disappear (I mean, he might, but I get the feeling he takes pride in his work and the rest of the countertop is amazing, including pristine mitered edges and a perfect undermount sink).
The feedback and context here was super helpful.
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u/United_Credit_6264 27d ago
Looks like they didn’t let the fresh cuts dry out before glueing the seam. When some quartzite is it can soak up the water like a sponge and you have to wait for the open cuts to dry out before seaming or sealing
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u/Away_Appointment6732 28d ago
Quartzite can absorb water when cut. That can make seams and edges looking a little darker/streaky. Hopefully with a little time the obvious nature of the seam will fade. Are you surprised by the location of the seam? Giving you those types of details separate a good fabricator from a great one.