Granite Nightmare!

Learn from our mistakes before you have granite installed! We thought we were very careful, and still went through one of the worst times of our lives...http://www.redheadcandecorate.com/4/post/2012/03/granite-nightmare-pictures-to-prove-it.html

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My pictures of what we came home to after we had to spend a night in a hotel room because of the granite installation.

13 Comments

KMS Woodworks Nederland, CO

One reason installers do in house cuts is it reduce the chance of breaking the slab at the skinny sink hole or cooktop hole. more reputable installers will cut these back at the shop and also install under cut "rods" to strengthen these narrow areas. This extra work cost more, in the long run as you fund out it is cheaper.
I do a lot of granite tile kitchen...by being tile they are small enough to cut on my wet ...»
saw...and 18" x 24" pieces give a great lower cost alternative to slab.

on Aug 09, 2012 · Like 1
Becky Blair, NE

It's really sad they didn't warn you ahead of time to clear your kitchen of anything you didn't want covered in dust and to cover anything that had to be left in place with plastic including open doorways. Not everyone knows how much dust comes from cutting granite or other tile. They should NOT have assumed you'd know. It should have been a no brainer on their part to warn you. I'm sure they had on protective gear. Why oh why they didn't cut it outside your home is beyond me! That's how ...»
our Silestone was cut and our home was still under construction.
I have to add that since it's been over two years since this happened you need to put it behind you and not let it keep eating at you. That's not good for your health either.
As for damage to your families health because of the dust, all you have to do is talk to your family doctor. With such a short exposure (thanks to your grabbing them and getting them outside) my guess would be it would have showed up almost immediately with signs of trouble breathing. If you are still worried please talk to your family doctor to ease your mind.
It does amaze me how folks like you had do your work stay in business in this day and age with online reviews.
Nice of you to pass this on here so anyone thinking of adding granite or other solid surface counters to their home will know how to prepare their home.

on Aug 09, 2012 · Like 0
Leslie D Las Vegas, NV

Our granite installer did everything in their shop, and the small modifications they had to do on site were done in their "mobile truck" workshop.....now our drywall texture guy was a different story....despite draping the area with plastic, we had dust everywhere, upstairs and down. You don't realize how much stuff you own until you have to dust every surface of EVERYTHING in your house! No excuse for this with granite, though!
on Aug 09, 2012 · Like 1
Redheadcandecorate.com Lake Orion, MI

Thanks everyone...we let it go long ago. We love our kitchen and spend all of our time there. Just want others to learn from our nightmare. Even if we would have covered the entry it would have still gotten into the air ducts, thus spread through out the home. We had to have the ducts cleaned and it was coated with it. In my personal opinion under no circumstances should homeowners allow any cutting in the home. Not even with a wet saw. It was pure laziness.

on Aug 09, 2012 · Like 3
KMS Woodworks Nederland, CO

In many construction sites taping covers over the heat vents is common...and not really that much work...When I sand hardwood floors I do this...and tape off doorways and cabinets....it it a bit extra work but better in the long haul.
BTW...did your insurance company drop you after filling a 34 k claim?

on Aug 10, 2012 · Like 3
Redheadcandecorate.com Lake Orion, MI

Our insurance carrier reacted immediately and paid every penny. For example we had to replace all of our opened food in our pantry, have all rugs, window treatments and comforters cleaned, even the walls had to be cleaned. I stood at the sink for 8 hours on one of the days washing every single dish I own. The extent of the damage was similar to a fire. Not to mention we just painted our cabinets. Thanks for reading our story KMS Woodworks.

on Aug 10, 2012 · Like 1
Leslie D Las Vegas, NV

I'm glad your insurance covered everything. Just out of curiosity, did you go after the installer's insurance, or did your insurance company go after them? You're lucky, we had a flood due to frozen pipes at our rental house just North of Denver...about a $25K claim for a flooded basement and floor replacement in the kitchen where the pipe froze. Our insurance company paid every penny, but dropped us at renewal time.

on Aug 10, 2012 · Like 1
Erika Philadelphia, PA

I'm curious what part of the counter the installers needed to cut and why. If it was a drop in sink or cook top......it needed to be cut on site and not be transferred here and there and everywhere and back again where the probability of it breaking is high. The fabricator probably chose not to do this in the shop to eliminate the amount of seams....which would only benefit you. None the less.....they should of had a vacuum with them.

on Aug 10, 2012 · Like 0
Redheadcandecorate.com Lake Orion, MI

Thanks Erika...it was for the sink and cooktop. The damage was well beyond a vacuum. 34k. They needed to cut the granite outside.

on Aug 10, 2012 · Like 1
Erika Philadelphia, PA

I'm sorry....i didn't copy your link until just now and I am in utter shock. The cook top and sink are (should be ) PRECUT!!! I fully understand now. I hope you wrote the company a review on every possible site for others to learn from your experience. Counter tops are nice though!

on Aug 10, 2012 · Like 2
Redheadcandecorate.com Lake Orion, MI

No problem Erika...I appreciate your honesty! I also appreciate you reading the story! No one can really imagine what we went through by looking at the photos or even reading my story. I receive so many comments on my actual blog pointing the finger at us instead of the installer. It's frustrating, but I do still tell our story because it has helped so many not make this mistake. It was pure negligence and we did report it. :) Thanks for stopping by!! The rest of my posts are all happy ones :)

on Aug 10, 2012 · Like 0
Becky Blair, NE

Now how could anyone blame you for this!?

on Aug 10, 2012 · Like 1
Redheadcandecorate.com Lake Orion, MI

Thanks Becky!!!

on Aug 10, 2012 · Like 1

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