Granite fabricators forcing customers to go to man made stone - Page 2

Huligar · 01-25-2007, 12:37 PM

Topshop that is what happen, and this case is going to court.

J Koessler · 01-25-2007, 01:45 PM

Hi Josveek

Thanks for this thread. Very educational.

Hi Guys

Thanks for all your input!

Topshop · 01-25-2007, 08:09 PM

Did the fabricator try to fix it or at least offer to replace it after his doctoring was found out or was the customer just plain too irrate at that point to deal with?

Every contractor is going to make mistakes and have issues - it is what you do about them that tells people if you are a good contractor or not.

Huligar · 01-25-2007, 08:25 PM

The home owner was very relax, all she wants is for it to be fix. The contractor is the one that is being anal. he claims he did a great job and that he did not try to polish the top.

Maurizio Bertoli · 01-26-2007, 03:57 PM

Oookaaayyy... So let's say - just for the sake of the argument - that the fabricator did not try to re-polish that top... Just out of curiosity, what's his excuse?

I mean, he can't certainly say that Black Galaxy - which when non-doctored is one of the most bullet-proof stones out there - does that out of the blue sky, can he?...

Can you tell us what he said, Jo?
These things make me really curious!

Ciao and good luck,
Maurizio Bertoli

Huligar · 01-26-2007, 05:35 PM

In short, The stone was damage my the water and he never touch the surface of the stone. he also claim that the customer must have had papers or a mat that made the the stone look like this. the stone was perfect when it left his shop and he is no responsible for the damage, and he is not sending anyone to fix the stone. That is it in a nutshell. I told this guy all he had to do was run the 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, black buff and tin oxide. He does not care and he will not fix or replace the stone. As a stone professional I can not allow this fabricator that this is what happen to stone gets wet, or if you place mats or papers on the stone it would cause damage. The homeowner is going to take this up with the kitchen design, after all that is who they paid, and this is who sends the fabricator the work. If the kitchen designer can not make this guy stand behind his work, I can not see them given him much more work. I will place a call to the design stone explaining what went wrong and what should be done, if the fabricator still does not want to stand behind his work, I will mention a NSRA fabricator that work in the area. so far we only have topshop, in CT.

Maurizio Bertoli · 01-26-2007, 06:25 PM

And the mystery thickens!...
At this point I must ask you another question, Jo: how were you able to determine that the fabricator tried to polish those spots? And how do you think he was able to doctor them in a way that the cutomer would not notice? I mean, we're implying spot doctoring, are we not?
You must have seen something specific that lead you to conclude that the fabricator actually tried to re-polish those spots and then applied some amazing doctoring agent onto them. Doctoring agents are pretty much high-tech products and not so easy to get and apply, for all I know.
What was it? Did you notice the clear consequence of a poor polishing job, that is swirls and uneven finish? It's hard to tell from the pictures, which, for the little I can see, are showing two very uniform and geometric lighter spots. Moreover, you must have been able to determine for sure that the doctoring was only on those spots, right?...
Tell us, man!
Inquiring minds wanna know!...

Ciao and good luck,
Maurizio Bertoli

Topshop · 01-26-2007, 09:35 PM

I am not sure what Jo saw being that he was there in front of it but in the picture I can see a rectangular pattern on the top like someone was at it with the diamonds for some reason. I bet they used some kind of wax to disguise the pattern when they found they werent as skilled as they thought and the wax came off when it was wet. Just my guess. Heck it could have even been a fabricator in the shop who slipped with the pads and tried to hide a mistake from his boss, the boss probably never even knew about it until now. It is realy easy to mess up when putting on an ogee profile like that.

I know that if it was doctored with some of the Tenax products it would have lasted longer than that.

It sounds as if Jo will need to be in court as an expert witness.

Huligar · 01-27-2007, 07:36 AM

MB, that area that looks dull is nothing more then the patten from the diamonds. You can even see how they over lapped. I use black wax to demonstrate to the homeowner, how easy it was to pull the wool over her eyes. I wax half an area so that they can show the designer. I also told them that this would not last and it should never have be done to this stone. I examine the rest of the surface and found 3 areas that needed attention.

Maurizio Bertoli · 01-27-2007, 01:14 PM

That answers my questions, thank you.
Amazing what some "Michelangelo" wouldn't do and/or say not to face their responsibilities!...

Ciao and good luck,
Maurizio Bertoli