Granite fabricators forcing customers to go to man made stone

Huligar · 01-24-2007, 06:14 PM

I do not even know what to tell you all, so i am going to tell you the story and then have you tell me what happen.

I got a call that went like this, I had a leaky ceiling, the water settle on my stone, when i clean the water off the stone, I saw areas that did not look right to me. The place that installed the stone came in and said he has not seen anything like this. They made accusations that my mats and possibly papers destroyed my stone.

This is a quick summary of the conversation. But can you all look at the puicyture an tell me exactly what happened?

Topshop · 01-24-2007, 06:36 PM

What was the ceiling water cleaned off with - bathroom cleaner and a scouring pad?

And what does this have to do with man made stone?

Fred Hueston · 01-24-2007, 07:05 PM

could the stone have been dyed or resined?

Huligar · 01-24-2007, 09:15 PM

Topshop, the stone was wipe off with a white rag. what this has to do with with man-made? This customer save her money to get the perfect kitchen. She how wish that she went with the man-made stuff. all because of these spots appearing after the stone got wet. My question to all of you master minds, what could have been done to this stone. Please note the shape and location of the two dull areas. These guys need to take a surface polishing class.

J Koessler · 01-25-2007, 02:39 AM

Hi Josveek

I'm not a mastermind, but this could be caused by a couple of things. I hope you educated her that ES isn't what it's cracked up to be either.

What stone is depicted in the pictures? It looks like the shape of place mats, where they sit and eat.

Did the original fabricator seal a stone that didn't need to be sealed?

What did you do to correct it? I see your case under the island, don't I?

Maurizio Bertoli · 01-25-2007, 02:40 AM

It looks like Black Galaxy. It's a good candidate for doctoring.
If it was doctored, there's nothing that you can do but get ahold of your attorney.

Ciao and good luck,
Maurizio Bertoli

Huligar · 01-25-2007, 04:03 AM

John, I did not fix it, but yes that is my case under the island. John if you look at the picture you would see that the areas are too small to be a place mat, and i do not know about the rest of you, i have never seen anyone eat at the corner of the island.

MB, the stone is black galaxy, and the stone was doctored, but by the fabricator who attempted to hide his poor top polishing skills. after talking to the fabricator i instructed the homeowner to take this to court. can I fix this top? yes i can, but it is not right that the customer has to pay to correct something that not have been install in the first place.

J Koessler · 01-25-2007, 06:45 AM

Hi Josveek

I don't have the perspective on my screen as to the size of those areas. Matts were mentioned in your opening statement. The shapes are also too well defined. I wouldn't put it past anyone where they eat in their kitchen.

If the stones were doctored prior to the fabricator & distributor receiving them (as they usually are), it simply means they weren't TESTed, which isn't uncommon. However, that doesn't make it right. More than likely the attorney will cost more than these tops did.

Even being doctored, something caused this to happen. It makes sense that something acidic had to have come in contact with this stone for the fogging to occur. If the ceiling leaked, why did it only affect those two areas. Something is missing in the story. Obviously the fabricator made it worse in their attempt to correct it.

Maurizio Bertoli · 01-25-2007, 12:18 PM

Whomever fault it was, the court is the only option if the fabricator does not accept to pay a stone restoration contractor to fix the problem (Jo, in this case).
That bening said, if it was a case of doctoring by the factory, neither Jo nor anybody else could ever fix that, but you don't need a lawyer to take someone to court for a small case like that (it may not be Small Claim Court, but it would be Special Civil; still a very easy procedure and fast). All you'd need is an expert to go there with the homowner and prove the wrongdoing.
In cases like these (if the doctoring is from the factory) marblecleaning.org volunteers its experts at assisting customers in court at no charge.

Ciao and good luck,
Maurizio Bertoli

Topshop · 01-25-2007, 12:25 PM

O.K. so it looks like the fabricator messed up and scratched the top during fabrication and tried to fix it BUT could not. Then to cover it up he doctored it probably with black wax or something that did not last when the top got wet.

Yes, she should demand a new top or take them to court IF they cannot fix it right.