Looking for opinions on quartzite seamwork [pics] [resolved]

[flashbang]

Hi guys,

Good morning. I am looking for honest opinions and feedback on my newly installed quartzite countertop.
One of the counters ran longer then the slab so it required a seam.

I feel like the seam is inadequate, and that the pattern flow of the pieces was given no thought and schlepped together.
However, I am also not well versed on this topic, and am looking for feedback.

What do you guys think?

Update: To anyone who experiences the same issue that I did and looks to the internet for help and finds this post - Don't give up. Fight for what you paid for and demand it be done correctly. This post is proof that if you let people get away with so-so work they will. I guess my only question now is if they have the knowledge to do it correctly why not do it right the first time.. This took a lot of fighting to get fixed.

BEFORE




AFTER

[colin]

Do you have another pic showing the entire top with the seam?
Did the fabricator get your approval on the layout?
Is the brown stuff in the seam adhesive or mud?
That looks like a marble to me?

[flashbang]

Do you have another pic showing the entire top with the seam? I've put two other pictures I have currently.
Did the fabricator get your approval on the layout? No.
Is the brown stuff in the seam adhesive or mud? Adhesive.
That looks like a marble to me? It is quartzite. white supra i believe.

[colin]

My guess is they did put some effort into the seams pattern match. If the flow direction had to change at the seam like that I would have got the customer on the same page before moving forward so there was no surprise or frustration with the final product. The adhesive in the seam is a very bad match, with an hour of labor and some properly matched translucent grey adhesive they can improve it dramatically, I would ask them to do that. I'm quite certain that is a marble. The only way to get the pattern to flow across the seam with those two pieces in the picture would be to flip one of them and polish the back side. Without seeing how the entire kitchen is laid out I cant say what other options they had. It is beautiful stone.

[Dan R.]

First off, love the screen name.

The seam can easily be fixed. There are 100's of proper glues in the proper color/tone/shade.

The direction of the grain is commonly juxtaposed like that for a mirror image look. It is hard to make a call on the direction unless the whole job, slab sizes (& issues) are known.

Looks like Mont Blanc marble to me, not quartzite (could be mistaken).

A repaired seam will make a lot of difference in the overall appearance of the job. Send your fabricator to this site as a resource. People can only do as well as they know. I am sure he did his best.

[Darryl Miller]

x3 on this being a marble, looks Brazilian (Mont Blanc). As Dan said, not knowing more info on the entire job and how much material was available to work with the fabricator could have been limited on options. When the veins run diagonally across the slab it is much harder to get the veins to match at the seams. The biggest offense here is the color of the seam. Fix that and I believe it will greatly improve the overall look.

[flashbang]

Thanks guys... I do feel a bit better knowing there is hope.
When I asked them about a translucent seam they said it was not possible. I will go through the motions again..

Also it is a Quartzite. We did not want marble for various reasons.
We went to a small specialty store to find it, my wife loves the stone, and to be honest I do as well. It is beautiful.

[Dan R.]

Thanks guys... I do feel a bit better knowing there is hope.
When I asked them about a translucent seam they said it was not possible. I will go through the motions again..

Also it is a Quartzite. We did not want marble for various reasons.
We went to a small specialty store to find it, my wife loves the stone, and to be honest I do as well. It is beautiful.
[

Beautiful stone, no matter the type! Mont Blanc (Brazilian marble) is commonly sold as a quartzite out of ignorance and/or greed. There again, if the people do not know any better, they can not tell you any better. i feel better about my assessment, since Darryl is a regular visitor to the Brazilian quarries.I trust his judgement.

Your fabricator may not know the availability of new glues and technology for stone. Send him to this site. the help is free.

Where are you located?

[Mitch@ASW]

Seam should easily be fixable. Also, be prepared for that stone to be a "soft quartzite"... Likely to etch, scratch, etc...

[flashbang]

They actually told me it was the exact opposite - That it was a hard quartzite.
What can I do to prevent that (Ecthing, scratching) from happening?

[Darryl Miller]

No sealer will prevent etching or scratching. My suggestion is to see if they can give you a scrap piece to test for acid etching. I'm fairly certain this is marble from Brazil. It is commonly misclassified as quartzite. With your test piece, cut a lemon in half and place the cut side down on the stone and leave it there about 30 minutes. Then clean it and check for etching.

[Mark Meriaux]

Seam should easily be fixable. Also, be prepared for that stone to be a "soft quartzite"... Likely to etch, scratch, etc...

They actually told me it was the exact opposite - That it was a hard quartzite.
What can I do to prevent that (Ecthing, scratching) from happening?

There's no such thing as a "soft quartzite". It's either quartzite or it's not. Importers/distributors come up with helpful terms like "soft quartzite" to improve the marketability of the materials they are selling. This article contains information on how to test. http://usenaturalstone.com/definitive-guide-quartzite/

If it etches from vinegar or citrus, then it is a calcium-based stone (marble, calcite, or dolomite).
A scrap piece of quartzite WILL scratch glass, and will not be easily scratched by metal tools.

What can I do to prevent that (Ecthing, scratching) from happening?

The sales people probably don't even know the information in the article above. The material is beatufil and should hold up for many years. Knowing a little more about the material will help you to better understand how to care for it. Be aware that acids COULD etch and that you should clean up spills quickly. Also realizing that abrasive objects could cause scratches.

Best of luck with seam improvements.

[Anylastwords]

We always try to put seams on cabinet dividers. Not seeing the whole picture and how it played out on the rest of the slab or remnant, I really can't say where I'd put the seam. I do agree if they polished the bottom of that piece, the motion would flow nicer. This looks like polished fantasy brown quartzite. Hopefully they made you aware that it will etch with acid.

[Israel]

It would not take much to make that seam look better but it is hard to know whether they could have avoided that direction change. The material is most definitely a marble and likely from Brazil. Many people sell marbles as quartzites. Fantasy brown is a good example of a material commonly sold as a quartzite but it is not.

[flashbang]

You guys are making me nervous lol.. I just called the granite store that special ordered the stones in for us from another warehouse.
I spoke with the woman who helped us pick it out. I told her about you guys and your thoughts that it is Mont Blanc Marble.. She laughed and is in agreement that is one of the reasons that this quartzite is as popular as it is and it gets confused frequently. It is White Super Quartzite from Brazil (http://granitegrannies.com/is-super-whi ... -a-marble/)

After much discussion with the fabricator, they have agreed to take out the stones with the seams, redo it, and place it back in. Hopefully it is done better at this point. I will also mention the idea of polishing the bottom of the stone to better match the pattern.

To be honest I just felt like it was a rushed and botched job. There was also another piece of wall trim that was supposed to have four rounded edges, but only one side had it, and instead of taking it back to the shop and do it properly, did it in my backyard at 9:30 at night in the dark... I have white dust all over the backyard and no attempt to clean it was made.

I am just very disappointed because I trust in people.. I do not have knowledge of this field.. I know that most people want to do a good job and care and strive because we all want to be good people.. But this has left me just defeated as a whole.

I can post a picture of the kitchen when I get home later tonight. My wife planned it out beautifully.

[Israel]

Well, it just gets deeper because #1 this is not Super White and #2 Super White is not a quartzite. Although Super White does not etch easily it does scratch easily. Super White and Fantasy Brown are the two most common materials we see sold as quartzite that in fact are not.

I am sorry you are having these troubles but unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation in this industry.

[colin]

Super White doesnt look anything like the marble you have installed in your kitchen. The marble you have installed in your kitchen is quite beautiful nonetheless, we have a very similar variety in stock here at our facility.

[Mark Meriaux]

What about Super White?
Super White is one of the stones that is frequently caught in the quartzite vs. marble mystery. Most commonly, Super White is dolomitic marble. That means it won’t scratch glass and it will etch with acids. Some Super White has minor amounts of quartz mixed in with the marble. But the rock is still marble and will act like marble. When doing the glass test with Super White, be sure to test a few different areas to get a sense for the overall rock. Is it all the same? Or are there some parts that are harder or softer?

I am just very disappointed because I trust in people. I do not have knowledge of this field. I know that most people want to do a good job and care and strive because we all want to be good people.. But this has left me just defeated as a whole.

In reality, your salesperson/designer probably has learned (and believes) the misinformation. Please give her/them a copy of the article that I linked.

No worries. There are many Super White installations around the country some lots can etch more readily than others, but Super White is most definitely NOT a true geological quartzite. The only way to know how problematic your material might be (or not), is to test using the methods mentioned in the article. With a little caution, you should enjoy the countertops for many years.

[Anylastwords]

Absolute black granite can etch, I've tested Fantasy Brown and Super white. They also etch. The one thing we tell our clients is that the appearance of the etch marks are less visible if these stones are brushed or honed. Every time we receive a quartzite, we do an acid test here at the shop.

[tim farr]

I will chime in that we just did a kitchen in white super (no I didn't say it backwards ) it is a variety of Mont Blanc and it is a dolomitic marble

[Mitch@ASW]

Seam should easily be fixable. Also, be prepared for that stone to be a "soft quartzite"... Likely to etch, scratch, etc...

They actually told me it was the exact opposite - That it was a hard quartzite.
What can I do to prevent that (Ecthing, scratching) from happening?

There's no such thing as a "soft quartzite". It's either quartzite or it's not. Importers/distributors come up with helpful terms like "soft quartzite" to improve the marketability of the materials they are selling. This article contains information on how to test. http://usenaturalstone.com/definitive-guide-quartzite/

If it etches from vinegar or citrus, then it is a calcium-based stone (marble, calcite, or dolomite).
A scrap piece of quartzite WILL scratch glass, and will not be easily scratched by metal tools.

What can I do to prevent that (Ecthing, scratching) from happening?

The sales people probably don't even know the information in the article above. The material is beatufil and should hold up for many years. Knowing a little more about the material will help you to better understand how to care for it. Be aware that acids COULD etch and that you should clean up spills quickly. Also realizing that abrasive objects could cause scratches.

Best of luck with seam improvements.
[

It was my way of trying to inform the questioner without trying to correct/offend...

[Dan R.]

Mitch wins the PC award!!

[Mark Meriaux]

It was my way of trying to inform the questioner without trying to correct/offend...

That's cool. I was just trying to dispel the continuation of confusing terms like "soft quartzite" in favor of actual science (truth). Sorry if I offended.

[Jamie Schiro]

We had a similar situation from one of our distributors. Our customer picked out "Super White". When it was delivered it was clearly Mont Blanc marble. After testing it with acid we made sure to inform the customer that it was indeed marble. We wanted to make sure the customer knew how to take proper care of it.

[flashbang]

Little late but as promised, some pics of the kitchen.
So we asked the fabricator for a piece of scrap stone so we can do our own testing.
Lemon for a half hour right? Is there a definitive set of rules we can follow to determine what we have?