Granite Worktops - Truth, Lies and misinformation

garry1978

hello all - the job is done now, so I thought I'd report back and let you know who we went with, and what our impressions are.

We had been in contact with several companies but, while they all have the "usual" stones, the less mainstream stone came under a variety of names. To make sure we were able to price-compare effectively, we asked 5 granite suppliers to price for supply and fit of Pearl Black and Baltic Brown (on the logic that if they were good value for those two stones, the less well known stones were likely to be similarly keenly priced).

Sheridan's came out cheapest, so we got a price (which we liked) for our preferred stone (Ubatuba) and we told them when templating was required. We also asked for a sample to be sent out before we paid (as the image on-line is no substitute for seeing the stone in question). Unfortunately, they didn't dispatch the sample. We chased, and chased again. Eventually they came through (after 2+ weeks chasing). I then left a few messages to get them to call me back, to place the order and arrange templating - in a week's time. To my absolute amazement, they said they couldn't template for about 6 weeks (due to "all these bank holidays causing a backlog"). I explained that we'd originally asked for templating on a specific date about 2 months before, but apparently they don't actually book a visit until a deposit is paid. No-one told us this. So we were abruptly back to square one.

We tried a few places, and the one that seemed to come up trumps was Diapol. The came and measured (not templated) within 3 days. I raised concern that he was taking measurements rather than making a template but his response was "it's simple - when we fit, if you are not happy you do not pay until you are happy". As they cut most stone in Eastern Europe, we had to wait 2 weeks, but they arrived on the appointed day and fitted beautifully. A great job that we're very happy with. And they were marginally cheaper than the original supplier. Hopefully it will stand the test of time, but 3 weeks in and we're delighted with our Diapol stone. (I realise this will read like a spam post (!), but it's not - I'm just genuinely happy with the service I've had from Diapol and wanted to share an honest good news report).

Innys

You're right, you post does look like spam and I have marked it as such.

garry1978

Aren't you the bright spark. To put your mind at ease, my (few) other posts on here were simply about trying to navigate the minefield of kitchen granite suppliers and I felt like reporting back that I found a supplier that did a good job for a decent price. I'm a lawyer working in London, not an Estonian stonemason masquerading as a clueless granite buyer.

For anyone that's interested - the places we originally looked for quote from were:

Mister Marble (cheap, but didn't like the chap I spoke to);
Marmi (Vauxhall Arches);
Touchstone - seemed quite expensive, from memory;
Stone Masters - were £500 more expensive than Sheridans;
Sheridans; and
Gatwick Granite (the wife phoned them, but they didn't do any of the colours we were actually interested in)

The wife came across Diapol after reading about them on (I think) mumsnet.

oscarisapc2001

Hi Folks
I have just seen this thread after browsing the internet for an answer to a problem. We have just had a £5k granite worktop fitted in a new kitchen by our builder as part of extensive house renovations. The builder is reputable and the work is being overseen by a chartered surveyor. Unfortunately, when the granite company fitted the granite worktop, the installers had to drill the kitchen tap hole by hand and in doing so cracked the granite between the tap hole and the sink - it is a full thickness hairline crack in what is probably the most prominent part of the granite. The installers didn't tell us - they scarpered and left us to notice it, which we did, fortunately before the plumber came to fit the tap otherwise we would have blamed him. The granite company have offered to repair the crack - although I don't see how they can without making it bigger since no resin or glue will go into a hairline crack - but I am more concerned about having a crack in the part of the kitchen most vulnerable to water damage, leakage and also stress as it will be supporting the tap. Our surveyor has said this is not acceptable and we have asked the granite company to replace the worktop but they have refused. We have in turn refused to pay but we now enter a legal no man's land since our contract is with the builder. The granite company have threatened to take the builder to court to enforce payment. So I would really like some advice on
1. Are we being unreasonable in asking for a replacement and not a repair and can the company insist on making a repair rather than a replacement?
2. Is this tough on the builder? I know there will be lots of comments saying builders make big profits etc but in fact we get on well with him and would rather pay up than see him caught as the innocent party in the middle.

Any advice (in a generic sense) would be welcome. Thanks

villabadger

Whoever is contracted to pay the bill should be dealing with agreeing a resolution to the issue. In other words, if this forms part of the supply from the builder to you then it is his problem to resolve. In any case, as the customer, I would not accept a repaired surface. If the builders had fitted it then it would be a different story. But as I see it, this is a business to business contract and any dispute will be between the 2 companies.

Alan_M_2

Is there a dispute about who caused the crack? Are the granite firm saying it was the builder and the builder saying it was fitted that way?

Form your point of view it is unacceptable and I would expect replacement, the reason for drilling the hole in place is to actually avoid the cracking situation.

Will need more accurate details about the fit to provide a more thorough answer though.

oscarisapc2001

Thanks for those responses. There is no dispute about who caused the crack - we noticed it soon after it was installed by the granite company's own fitters before the builder or anyone else had touched it. The question is whether we are being unreasonable in refusing a repair and insisting on a replacement worktop (or not paying for the granite and getting someone else to fix it). We might have been prepared to tolerate a crack in a remote corner but we really don't want one in an area that is prone to water splashing and also has to take some physical abuse (knocks from pots and pans, manipulating the tap etc). Are we being unreasonable over this?

Alan_M_2

You're not being unreasonable, request and expect a replacement.

Cracked installations is part of life as a granite installer. It isn't acceptable, especially if there is no dispute over how it was caused.

mrsme_4

Hi Alan, very informative thread and very helpful.

Could you possibly recommend anyone to supply and fit in the Nottingham area.Thankyou.

garry1978

to oscarisapce2001 - it's a pain having to withhold payment from an otherwise decent builder but, as pointed out above, your dispute is with the person you have a contract with - the builder. Part of what he quoted you should (!) include an element of risk pricing for integration/interface risk. He should do the chasing against GraniteCo. You should accept nothing less than a perfect finish - if it's cracked, they should replace it. One thing to bear in mind in all this - Granite is a natural material. Chances are your kitchen has several pieces of stone. If you wait too long to replace one "dud" piece, you could run the risk that the eventual replacement will be from a different batch so it could have a slight colour difference... Perhaps that could be used to speed things up - if they don't replace the cracked slab asap, you'll be looking for a complete re-fit! Good luck.