granite crack 1 week after installation

grantperson

hi,

we had some granite fitted. We then put a cabinet on the granite (it's like a wall cabinet that goes all the way to the surfaces)

After a short space of time (less than a week) we noticed a a crack had appeared down the middle.

We phoned the people that installed it and they came and gave us some options about ways they could fix the crack. I was surprised because i thought they should replace it. They said the problem was that the cupboards underneath were not level. Again i was surprised as i would have thought that was their responsibility to check. when i confronted him with the suggestion that it was badly fitted he said it was not their responsibility to sort the cupboards out.

Has any body had this problem before? any ideas
is he right and it is the kitchen fitters fault in some way?

any advice would be great. My only option seems to be trading standards or small claims court I suppose?

thanks for any help offered

Grant

olias

Are the kitchen fitters in the wrong for not levelling the units - yes
Are the granite fitters in the wrong for not levelling up prior to fitting - also yes
Do you have a hope in hell of getting either of them to admit responsibility and pay to rectify the damage - unlikely
Small claims court, although I would start of with a letter before action to each party giving them the opportunity to put the matter right before taking it to court.

Olias

Innys

olias wrote: »

Are the kitchen fitters in the wrong for not levelling the units - yes
Are the granite fitters in the wrong for not levelling up prior to fitting - also yes
Do you have a hope in hell of getting either of them to admit responsibility and pay to rectify the damage - unlikely
Small claims court, although I would start of with a letter before action to each party giving them the opportunity to put the matter right before taking it to court.

Olias

I dunno if I agree with this. I would say prime responsibility lies with the granite fitters. They should have checked everything was absolutely level and only then fitted the granite. If there was any doubt they shouldn't have fitted anything. Their excuse that it's not their responsibility to sort the cupboard outs is the lamest I've heard in a long time.

Did the kitchen fitters even know granite was being fitted? If you hadn't told them, they could have assumed something a lot more forgiving was due to be fitted, e.g. laminate.

Personally, I'd sbmit claims against both parties but put more effort into a claim against the granite fitters as I suspect that's more likely to succeed.

seraphina

I suspect the problem is with the cabinet resting on top of the granite. I would probably go after whoever installed this cabinet first - how are the granite fitters to know what you'd put on top of it?

CaptainKidd

grantperson wrote: »

. when i confronted him with the suggestion that it was badly fitted he said it was not their responsibility to sort the cupboards out.

Did you have any kind of contract from them that might have somthing in the small print, surely its not fit for purpose if it broke so easily?

Did the people who fitted the cabinets know that granite was going to fitted and where they given any instruction by the granite supplier that its needs to be absolute perfect?

Depending on how much hassle you want it might be worth asking if the have any pics of previous repairs to see how it looks, you never know it might be ok, i do understand that you have paid alot but would it be worth the hassle and stress to you if a repair looks just as good?

Auntie-Dolly

That all sounds a bit mad! How thick is the granite & how much 'out' would the cupboards have to be for it to crack? Why did they fit it if they knew it would be a problem? I'd certainly not be letting the granite company off the hook.

shayne_2

I have never heard of granite cracking ever, we buy & sell houses & have never had granite cos so expensive, worth the money if can be recuperated, we have gone in to detail about granite & it's solid & so heavy but at same time it scratches like any other work top so for that reason as well as cost we don't go there, google it cos i'm pretty sure granite cannot crack, a lot of my friends have granite worktops & never had a prob with cracking, & it's defo down to the place where you bought them & fitters, the fitters should know, when i first enquired about granite worktops the place that sells them never asked what my units were made of etc & they are the best for miles around been in business a long time, called slate age in fence nr burnley & no i don't know them personally, only been there once, but they came highly recomended, give them a call to ask advice, don't say you already have them, just enquire saying do they ever crack etc

grantperson

very many thanks to all that have replied. It's really good to be able to talk and get different opinions.

I spoke to the granite person and said i think he needs to replace it and he said he was shocked that i thought it was his responsibility.

I think i am going to go down the repair route but i am pretty sure that is going to leave a long mark were the crack has appeared. Shame when you spend so much money but i can imagine how difficult it would be to sort out through small claims.

thanks again all

Grant

CKdesigner

Hi Grant

I am sorry to read about your problems with your new granite worktop but as an observation, your story could act as a warning to others that purchasing granite worktops independently from the kitchen supplier and fitting company can have disastrous consequences.

I really hope you get the granite sorted out satisfactorily without too much hassle.

CK

DirectDebacle

grantperson wrote: »

very many thanks to all that have replied. It's really good to be able to talk and get different opinions.

I spoke to the granite person and said i think he needs to replace it and he said he was shocked that i thought it was his responsibility.

I think i am going to go down the repair route but i am pretty sure that is going to leave a long mark were the crack has appeared. Shame when you spend so much money but i can imagine how difficult it would be to sort out through small claims.

thanks again all

Grant

I agree with those that have said it is the granite suppliers responsibilty.

Either it was fitted incorrectly or perhaps there was a natural fault in the granite which gave way. It is only a piece of rock and rock has fault lines.

It is the fitters job to ensure that the base they are laying granite on is suitable. Clearly this was not the case as they have told you the units were out of level. Therefore they should have refused to fit it until this had been rectified. The fact they didn't is a lack of professionalism.

Do not accept a repair. Insist on replacement.

BaldPlumber

What do the terms & conditions say, if anything, regarding site preparation for the granite?