Quartz countertop repair

[Skyline101]

Quartz countertop repair

I hired someone to install this countertop and did a crappy job.

I attached a fee pictures showing the scuff marks (cloudy) and the seams.

Anyway possible to get it out? I tried using a diamond buff pad and it doesn't work.

Any solutions?

[Tool Guy - Kg]

Polishing countertop seams on-site is a skill not quickly obtained.

Why not ask the folks that were hired to either: 1) Complete the job properly, or 2) Have them remove it and not pay if they can't get it right? Is the outfit you hired a complete fabrication and installation company that handles everything from slab purchasing to final install....or did you buy the slab and they simply performed the install?

And please don't tell me that's a seam 1" away from the stove opening.

[Skyline101]

They did all of the fabricating and installation.

[Tool Guy - Kg]

By the way, T, welcome! Feel free to drop us a nickname unless "T" is your nickname. We're a pretty friendly group and like names.

The job is clearly substandard if they think they have completed the job.

Have you contacted them about this? What did they say? Have you paid for it already, or paid in a manner that allows you to apply some relatively easy leverage to encourage them to fix or refund your money (as in paying with a credit card)?

[Skyline101]

I haven't paid them fully for the job. This is part of a major project. Obviously, it is not his expertise on doing countertops. I brought it up to him and he said use a "sealer".

I doubt that will work.

[Tool Guy - Kg]

You have to put your foot down on this. An enhancing sealer will partially obscure the fact that there are scuff marks, but it's not up to accepted standards in the industry. And nobody in the world should be performing any work to get this job completed other than the folks who accepted money to perform the work in the first place. You need to be polite, but push forward on an acceptable fix.

You make it sound like this isn't a full-time countertop fabrication/installation outfit. Is this essentially a handyman that is performing a remodel and did the fabrication/installation of these tops? Who purchased the slabs, you or him?

[Skyline101]

Its an handyman who did it and they were the ones who purchased it.

[Tool Guy - Kg]

I don't know your situation. So it's hard to get too specific right now.

In general, you need to avoid paying for this part of the project until they can get it right. Problems like this have a bad habit of contaminating the rest of the job unless they are addressed in a manner that will satisfy both parties. One of the biggest problems I see in remodeling when a problem occurs is a lack of clear communication as to what will happen to correct it. I'd put something in writing that's as simple as possible. Something that states the countertop isn't up to industry standards as of now. Be specific. For instance: Non-uniform polishing at seams, seam location (if that really is a seam 1" away from a stove), unapproved seam filler (doesn't look like the colored epoxy all the quartz manufacturers I know specify), and perhaps a lack of support from below (depends on if there are air gaps between the countertop and top of cabinets), and that this part of the project won't be paid for until it is up to industry standards.

[CCDIYer]

Originally Posted by Tool Guy - Kg

And please don't tell me that's a seam 1" away from the stove opening.

and did ya see the way he cut around the wall in the 2nd pic? Really bad work on all levels.

Originally Posted by Skyline101

Its an handyman who did it and they were the ones who purchased it.

As Tonto mentioned, stone counter fabrication is a specialized skill, and it requires expensive specialized tools. This is not for a part timer, or a jack of all trades. Was this a prefab install?, rather than cut out from a full slab? Even so, the installer should know how to correctly place seams and finish them so they are nearly invisible. Oh, and quartz doesn't require a sealer. That is one of the advantages of quartz.