Marble Counters: What Everyone Needs to Know {Part 1}

About a year ago, we began what would become a long process of renovating our kitchen.

The actual renovation from the first day of demolition to the day the kitchen became functional and put back together was about 6 weeks — a little longer than projected and definitely came with it’s share of stresses.

I’m not going to go through all of the details of the ups and downs of kitchen renovation in this post, but I do want to tell you the story of our marble counters in hopes that it will be helpful to those of you thinking about installing marble — or any natural stone counter top — in your home. (If you want to read my advice about how to survive a kitchen remodel go here.)

 

 

I have already shared some of my experience with marble counters in the following posts:

Living with Marble
Living with Marble Part 2

In those posts, I describe what it’s like to live with marble and I answer some of the most common questions I’m asked about my counters.  Until now, however, I have never fully explained what we’ve gone through and the resolution to our marble problems.

 

Our Marble Story — A Cautionary Tale

When we bought our home over 14 years ago, it was brand new and the kitchen was lovely and reflected the style of the time in which it was built.  It had stained oak cabinets and dark granite counter tops — none of them were my choices since the house already came that way, but it was tastefully done and very nice.  It certainly was nicer than any other kitchen I’ve ever had so I was thrilled when we first moved in!

Our granite functioned beautifully over the years, and although I didn’t like how the black was fussy to keep clean (it showed dust, finger prints and cooking messes) it was a good counter top and we had no plans to change it in our renovation.  After all, real stone counters are expensive and it didn’t seem like it was a necessary expense.

Then, after trying to line up some subcontractors on our own, we decided to hire a kitchen designer to help us make some of our updates.  We wanted someone with proven connections, contacts and experience.  In the planning stage she tried to convince us that the counters needed to be replaced to create a fresh, new space.  When we found two slabs of Italian Calcutta marble on special, we were sold.

Fast forward to installation day. 

 

The installers were supposed to arrive first thing in the morning.  Time ticked by and no one showed up.  At noon, we heard from the kitchen designer that they were delayed because they were experiencing problems during the fabrication process, but not to worry, all was well and they would be arriving around 1 or 2 p.m.

They finally showed up around two.  When they came in they told us how much trouble they had with the marble and that it was very hard to work with.  They explained that pieces had crumbled off the slab and that some parts were unusable.  When I asked if we should even be installing these slabs I was assured that everything would be fine.

Well, it wasn’t fine.  During their 7-hour installation (I’m told that kitchens our size usually take 2-3 hours) I personally saw small chunks falling off the edges of the counters.  Some chunks were the size of whole walnuts. 

Needless to say, I freaked out. 

Again, I was assured that all this could be fixed and it was no big deal.  They patched the holes and chips and, as they suggested, everything looked like it matched perfectly.

Until a few days later.

As the patching medium began to cure the trouble spots got darker and the medium shrunk and was no longer flush and seemless.  It looked terrible. 

In addition, the bar top had been sanded by hand and the normally polished finished was marred with obvious swirl marks.  Rusty stains that existed on the far ends of the original slab when we selected it (and were told those spots would not be used or — worst case scenario — would be hidden and unnoticeable) were not only used but were blatantly obvious on both the corner of the island and the front end of the counter by the stove.  In short, the counters in that state were just completely unacceptable.  It felt like we bought a brand new car and then learned when all was said and done that it had very noticeable hail damage.

The kitchen designer was mortified and immediately talked to the installer/fabricator.  The installer told her we had purchased sub-par marble and that it was all our fault and he would have nothing further to do with it.

The marble dealer blamed the fabricator and said that he didn’t use the right tools but if we wanted to purchase new slabs he’s be happy to offer us a small discount.

Ugh.  Actually, UGH, didn’t even cover it.  We were absolutely sick to our stomachs. 

The story continues from there, but it’s too much to relay in one post so I will continue telling you the story of our year-long road to getting our counters fixed in an upcoming post.  In addition, I’ll be sharing my tips for how to avoid the problems we experienced and my “buyer beware” advice.

Part Two
Part Three