Thought I might be able to lighten the mood around here by setting our latest remodeling problem to the tune of a Broadway musical. I'm not entirely sure that it's working, but at least I'm humming songs from "Music Man," instead of mumbling some other choice words.
Now, I really don't want to complain. Seriously, I don't. I am beyond grateful to be able to remodel our master bathroom, and I know it will all be beautiful in the end. But, I just wanted to share a little predicament with you. Perhaps you can help me decide what to do.
We are sooooo close to the end of this remodel. We're talking a cabinet door, a couple of mirrors, drawer pulls and a toilet paper holder, and we're DONE!!!! But, a seemingly minor issue that we had a couple of weeks ago reared its ugly head yesterday, and I'm fearing a major setback could result.
Here's the deal...
When the trim guy was installing our upper cabinet (the one that didn't fit and had to be replaced that I wrote about here), he must have slid it across the marble and scratched the countertop. I pointed it out to our contractors who assured me they would have it buffed out and it would be good as new.
Well, we had it buffed yesterday, and it's not good as new. It's more like "good as a couple years old and several things dropped on it." The reason for this, according to the countertop fabricator, is that marble has little pits under the surface. When it is buffed, essentially the top layer of stone is removed, and the pits are brought to the surface. They then appear to be little nicks like this.
Okay, I know it's really hard to see in this picture. But, trust me, it's the pits!
We haven't even told our contractors about the buffing results. You know, because they haven't bothered to call or stop by to see how it turned out, because they care so much... Oh, that sounded like complaining. Sorry!
So, we are left with a choice. Live with the countertop and accept the imperfections OR have the countertop replaced. If we go the replacement route, we would have to have all the upper cabinetry and trim removed, the plumbing disconnected, the sconces disconnected, the sinks replaced AND we would have to wait until another slab of marble was available. Which means this bathroom ain't gettin' done anytime soon.
What would you do?
(That's not a rhetorical question, people. Please post a comment and help a girl out.) Thank you!
Oh, Carolyn! What a pain! We're going with carrara in our house as well and I do know this...over time it will pit and scratch unless you really baby it. So it will probably get that way over time anyway. But it's brand new and I know you want it to look like it. I'd weigh the cost of taking everything out vs. the time you'd have to wait. If it's less than XXX amount of $ you'd be comfortable with to replace it then I'd do it. We're waiting on honed slabs right now and we're not so sure we're going to get them so make sure your fabricator can in fact get it before taking it out! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the pits! Everything has a price and this one is huge. You need to decide what it's worth to you: cost, time, inconvenience, and the fact that it's no longer "new". Then let your contractor know the price of 1. replacement & installation or 2. cost to appease you. Then let him decide. The one catch, you have to be willing to live with the pits if he chooses not to replace it. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI've never had marble, but I've been told that not unlike any other surface that gets marred..carpeting, hardwood, etc. The first cut is the deepest. The first stain, scratch or imperfection always hurts and is unbearable, but over time as more wear shows, it won't hurt as bad. That doesn't mean going to town and ruining it because it's inevitable anyway just that this imperfection in a sea is perfect is heartbreaking, but it'll get better...promise :)
ReplyDeleteI would probably get it replaced IF I didn't have to pay for the replacement. Because as much as it will be frustrating waiting a few extra weeks or even months for the finished product, I would forever be looking at those pits and regretting that I didn't just get them fixed to begin with.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the input, girls! I knew I could count on you. We're meeting with the contractors tomorrow. I'll let you know what happens. Wish us luck :)
ReplyDeleteOH NO!!!! I hate to say it, but if it is one of the normal dings for marble, you may have to grow to love it. If not, well.......have them replace it... better now that never??
ReplyDeletegood luck!
btw. you have a great sense of humor! It comes through in this post. And I appreciated the Music Man shout out.
-{darlene}
fieldstonehilldesign.com
I look forward to seeing you for the newbie party. You will figure it out. I do believe under my tutorials there is a link to show you how. My tutorials are under my header.
ReplyDeleteIf you're not happy, you're not happy:) Need to make it work!
ReplyDeletefollowing from :
childhoodmyths.blogspot.com
As a designer, it is my responsibility to ensure everything meets a certain standard. The same for a contractor. It is his job to give you what you pay for. You paid for new marble in pristine new condition. Ask to have it replaced. Whenever I have an issue like this, I say to the contractor "you know I am a perfectionist, and your work wlawys meets my standards, but this is not up to yours or my standard" something like this. In my own house, I had a bathroom installed in the basement. When the plumber left after installing the toilet, (last thing) it was too far from the wall. I mentioned to the contractor that it looked funny. I got out the spec sheet for the toilet and found that the plumber had done the center at 14" instead of 12". I was told they would have to remove some tiles in and drill cement to move it. I let it go. To this day that bugs the heck out of me. They should have fixed their errors. Long story short...get them to replace it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck,
Chania
What should you do??? The pits don't look that deep. I am so conflicted...we just did all our baths in the same marble. The one thing you said was it looks like "a couple years old counter" made me think "patina?" I don't know what to tell you but I feel your pain.
ReplyDeleteMary Ann
I feel your pain. It's upsetting enough when we damage our own things, but when the contracter does?! Fixing it, probably won't happen. I say get what you can from this and remember that this is most likley the first of many little nicks, stains, pits... that come with living with marble.
ReplyDelete(you must suffer for beauty!)
Can you live with it and be happy? Or will you always look at it and be reminded of how disappointed you are? A reno is a big undertaking and you should feel thrilled with the final result, not only satisfied that the job is done. I know it will get more marks in the future but starting out with them caused by someone else is not what I would want to settle for. Good luck! Xo
ReplyDeleteAs frustrating as it is, if it were my home I probably wouldn't go through the trouble of replacing it. Like so many of the other ladies have said, it's only a matter of time before those things happen anyway. Life is full of small imperfections just like these...which really are kind of perfect in there own way. To me there's something really warm and beautiful about imperfections. Having said all that though...I would TOTALLY understand paying for brand-spanking perfection and being mistreated by your contractor. That needs to be dealt with either way I think. Best of luck either way!!
ReplyDeleteWhat did you decide to do??
ReplyDelete