Paramount Granite Blog

Simply Seams…

In our showroom we asked a lot of questions in regards to seaming. For example…

What will my seam look like?
How tight will it be?
Will the seam be noticeable?
Will we need a seam?
Where will it be located?
Etc.

While I have wrote about seams before, in this blog, I simply wanted to show you some examples of seams.

Let’ take a look at some seams for granite countertops we fabricated and installed…

If you are looking at adding some new countertops to your home and have questions about seaming, make sure you stop by our showroom. We are always happy to answer them for you.

Thanks for reading!

Barb

Posted in Seams on March 20th, 2013 by Barb | | 0 Comments

From time to time, we get calls from customers about seam shifting on their countertops. While seam shifting is fairly rare, it can happen. What exactly is seam shifting , you may ask? Seam shifting occurs when a countertop seam moves, or “pops.” It is often caused when a house settles. While it is more common in new homes, settling and shifting can also occur over time and may happen in older homes, as well. These seam shifts are not due to workmanship, or poor installation, but are caused from circumstances beyond control due to the forces of Mother Nature.

Houses typically go through a settling period. The earth can sink, or drop causing a house to move, which in turn can cause ceiling cracks, doors to stick, floor board gaps, and countertop seams to shift.

Thankfully, countertop seams can be repaired. Depending on how soon a countertop seam shifts after an installation, a fabricator may, or may not charge for the repair. Keep in mind that seam shifting can happen multiple times, if a house continues to settle.

Thanks for reading!

Barb

Posted in Granite, Seams on June 27th, 2012 by Barb | | 0 Comments

Granite Countertops And Seam Match…

One question that comes up in our showroom for those customers with longer countertop runs, or islands is, “What will my seam look like?” While this answer can vary slightly depending on the material and color the customer is selecting, our response is, “We always do our best to make the seams tight and always try to match the grain and flow of the stone. A perfect match however, is sometimes hard to achieve with colors that contain a lot of movement, but this is again, what we strive for. Let’s take a look at some install photos from a recent job:

Sedna Granite Island

This particular job required 2 pieces to be seamed together to create a large, curved island, as a focal point for the kitchen. In the close-up photo below, notice the tight seam we were able to achieve, and how the flow pattern is matched from piece to piece and moves naturally to each end.

Sedna Granite Seam Match

Keep in mind that while seams are sometimes unavoidable, due to kitchen layout, slab sizes, etc., they do not have to standout. Most reputable fabricators avoid seams with large gaps, extra epoxy, or silicone.

Thanks for reading!

Barb

Posted in Granite, Seams on July 26th, 2011 by Barb | | 0 Comments

Granite Countertops And Seam Shifting…

Over the years, we have taken a number of customer service calls pertaining to uneven, or shifted granite countertop seams, which have happened over time. Unfortunately, this is an occurence that can happen that we can not control. It is often caused by house settling, or shifting and while it is common in new homes, can also occur in older homes too. According to, New Homes Experience Settling Problems, an article found on HouseTask.com, “Houses go through growing pains as humans do, and minor problems are going to come up, especially in the first year. Technically, it’s what happens when a house “settles” into its location. These problems don’t have anything to do with workmanship, or faulty materials. It’s instead the forces of Mother Nature. Simply, the earth sags or wood dries out. Houses are always expanding and contracting, but typically in the first year you will get the most amount of settlement.”

House settling, or shifting can cause a variety problems in homes including: crown molding separation; door sticking; cracks in ceilings, cracks in drywall; cracks in cement; gaps in floor boards; and granite countertop seams popping, or shifting. Most builders will warn new home owners that these things can happen, and expect to make repairs for some of the minor occurences after a years time. As for a granite seam separating, due to house shifting, it can definitely be repaired. Some fabricators will do the repair at no charge if it occurs in the first year. If additional shifting however, occurs over more time, the fabricator will most likely charge a service call fee, as the incident was not related to their workmanship from the initial installation.

Thanks for reading!

Barb

Posted in Granite, Seams on October 6th, 2010 by Barb | | 2 Comments

Seaming Your Granite Countertops…

I know I wrote on this topic a couple of times, but we do get a lot of questions in our showroom about seaming and the seaming process. In my last blog on the subject, Seams To Me: Love Your Granite Countertops, I mentioned that we use a seam setter to achieve a tight, clean-looking seam. In this blog, I wanted share a few photos of our installers using our seam setter and the seaming process.

The Seaming Process