acceptable fabrication pracitce or not?

[cookieman]

I just purchased granite tops (giallo veneziano) and everything looked beautiful except there is a couple of cracks in the back of my sink cutout from the inside of the opening to the back edge.  The fabricator told us that it was a "hidden" crack in the stone and didn't appear until they cut out the sink.  They said that in this instance, since the crack wasn't revealed until they cut into the stone, that they used a process called rodding and filled the top of the cracks or fissures with a flowing epoxy.  The fissures themselves are virtually invisible but you can feel the slight uneveness as you run your fingers over them.  I guess my question is, is this a standard or commonly practiced procedure when working with a natural stone or should the piece be replaced since it is basically cracked?  Do some stone slabs conceal hidden cracks in them that can't be found untill the pieces are cut, and if so, should the fabricators be protected from this?  They did say that this has never happened to them before, but that they should start rodding every piece before cutting to help prevent this in the future.  If someone could just let me know if I should find the fabricators at fault here, or did they do everything they could to make it right, or should the piece be replaced.  Thank you. 

[hoove]

They have never had stone crack before? That's odd. The more fragile stone has an epoxy & fiberglass backing to help prevent cracking. I have noticed that they use a clear epoxy to fill voids on the face as well. Seems to me that your fabricator should have pointed out that they cracked your stone & offered to either fix or replace it. If it is a common stone then it would not have killed him to replace it. If the job is already done & it really isn't that bad....well, is it worth persuing?

[cookieman]

This particular slab doesn't have an epoxy/mesh backing on it.  The fabricator also stated that this giallo veneziano isn't a popular choice in our area.  If he had to replace the piece, he would have to replace the whole big L shape we have because the different slab colors wouldn't match up properly at the seam?  Should I just let this go since they did "fix" the piece.

[Mark D.]

I prefer epoxy to poly resin in structural cracks, and since it is uneven I assume it is all the way through.
Giallo Veneziano is not usually resined. The fabricator broke this slab either doing the cutout or the spigot hole. It happens. If it is top polished by a skilled professional the unevenness should disappear and make the crack all but invisible. Ask them to do this for you if they can and see if that solves the aesthetic problem. The rodding solved the structural problem.

Glad to be of service,
Mark

[cookieman]

How exactly would they polish the top of the stone without scratching up the resin real bad?  Wouldn't that procedure make the problem worse?  If Mark D. could give step by step directions on how the polishing process on the surface works, I would counter that with what the fabricator tells me when I talk to him.  Thanks Mark D.

[Mark D.]

Ask him if he has ever had to top polish a seam with Alpha twist touch pads. If he has a set it is likely he will know what to do. The usual reason that a fabricator has to top polish a seam is because one of the slabs warped and the 2 pieces do not fit together flush as they should. They use these specific pads to grind down the lippage so both slabs are on one plane and then to repolish them to a high gloss to match the rest of the finish.
If they have no idea what you are talking about tell them they need to get someone in there who is skilled enough to do this for you or they should replace the work.

Mark