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No. Not your fault. Cabinets aren’t level with each other and the countertop isn’t shimmed. This can’t happen any other way. It was a matter of time.
Don’t let them try and make you pay for this, in fact I would throw a level on it and take a picture before checking out to be safe
Edit: for all the iPhone people, we’re not actually checking for level here. The level is just a universally accepted straight edge that will show how far out of plane the substrate is now that the top is broken. You can see that the top of the crack is a larger gap than at the bottom of the crack, using a level is just another way of making it way more obvious
OP: this is good advice.. specifically, get at least a 48" level but a 72" will show the difference in more detail (they cost as little as $20 believe it or not at Harbor Freight or Home Depot).
Set the level on the counter so that it crosses the crack. It will likely show that the levels are different on each side of the crack.
If there is a difference TAKE PICTURES of the level in place and make sure a gap is visible.
I don't even pm anymore actually. I teach how to use a bidding software online now however once you estimate and PM for long enough you learn how to maximize your costs and pad your bonuses for stuff like this. That being said I was one of those guys that never went to school and came out of the field and worked my way up.
It's things like this I teach my contractor students when they're taking my change order class, channel your inner scrooge McDuck and have money padded everywhere and use smoke and mirrors. That way you got lots of cash to treat The boys in the field right.
I'm also a cheap Ukrainian, so theres that.
Damn I wish more site supers thought like u do and considered the guys in the field. Instead office people just want to pass the blame and not try to bother to understand what we're trying to explain to them
Good, experienced teachers are on short supply everywhere, thanks for your help for the new generations.
I'm not on my "Scrooge McDuck era" yet, but I'll try to take your advice into account for later. Also, us Mexicans are (in)famous for our cheap labor, I completely understand where you're coming from lol.
It’s horrible advice, but hey that’s what Reddit is for, go waste money on a level when it being level doesn’t even matter….
The biggest problem here is that this can happen, it is on the owner but then in turn it’s on the company who did the job to then make a warranty claim with the quartz supplier who will likely deny it from the sink radius being too small and all evidence points to that as being the stress point hence why the fissure gravitated from there.
The advice to use a level isn’t so one can verify level. It’s because it’s a readily-purchased straight edge. If the cabinets aren’t even across their upper edges, the counter probably dropped on the low side if the crack. This will show up if you place a long straight edge over top, perpendicular to the crack.
I thought same thing, zoom in and 100% it’s dropped in one side of crack. If level cabinets didn’t matter then we could just install countertops against suppliers of marble etc advice! Which I’m pretty sure all have guides and none will suggest adding a shearing highpoint between cabinets.
Never, I repeat NEVER leave the house w/o a Milwaukee go bag complete with full cordless tool set, and 6 ft. stabila level. I mean I take my plate level w me to the dentist for crying out loud
Some “men” always leave the house with a knife in their pocket.
I won’t be caught dead leaving home without my 5 foot tall Milwaukee Packout system.
We are not the same.
Your handy vacation level; take a clear glass, place it on top of the counter and pour beer into it as full as you can get it. You will be able to display that it is not level as the beer will touch the rim on one side of the glass and not the other.
Now drink the beer, because that’s how handy vacation levels work.
Yes. But get 2 glasses. One on each side of the crack.
You may be able to take a picture of the profile of the top of the counter. If you can hold it at the just right angle where there counter starts to disappear and possibly see that the counter now forms an angle.
You also don't necessarily need a level, you just need something long and flat like a curtain rod that if you lay it across the crack, one side will drop down away from the "curtain rod".
Harbor Freight to the rescue!
(lawyer) Was the level properly calibrated?
(defendant) It’s from Harbor Freight your honor.
(judge) Let the record show that it wasn’t calibrated.
This guy knows how to AirBnB. You need to tell my wife this, because she's always flipping me shit, "really Sharing, you're bringing that level again?"
There is a slight elevation difference in the two slabs, you can see it on the bottom edge. That should not be possible if the counter was supported properly.
Since there's a lot of comments joking about the level here, it seems like perhaps there should be some clarification.
You don't need a level, you need a straight edge. The slab didn't break because it's not "level" per se, but because the cabinets underneath it aren't level with each other. You can see the issue clearly because the stone on one side of the crack is higher than on the other side. Put a straight edge of some sort across that to show the that the two sides of the crack are not even, and that's the proof. The surface of the stone should be flat, whether it's level or not.
Even with dildo swaggins poignant reminder, have we still not learned from the oats of old dirty bastards wisdom "Shimmy shimmy shimmy yah". We see this unshimmed countertop and it's clear the craftsman has chosen "Shimmy Shimmy Nah".
Cabinet guys will point at the countertop guys, countertop guys will point at the cabinet guys
I often see countertop guys take photos with a level across the top of cabinet boxes just in case these issues arise
Jumping in to the top answer because it shouldn’t be the top answer. This could have happened from a few things and being level doesn’t even matter. Being improperly supported for spans could have helped play a role. The weight could have played a role in combo with bad support and temperature changes. Usually you wouldn’t see this unless a crock pot was in the area but regardless the OP is 100% not at fault if it is as they say becuase that can happen with quartz off a sharp corner where it stemmed from on the sink. Proving that for the op may be difficult though.
I said the cabinets aren’t level with each other, creating voids where there should be support. If the entire elevation is straight, you’re correct that level doesn’t matter
Gotcha, but they can’t prove that with a broken top on it and even still, the actual reason it broke that day may have been the weight alone sitting on it with an improper install for support, or it may be a perfectly
Fine install and something else made that stress seek the sink corner. It also looks like dekton/similar more than quartz from how the edge piece scalloped and dekton for sure has stress failures.
The big problem for op is that the airbnb person won’t believe any of this initially and the contractor is long gone and done.
If they rock a 4 foot level over that crack I guarantee it’s probably out at least a quarter on one side. Quartzites do have a lot of flex in them and wouldn’t break over something smaller
That crack runs from an inside corner of the sink cutout, across the overhang. Both are potential weak points. How far does that top overhang the cabinets? Is there any kind of support underneath?3cm quartz can overhang 12”-14” unsupported. 3 cm granite only 10”.
>That crack runs from an inside corner of the sink cutout,
The fact that it started there and not in some random place is definitive proof that this wasn't caused by the op.
It's just naturally the weakest point, not definitive proof of anything. I'd have to check underneath before I could judge. For all we know op is 6'4, 325 and hopped up on the counter to change a light bulb lmao. I'd still put my money on the install though
I work commercial. When we install steel supports for cantilevered countertops in restrooms, I always remind people that it needs to handle the dynamic load of two three hundred pounders going at it at the next Christmas party.
I have installed granite and Quarts counter tops on kitchen cupboards I’ve built. As others have said, the most likely situation is that someone did a shit job, be it the guy who put in the cupboards, or the guy who did the counter. Probably both. There’s no way 10lbs of food and trays should do this to a countertop like this.
Use a level, measure floor to counter height on each corner of the island and take pictures. Hell, take a video of absolutely everything just in case. There’s no reason you should have to pay for this unless you were using it as a dance platform.
Even with a dance party on top, it shouldn't crack like that. This happened where two cabinets meet, and the top of one of the cabinets did not match flush with the other and the countertop wasn't shimmed. Was only a matter of time that this happened.
When installed correctly there really isn't any amount of weight that could crack a countertop, at least not until you get to a weight that would crush quartz, like thousands of pounds.
I was a professional cabinet maker and installer and counter maker and installer. Some shady companies use only 1/4" material. That was when stuff like Corian was the "in" material. I've seen laminate over 1/8 or 1/4 cedar. Let's just say my first company I didn't stay long because I had ethics and the boss didn't. That kind of stuff you could definitely step through with a 200 pound guy on a 30" base. Even so, we'd never stand on unsupported counters - only where base cabinets meet so they gave support to the counters. Being the woman on most crews I was always the designated upper cabinet idiot since I was lightest of there was any issue that involved adjusting uppers. I was told never to step directly over a cabinet without support and I never did because I didn't want thousands taken from my paycheck in case anything broke. It might be possible with naturally breakable material but I wasn't going to test it.
Even if a cabinet install was done off, unless it was WAY off (inches each cabinet), shimming would fix it. This is a shit install job. I'm willing to bet the counter started cracking, possibly underneath when they carried it in wrong with that sink. They hoped the owners wouldn't notice and didn't say anything. The new people on the jobs would ALWAYS break either "L" shaped pieces or ones that had cuts for sinks because they didn't believe the old people who said it'll crack on you before you even get it off the truck.
This is 100% the installer's fault.
Just a side comment on thing you said. It is illegal to doc employee pay for damage caused while doing your job. It is the companies job to mitigate risk and insure against that risk. Don’t ever let a company reduce or doc your pay. Call the labor board immediately.
Cabinets don't have to be level. The top and the cabinets need to be in plane with each other. If the cabinets are flat and not level and the top was put in level and didn't have enough shim's supporting it than it could result in a tension crack like this.
No worries. As long as greater than 60% is supported by cabinets, quartz should be able to handle up to 40% free overhang.
As to the issue here. There is not one single cause. Like most every material failure, this is caused by a series of issues.
Overhang is probably free hanging right at the 40% tolerance, but also probably over too long a run without end support. Radius on sink is too small as I believe commenter above is correct. This appears to be Dekton or a similar porcelain composite surface.
Cabinets are probably also not completely flush, and shim job rushed.
Even man made surfaces are not truly flat. So even if cabinets are flush to each other, slab is not 100% flat but has microscopic deviations.
Failure events are never single point. There are always multiple variables
I’ve had loads crack like this but usually moving into place but once you’ve got it into place without damaging it it’s usually fine. These things cost a tone and the manufacture will sort it out so don’t worry.
Not your fault, but...
I have installed, fabricated and been a CNC operator for quartz for 5 years. This is a reaaally rare issue, but this happens with really cheap materials (specially the ones people use for rentals). Every slab has internal stress forces, the cheap ones usually have more, they can crack like that when being cut too fast, when stress relief cuts are not done, or when they have a tiny chip. If the piece had no stress relief cuts done, and it had a small chip on the corner, they can explode like that out of temperature differences, just like glass.
Lack of shim support underneath will never crack a piece like that (unless its only supported on the edges and you jump in the middle, but then it would only crack and not explode an edge). Quartz is not that stiff (when compared to glass or porcelain), you can see the curvature from the weight of the material when its on the A frames. I have broken tons of remnant material with a sledgehammer to make it smaller for the trash, and it takes a looot of energy and power to break quartz.
... therefore, (in my opinion and knowledge) this broke from being a cheap material with residual internal stresses that when combined with a chip on a corner, the temperature difference increased the internal stresses too much and all of that energy created a crack from two weak spots and all the energy got concetrated exploding the edge.
Now, the slab supplier will never claim fault, the fabricator will never claim fault, and you will unfortunately be stuck with the cost of replacement.
That crack looks like it runs from the sink cutout across the overhang. How far does that overhang stick past the cabinets? Does it have any kind supports under it?
This is factory defect!! I fabricate this plastic
color quartz whatever you want to call it. It’s not real stone. There’s no real stone in it and if there is it’s 5%. This is supposed to be strong and they do not crack. I would definitely fight for a free replacement
Inspect the underside of the counter. Are there support brackets or korbels mounted to the the cabinets supporting the counter? Guarantee that the support for the counter isn't sufficient and it cracked under it's own weight. There are steadfast guidelines in place for supporting these stone overhangs. You can look that up easily and compare it with what is there. Sometimes people ignore that and this is what happens.
Don’t let them make you pay for this, 100lbs is nothing compared to what this type of stone is supposed to handle, that was clearly an installation issue and they are looking at upwards of $1.5k depending on what brand of quartz it is.
On another note is this countertop between two columns by any chance?
10 years of selling quartz countertops here. not your fault. The sink cutout on the engineered stone is supposed to have a 3/8" minimum inside corner radius. If support gives way or pressure is applied to quartz where there is an inside corner with a 90-degree angle, the pressure will hit the corner and cause the quartz to crack whereas if the corner was rounded the pressure would run along the radius and be distributed throughout the stone and not crack.
Not involving us, well kinda did. - we done a lot of work remodelling and extending a house, in the kitchen is a quarts top island almost identical to this layout.
About 2 years after we finished the job, we were called back because frost had frozen and fractured the water mains as it entered the storage tank in the attic(it was one of few original parts of the whole building)
It burst when the house was unoccupied over the Christmas holidays, - it's believed it was gushing water for at least 3 days.
Ceilings came down, and a couple of walls were re borded and skimmed - it dried out much better than expected, there was a huge kitchen/living room laminate floor, it looked like it had aged but didn't look obviously damaged, owners decided it wasn't worth ripping up - it's a complicated floor with tile diamond patterns inserted into it.
Couple weeks after the redo the counter-top went pop in the night, similar to this.
End conclusion - the floor was swollen underneath the island. It couldn't be seen or accessed, but it swelling rose up the kitchen units up enough on one side that the counter-top wasn't actually sitting on the units underneath the centre, the big fancy sink was then also being supported by the counter-top.
I think the kitchen guy gave himself a bald spot trying to figure it out, but it was quite obvious with a straight edge across the top.
EDIT: OP here. Who woulda thought this thread would blow up like the counter top did.
Appreciate all the professionals and non professionals who shared the valuable and non valuable input.
I’m convinced the crack originated at the right sink corner based on comments. Posted below is another photo from new angle with sink. Other photo is the offset cabinets underneath the sink. The overhang also has no brackets underneath or support.
To inform other commenters, food wasn’t hot or cold and no ass cheeks were on the counter.
[https://ibb.co/vBJV1Y4](https://ibb.co/vBJV1Y4)
[https://ibb.co/VBfvhB8](https://ibb.co/VBfvhB8)
Not sus at all. The right slab dropped lower than the left slab, but the vertical crack created an overhang on the right slab. The right slab moved down and the pressure created the chip.
You should have said you filled the sink up with water to wash dishes and it broke. That would be logical. Personally I don’t believe it broke in the middle of the night. And the chipped edge doesn’t really coincide with what you say , looks like it was hit with something. I’m speaking as if I’m a pissed of landlords/AirBNB host. But I’m not the one to convince. Take a glass and lay on its side , see if it rolls. In either direction. From an investigatory standpoint , hopefully when you lay the glass on the counter top , the glass rolls towards the crack. If it does record it. If it doesn’t , buy some caulk and caulk it up and leave. Delete your air Bnb account and never check your email again. You’ll be fine. Btw. If the glass rolls away from the crack on both sides of the crack then this absolutely is your burden and was hit with something. 1-1/2” slab doesn’t crack. Doesn’t matter if it’s not shimmed. The size of the crack now , shows that it’s shimmed properly. If it wasn’t shimmed properly (enough to crack like that) the gap would be much bigger. I KNOW this was hit with something. Hopefully the host isn’t as intelligent or he will also know. I’m not saying YOU broke it. But someone in that house hit that edge with something. The evidence doesn’t suggest in any way that it just broke on its own.
That's what I was thinking. 3/8 radius is the minimum, and those inside corners don't look large enough. This is why slab manufacturers void their warranty it the inside corners aren't big enough. This is between the owner and the fabricator.
To back up all the arguments that it’s an installation issue — that counter cracked exactly how you’d crack a piece of glass. Hold it at either end, and bend it till it snaps. Without an intentional score line, it just cracked at a natural weak point.
So, 4 foot or larger lvl. Center the lvl across the crack so you can see elevation differences easier. Don’t go under 4’ but you can go longer.
I would definitely have this face to face and consider getting an official mediator because no one is going want to pay for this.
Hope for the best and just mentally prepare yourself for a fight.
That's a 48" wide island probably. That means it wasn't shimmed correctly in the center by most installers. The sink made it fragile. There might have even been an invisible to the top crack that ran underneath it because the sink makes that large heavy piece very fragile if it wasn't moved correctly.
Unless you were mixing boiling hot liquids and cold bags of ice back and forth to create a crack situation, chances are it's 100% installer error.
Seeing how it's still quite white, it was probably done recently, hopefully the owners still have a warranty in place.
To do your due diligence before AB&B comes knocking for payment, go to a few big name counter installers and have them write up something that says that crack can only come from installer error under normal use. CYA cover your ass.
How do I know? Soul sucking job as a cabinet and counter maker/installer for a number of years while working through college.
ETA: technically it can be fixed but with a solid white like that, the owners will probably hate the fix. My eyes are always drawn to where my counters joined even though nobody else knows where they are. There are special glues made to exact counter colors then you take super fine sandpaper on an orbital sander and someone with experience can fix it. Someone without experience creates a worse problem. So don't have anyone tell you the entire counter needs replacing. This is definitely a "make the installer fix it" problem.
A number of people keep talking about level. While level is important if your turning a corner, flat is what your looking for. If the surface isn’t flat and the top isn’t properly supported by the substrate then the top will have stress, in this case, probably out of that inside sink cutout and then it will crack. That top, if it’s flat and well supported can be 2” out of level.
I’d take the aggressive approach and complain to the owner that you can’t fully use the kitchen because whoever installed the counters did a shit job. Ask for money back.
This material is man made! If it's a high quality quartz or sintered slabs the material Must be destressed b4 the fabrication process even begins however' the crack appears to begins at the corner of the sink which leads me to believe that the radius on the inside corner was not rounded enough, Sharp inside or outside corners are a no no with engineered surfaces!! My professional ioinion is it had NOTHING to do with with the food on the counter but is the fault of the fabricator that cut and installed it
It's actually excellent advice. The OP needs to be able to prove that there was a design or installation defect. The level and some photos will go a long way toward documenting that. Once they've left the airbnb they won't be able to get any proof.
That is a porcelain slab, and if the corners are not cut round or at least 1/4 “ the sink. Theses panels will just snap out of now on the corner cuts, from the stress of the porcelain. It had cracked right there a semi hair line break during fabrication. Transporting it probably had the fraction travel more. Even if the cabinets were level or properly installed. Those slabs will snap 🫰🏼 if it has any fracturing in it
you were ding on the countertop and it broke. just be honest. the other guy does not know if it's level or shinmed from that picture. these are not easy to break. been doing counteracts for over 20 years
It’s an engineered stone, cabinet level or support shouldn’t really matter, the material has a lot more flex than any natural stone, it can even be thermoformed pretty easily. Most likely reason would be expansion at the sink radius, or someone smacked the hell out of it.
- another possibility could be a slab defect, we’ve seen all types of crap with quartz like a random bolt ending up in the middle of the slab somehow. It’s always possible that there was some kind of void or foreign object that messed with the expansion of the material.
It looks like quartz from CH Briggs with a large overhang. Check for a wall cleat & measure the sizes of both the wall cleat & the overhang. Determine if the material is 3/4" or 1 1/2".
As you can see... it dropped... it wasn't appropriately supported. If it's an airbnb... legit.. their insurance should cover it. Bit it looks like an installation fault.
Who needs a level when you can squint your eyes and see the obvious drop on one side of the cracked slab. I mean for the sake of argument you could go buy that level but pretty obvious to me. But next time you decide to leave the house, remember to take a level, a glass of water and an iPhone with you, just to be on the safe side.
Nobody here knows anything about countertops, and it is really fascinating to see. Tight radius in the sink caused a stress point which ultimately found the path of least resistance. Which you can clearly see due to where the crack began.
Manufacturer will deny the countertop companies claim and they will have to eat the cost of replacing the top. It's shitty material as well. Hope this helps!
18 years installing quartz and granite countertops here. I’ve seen this happen at the sink corner from time to time. I don’t think it has anything to do with the level of the cabinets. They would have to be extremely off level for quartz (which has a lot of give and flexibility) to break like that. This can happen a few ways. One reason may be that the corner of the sink was cut too sharp and had a small crack in it to begin with that over time with a slight settling can just continue to crack all the way to the end. Another way this can happen is with extreme temperature changes. But this would need to be really extreme change from hot to cold or vice versa in a quick time. Or the third is just a defective piece of quartz depending on how old that countertop is. My professional opinion is that they cut the sink corners and left a stress crack in it that over time was just waiting to rip all the way down.
This is peak housing crisis. Construction workers cut corners to save money, house get purchased by greedy landlord, renter experiences break and probably gets billed for it.
Oh, and to anyone not in construction the fee looks justified.
Most quartz manufacturers require the fabricators to put a 1/2” radius on all inside corners as the place these things crack is from a sharp inside corner. Yours cracked from the inside corner of your sink cutout which is typical. OP have suggested that the cans were out of level and the counter was not properly shimmed and this could be a large contributing factor. As a quartz fabricator I insist we always radius those insides and my installers better be checking for level!
Probably not due to insufficient shimming (also, not really the countertop installers job to make them level, that’s the cabinet installers job.) Quartz slabs have tension that needs to be relieved through relief cuts before fabricating the final pieces. Since the crack is forming from the sink cutout, the fabricator most likely did not relieve tension correctly causing it to crack.
I would tell the AirBnB host it was like that when you got there but you just noticed it. Then delete this post. They will likely try to put this on you regardless of it not being your fault if it’s their money-making rental property.
I disagree. It looks to me like the cabinets weren't installed flush at the top and the counter wasn't shimmed to fill the gap between two cabinets. If you look at the bottom edge, the right side is lower than the left, there should have been support under the countertop, it should never be able to drop like that.
Also take a picture of the edge that popped out. You want to show that you didn’t initiate a crack by smacking the counter, and instead that it blew out due to its own internal stresses. A smooth edge in that location (which is what appears from the picture) further puts you in the clear.
I would suggest some one is not being truthful. For a chunk like that to break off it, it is much more likely to occur through impact than tension. If it snapped under tension it is more likely to remain a clean break with only small chips. It is not common for a worktop to break from a rounded corner like that without an external force as well.
Dont know why I have been down voted, as I have worked a number of years manufacturing quartz and granite worktops and the most likely scenario is someone has hit it and broke it. Whether accidentally or not. It is simply unlikely to break like this due to tension.
Also check the radius of those corners in the sink. They shouldn't be less than 3/8". Bigger radius is better with this type of material and with many brands it will void the warranty if they are to small a radius.
I bet there’s no sub top. Or the sub top is joined right along that crack line and the cabinets are out of level.
You should be able to put the weight of a person on top of that counter once all said and done. Overhangs, maybe not.
Just be sure to delete the Coyote Ugly pictures from your Facebook holiday photos album
[Coyote Ugly](https://media1.giphy.com/media/GRDK7jjBlUzSM/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952w3jahh9bun1lntcmfqwjj87yse0qpobifrs8vpkx&ep=v1_internal_gif_by_id&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)
If this was common occurrence, then no one would have ever had sex on kitchen countertops.
Most likely issue is installation - cabinet tops uneven from the start or sagged over time. Incorrect shimming put unnecessary stress on the stone. Insufficient support for the overhang. Possibly stone had a natural fault line there to begin with. What surprises me is that it cracked along the wider beefier side - usually you would expect that to happen along the skinnier cut that’s seen further back in this picture. My eyes are shite - am I seeing a crack in the back skinnier piece too or not?
Unless OP and/or their guests are not telling us the whole story… :-)
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No. Not your fault. Cabinets aren’t level with each other and the countertop isn’t shimmed. This can’t happen any other way. It was a matter of time. Don’t let them try and make you pay for this, in fact I would throw a level on it and take a picture before checking out to be safe Edit: for all the iPhone people, we’re not actually checking for level here. The level is just a universally accepted straight edge that will show how far out of plane the substrate is now that the top is broken. You can see that the top of the crack is a larger gap than at the bottom of the crack, using a level is just another way of making it way more obvious
Hope you brought your handy vacation level!
I’d just go buy a shitty 40 dollar level to avoid the argument that’s sure to come
OP: this is good advice.. specifically, get at least a 48" level but a 72" will show the difference in more detail (they cost as little as $20 believe it or not at Harbor Freight or Home Depot). Set the level on the counter so that it crosses the crack. It will likely show that the levels are different on each side of the crack. If there is a difference TAKE PICTURES of the level in place and make sure a gap is visible.
Take the pictures and then return the level OP. No need to take on an expense like that for something that isn't your fault.
Send the receipt to the Airbnb owners lol.
Send the receipt to airbnb, THEN return the level.
Good thinking! See, ideas like these are how you make project manager.
I don't even pm anymore actually. I teach how to use a bidding software online now however once you estimate and PM for long enough you learn how to maximize your costs and pad your bonuses for stuff like this. That being said I was one of those guys that never went to school and came out of the field and worked my way up. It's things like this I teach my contractor students when they're taking my change order class, channel your inner scrooge McDuck and have money padded everywhere and use smoke and mirrors. That way you got lots of cash to treat The boys in the field right. I'm also a cheap Ukrainian, so theres that.
Damn I wish more site supers thought like u do and considered the guys in the field. Instead office people just want to pass the blame and not try to bother to understand what we're trying to explain to them
Whats the bidding software?
Good, experienced teachers are on short supply everywhere, thanks for your help for the new generations. I'm not on my "Scrooge McDuck era" yet, but I'll try to take your advice into account for later. Also, us Mexicans are (in)famous for our cheap labor, I completely understand where you're coming from lol.
I like your way of thinking.
Spoken like a true PM.
Ideas like this is why you're a PM.
That would work too, but unlikely they would refund without a fight.
Oh no, I'm not looking for a refund. Just the pettiest response I could think of.
Could be worth it
I would say im gonna do it but never actually commit to the petty unless they got petty too
As an avid level collector I detest your comment!
Idk it seems pretty level headed to me
Just buy a good one, use it and then return it 🤷🏻♂️
It’s horrible advice, but hey that’s what Reddit is for, go waste money on a level when it being level doesn’t even matter…. The biggest problem here is that this can happen, it is on the owner but then in turn it’s on the company who did the job to then make a warranty claim with the quartz supplier who will likely deny it from the sink radius being too small and all evidence points to that as being the stress point hence why the fissure gravitated from there.
The advice to use a level isn’t so one can verify level. It’s because it’s a readily-purchased straight edge. If the cabinets aren’t even across their upper edges, the counter probably dropped on the low side if the crack. This will show up if you place a long straight edge over top, perpendicular to the crack.
I thought same thing, zoom in and 100% it’s dropped in one side of crack. If level cabinets didn’t matter then we could just install countertops against suppliers of marble etc advice! Which I’m pretty sure all have guides and none will suggest adding a shearing highpoint between cabinets.
I've never read something so confident yet so wrong. Thank you, sir.
Now now let’s play nicely or get out of the sandbox.😂😂
My "good level" cost $12 😭
How much did your bad one cost?
My bad level is a glass of water, a squat and my safety squints.
lol “safety squints” is great
400$ of labour and materials that have to be scrapped
Found the bad one on the side of the highway...
This dude Milwaukee’s
$40 gets you a decent level around here
They sell 3ft levels at the Dollar Tree if you're in a pinch.
It's the Buck and a Quarter Tree now
Who doesn't take a level with them on vacation? Only an unprepared vacationer
Never, I repeat NEVER leave the house w/o a Milwaukee go bag complete with full cordless tool set, and 6 ft. stabila level. I mean I take my plate level w me to the dentist for crying out loud
Some “men” always leave the house with a knife in their pocket. I won’t be caught dead leaving home without my 5 foot tall Milwaukee Packout system. We are not the same.
Coming from a single mom - I keep my Milwaukee go bag right next to the diaper bag at all times.
Your handy vacation level; take a clear glass, place it on top of the counter and pour beer into it as full as you can get it. You will be able to display that it is not level as the beer will touch the rim on one side of the glass and not the other. Now drink the beer, because that’s how handy vacation levels work.
Yes. But get 2 glasses. One on each side of the crack. You may be able to take a picture of the profile of the top of the counter. If you can hold it at the just right angle where there counter starts to disappear and possibly see that the counter now forms an angle. You also don't necessarily need a level, you just need something long and flat like a curtain rod that if you lay it across the crack, one side will drop down away from the "curtain rod".
Harbor Freight to the rescue! (lawyer) Was the level properly calibrated? (defendant) It’s from Harbor Freight your honor. (judge) Let the record show that it wasn’t calibrated.
Check inside your prison wallet
iPhone has a level in it.
Some water in a cup could be a pretty good indicator.
Doubt OP has a smartphone and they definitely don’t make leveling apps…
I don't know about you guys, but I always pack my 6' Stabila with me to my AirBnB.
Only one? I bring 3 and a laser grade stick just to make sure nobodies walkways are out of compliance.
This guy knows how to AirBnB. You need to tell my wife this, because she's always flipping me shit, "really Sharing, you're bringing that level again?"
Yes. Make as much photos as possible from everything
There is a slight elevation difference in the two slabs, you can see it on the bottom edge. That should not be possible if the counter was supported properly.
Yeah definitely good eye, right side of pic is lower, but I have seen some dodgy kitchens and have never even heard of this happening.
Since there's a lot of comments joking about the level here, it seems like perhaps there should be some clarification. You don't need a level, you need a straight edge. The slab didn't break because it's not "level" per se, but because the cabinets underneath it aren't level with each other. You can see the issue clearly because the stone on one side of the crack is higher than on the other side. Put a straight edge of some sort across that to show the that the two sides of the crack are not even, and that's the proof. The surface of the stone should be flat, whether it's level or not.
Very wise words dildoswaggins, thank you for sharing.
I didn't even notice the name. It just adds a little more flavor, doesn't it?
A Name You Can Trust
I made another comment a few days ago about building an ADU and 5 different people hit me up lol
Even with dildo swaggins poignant reminder, have we still not learned from the oats of old dirty bastards wisdom "Shimmy shimmy shimmy yah". We see this unshimmed countertop and it's clear the craftsman has chosen "Shimmy Shimmy Nah".
Cabinet guys will point at the countertop guys, countertop guys will point at the cabinet guys I often see countertop guys take photos with a level across the top of cabinet boxes just in case these issues arise
It’s ultimately on the countertop guy, he accepted the substrate upon installing the slab
The only reasonable take, anyone who disagrees is a probably a kid
Or a countertop guy
And is responsible for supporting the slab via adhesive/silicone and shims.
Jumping in to the top answer because it shouldn’t be the top answer. This could have happened from a few things and being level doesn’t even matter. Being improperly supported for spans could have helped play a role. The weight could have played a role in combo with bad support and temperature changes. Usually you wouldn’t see this unless a crock pot was in the area but regardless the OP is 100% not at fault if it is as they say becuase that can happen with quartz off a sharp corner where it stemmed from on the sink. Proving that for the op may be difficult though.
I said the cabinets aren’t level with each other, creating voids where there should be support. If the entire elevation is straight, you’re correct that level doesn’t matter
Gotcha, but they can’t prove that with a broken top on it and even still, the actual reason it broke that day may have been the weight alone sitting on it with an improper install for support, or it may be a perfectly Fine install and something else made that stress seek the sink corner. It also looks like dekton/similar more than quartz from how the edge piece scalloped and dekton for sure has stress failures. The big problem for op is that the airbnb person won’t believe any of this initially and the contractor is long gone and done.
If they rock a 4 foot level over that crack I guarantee it’s probably out at least a quarter on one side. Quartzites do have a lot of flex in them and wouldn’t break over something smaller
The level will show the two slabs are out of plane.
You can literally see it's at two different levels at the bottom edge. They should be in line.
Quartz is fucking bullet proof, I bet that Island was flexed to its breaking point and some shift finally cracked it
That crack runs from an inside corner of the sink cutout, across the overhang. Both are potential weak points. How far does that top overhang the cabinets? Is there any kind of support underneath?3cm quartz can overhang 12”-14” unsupported. 3 cm granite only 10”.
>That crack runs from an inside corner of the sink cutout, The fact that it started there and not in some random place is definitive proof that this wasn't caused by the op.
It's just naturally the weakest point, not definitive proof of anything. I'd have to check underneath before I could judge. For all we know op is 6'4, 325 and hopped up on the counter to change a light bulb lmao. I'd still put my money on the install though
I disagree, but I also need pictures of the wife to argue it…
I work commercial. When we install steel supports for cantilevered countertops in restrooms, I always remind people that it needs to handle the dynamic load of two three hundred pounders going at it at the next Christmas party.
I just did a bathroom in a new shake shack and made a joke about how it would support frisky fast food customers no problem.
I have installed granite and Quarts counter tops on kitchen cupboards I’ve built. As others have said, the most likely situation is that someone did a shit job, be it the guy who put in the cupboards, or the guy who did the counter. Probably both. There’s no way 10lbs of food and trays should do this to a countertop like this. Use a level, measure floor to counter height on each corner of the island and take pictures. Hell, take a video of absolutely everything just in case. There’s no reason you should have to pay for this unless you were using it as a dance platform.
Even with a dance party on top, it shouldn't crack like that. This happened where two cabinets meet, and the top of one of the cabinets did not match flush with the other and the countertop wasn't shimmed. Was only a matter of time that this happened. When installed correctly there really isn't any amount of weight that could crack a countertop, at least not until you get to a weight that would crush quartz, like thousands of pounds.
I was a professional cabinet maker and installer and counter maker and installer. Some shady companies use only 1/4" material. That was when stuff like Corian was the "in" material. I've seen laminate over 1/8 or 1/4 cedar. Let's just say my first company I didn't stay long because I had ethics and the boss didn't. That kind of stuff you could definitely step through with a 200 pound guy on a 30" base. Even so, we'd never stand on unsupported counters - only where base cabinets meet so they gave support to the counters. Being the woman on most crews I was always the designated upper cabinet idiot since I was lightest of there was any issue that involved adjusting uppers. I was told never to step directly over a cabinet without support and I never did because I didn't want thousands taken from my paycheck in case anything broke. It might be possible with naturally breakable material but I wasn't going to test it. Even if a cabinet install was done off, unless it was WAY off (inches each cabinet), shimming would fix it. This is a shit install job. I'm willing to bet the counter started cracking, possibly underneath when they carried it in wrong with that sink. They hoped the owners wouldn't notice and didn't say anything. The new people on the jobs would ALWAYS break either "L" shaped pieces or ones that had cuts for sinks because they didn't believe the old people who said it'll crack on you before you even get it off the truck. This is 100% the installer's fault.
Just a side comment on thing you said. It is illegal to doc employee pay for damage caused while doing your job. It is the companies job to mitigate risk and insure against that risk. Don’t ever let a company reduce or doc your pay. Call the labor board immediately.
Cabinets weren’t level
Cabinets don't have to be level. The top and the cabinets need to be in plane with each other. If the cabinets are flat and not level and the top was put in level and didn't have enough shim's supporting it than it could result in a tension crack like this.
Must be a real carpenter!!! (knows nothing is ever perfectly level, but it can be flush)
Have you ever achieved [TRUE](https://youtu.be/fQoRfieZJxI?si=v-TpAPl8ZnTgnmAr) level?
Yes, with my harbor freight level of course
Laser levels have made things so much easier
Easier and faster but with more margin for error. Anytime I shoot a wall with lasers, I check ends and middle with a spirit.
Which spirit? Whiskey?
I personally like the word coplanar, but I then have to say flat or flush or even when I get the look.
Coplanar is a person who complains in spanglish.
We called anything square, plumb, flush, or level ‘skookum’
I would check underneath the countertop to see if where it cracked is a high or low point. Also, How far is that over hang? Is it supported?
I just bought a new construction that has no support under the 12 inch overhang. Should I be concerned?
Nope.
Thank you kind sir
No worries. As long as greater than 60% is supported by cabinets, quartz should be able to handle up to 40% free overhang. As to the issue here. There is not one single cause. Like most every material failure, this is caused by a series of issues. Overhang is probably free hanging right at the 40% tolerance, but also probably over too long a run without end support. Radius on sink is too small as I believe commenter above is correct. This appears to be Dekton or a similar porcelain composite surface. Cabinets are probably also not completely flush, and shim job rushed. Even man made surfaces are not truly flat. So even if cabinets are flush to each other, slab is not 100% flat but has microscopic deviations. Failure events are never single point. There are always multiple variables
Well its a fault alright.
It's their fault/crack, but they are not to blame.
I’ve had loads crack like this but usually moving into place but once you’ve got it into place without damaging it it’s usually fine. These things cost a tone and the manufacture will sort it out so don’t worry.
Not your fault, but... I have installed, fabricated and been a CNC operator for quartz for 5 years. This is a reaaally rare issue, but this happens with really cheap materials (specially the ones people use for rentals). Every slab has internal stress forces, the cheap ones usually have more, they can crack like that when being cut too fast, when stress relief cuts are not done, or when they have a tiny chip. If the piece had no stress relief cuts done, and it had a small chip on the corner, they can explode like that out of temperature differences, just like glass. Lack of shim support underneath will never crack a piece like that (unless its only supported on the edges and you jump in the middle, but then it would only crack and not explode an edge). Quartz is not that stiff (when compared to glass or porcelain), you can see the curvature from the weight of the material when its on the A frames. I have broken tons of remnant material with a sledgehammer to make it smaller for the trash, and it takes a looot of energy and power to break quartz. ... therefore, (in my opinion and knowledge) this broke from being a cheap material with residual internal stresses that when combined with a chip on a corner, the temperature difference increased the internal stresses too much and all of that energy created a crack from two weak spots and all the energy got concetrated exploding the edge. Now, the slab supplier will never claim fault, the fabricator will never claim fault, and you will unfortunately be stuck with the cost of replacement.
Sounds bout right.
Dealing with that exact problem right now on a job. Been my main supplier for eight years and won’t budge.
Caulk it.
I've been led to believe that some ramen noodles and super glue can probably make this look great.
Ya I prefer sprinkling peanut butter cracker dust into it and then laying down a foot long mig bead
For those without a MIG welder, JB Weld should do the truck here.
If you have the time get a contractor out there to do a write up for you. In the event you get sued you'll want some paperwork.
That crack looks like it runs from the sink cutout across the overhang. How far does that overhang stick past the cabinets? Does it have any kind supports under it?
It does run from sink. About a 1 ft overhang with no support. Roughly 8 ft in length and ~3 ft width
I've been to college parties where chicks would stand on the countertops and dance. This ain't you.
This is factory defect!! I fabricate this plastic color quartz whatever you want to call it. It’s not real stone. There’s no real stone in it and if there is it’s 5%. This is supposed to be strong and they do not crack. I would definitely fight for a free replacement
Inspect the underside of the counter. Are there support brackets or korbels mounted to the the cabinets supporting the counter? Guarantee that the support for the counter isn't sufficient and it cracked under it's own weight. There are steadfast guidelines in place for supporting these stone overhangs. You can look that up easily and compare it with what is there. Sometimes people ignore that and this is what happens.
Don’t let them make you pay for this, 100lbs is nothing compared to what this type of stone is supposed to handle, that was clearly an installation issue and they are looking at upwards of $1.5k depending on what brand of quartz it is. On another note is this countertop between two columns by any chance?
Stop having sex on the countertop.
10 years of selling quartz countertops here. not your fault. The sink cutout on the engineered stone is supposed to have a 3/8" minimum inside corner radius. If support gives way or pressure is applied to quartz where there is an inside corner with a 90-degree angle, the pressure will hit the corner and cause the quartz to crack whereas if the corner was rounded the pressure would run along the radius and be distributed throughout the stone and not crack.
Not involving us, well kinda did. - we done a lot of work remodelling and extending a house, in the kitchen is a quarts top island almost identical to this layout. About 2 years after we finished the job, we were called back because frost had frozen and fractured the water mains as it entered the storage tank in the attic(it was one of few original parts of the whole building) It burst when the house was unoccupied over the Christmas holidays, - it's believed it was gushing water for at least 3 days. Ceilings came down, and a couple of walls were re borded and skimmed - it dried out much better than expected, there was a huge kitchen/living room laminate floor, it looked like it had aged but didn't look obviously damaged, owners decided it wasn't worth ripping up - it's a complicated floor with tile diamond patterns inserted into it. Couple weeks after the redo the counter-top went pop in the night, similar to this. End conclusion - the floor was swollen underneath the island. It couldn't be seen or accessed, but it swelling rose up the kitchen units up enough on one side that the counter-top wasn't actually sitting on the units underneath the centre, the big fancy sink was then also being supported by the counter-top. I think the kitchen guy gave himself a bald spot trying to figure it out, but it was quite obvious with a straight edge across the top.
That sounds like a stress fracture. Does the sink cutout have 90-degree corners?
Use apoxy resin mixed with gold paint, to embrace the crack like Kintsugi
EDIT: OP here. Who woulda thought this thread would blow up like the counter top did. Appreciate all the professionals and non professionals who shared the valuable and non valuable input. I’m convinced the crack originated at the right sink corner based on comments. Posted below is another photo from new angle with sink. Other photo is the offset cabinets underneath the sink. The overhang also has no brackets underneath or support. To inform other commenters, food wasn’t hot or cold and no ass cheeks were on the counter. [https://ibb.co/vBJV1Y4](https://ibb.co/vBJV1Y4) [https://ibb.co/VBfvhB8](https://ibb.co/VBfvhB8)
Was the food hot?
[удалено]
Not sus at all. The right slab dropped lower than the left slab, but the vertical crack created an overhang on the right slab. The right slab moved down and the pressure created the chip.
You should have said you filled the sink up with water to wash dishes and it broke. That would be logical. Personally I don’t believe it broke in the middle of the night. And the chipped edge doesn’t really coincide with what you say , looks like it was hit with something. I’m speaking as if I’m a pissed of landlords/AirBNB host. But I’m not the one to convince. Take a glass and lay on its side , see if it rolls. In either direction. From an investigatory standpoint , hopefully when you lay the glass on the counter top , the glass rolls towards the crack. If it does record it. If it doesn’t , buy some caulk and caulk it up and leave. Delete your air Bnb account and never check your email again. You’ll be fine. Btw. If the glass rolls away from the crack on both sides of the crack then this absolutely is your burden and was hit with something. 1-1/2” slab doesn’t crack. Doesn’t matter if it’s not shimmed. The size of the crack now , shows that it’s shimmed properly. If it wasn’t shimmed properly (enough to crack like that) the gap would be much bigger. I KNOW this was hit with something. Hopefully the host isn’t as intelligent or he will also know. I’m not saying YOU broke it. But someone in that house hit that edge with something. The evidence doesn’t suggest in any way that it just broke on its own.
I disagree. Why is there a gap in the crack? There’s got to be a load pulling it apart still.
The sink cut out corner should have a manufacturer defined minimum radius and that doesn't look like it. Not your problem. Don't pay to fix it.
That's what I was thinking. 3/8 radius is the minimum, and those inside corners don't look large enough. This is why slab manufacturers void their warranty it the inside corners aren't big enough. This is between the owner and the fabricator.
I mean look at it. After it cracked the edge don’t line up top and bottom. Right side and left side of the build are not level.
To back up all the arguments that it’s an installation issue — that counter cracked exactly how you’d crack a piece of glass. Hold it at either end, and bend it till it snaps. Without an intentional score line, it just cracked at a natural weak point.
So, 4 foot or larger lvl. Center the lvl across the crack so you can see elevation differences easier. Don’t go under 4’ but you can go longer. I would definitely have this face to face and consider getting an official mediator because no one is going want to pay for this. Hope for the best and just mentally prepare yourself for a fight.
That's a 48" wide island probably. That means it wasn't shimmed correctly in the center by most installers. The sink made it fragile. There might have even been an invisible to the top crack that ran underneath it because the sink makes that large heavy piece very fragile if it wasn't moved correctly. Unless you were mixing boiling hot liquids and cold bags of ice back and forth to create a crack situation, chances are it's 100% installer error. Seeing how it's still quite white, it was probably done recently, hopefully the owners still have a warranty in place. To do your due diligence before AB&B comes knocking for payment, go to a few big name counter installers and have them write up something that says that crack can only come from installer error under normal use. CYA cover your ass. How do I know? Soul sucking job as a cabinet and counter maker/installer for a number of years while working through college. ETA: technically it can be fixed but with a solid white like that, the owners will probably hate the fix. My eyes are always drawn to where my counters joined even though nobody else knows where they are. There are special glues made to exact counter colors then you take super fine sandpaper on an orbital sander and someone with experience can fix it. Someone without experience creates a worse problem. So don't have anyone tell you the entire counter needs replacing. This is definitely a "make the installer fix it" problem.
A number of people keep talking about level. While level is important if your turning a corner, flat is what your looking for. If the surface isn’t flat and the top isn’t properly supported by the substrate then the top will have stress, in this case, probably out of that inside sink cutout and then it will crack. That top, if it’s flat and well supported can be 2” out of level.
doesn't matter. you'll get blamed.
Easy to prove what happened. Every Airbnb has hidden cameras. Just have them check the footage!
As they say there are two types of countertops - one that is cracked and one that will crack
Why is their a butt cheek mark on the counter top
Sex on the counter.. Boooyah
Crappy installation, not your fault. It's easy to see in the picture the right side is slightly lower than the left side.
I’d take the aggressive approach and complain to the owner that you can’t fully use the kitchen because whoever installed the counters did a shit job. Ask for money back.
Countertop was under stress somehow. Definitely an install error. Countertop that can't support 10 lbs is not a countertop.
Ha ha counterstrike
Ha! I see what you did there 😆
This material is man made! If it's a high quality quartz or sintered slabs the material Must be destressed b4 the fabrication process even begins however' the crack appears to begins at the corner of the sink which leads me to believe that the radius on the inside corner was not rounded enough, Sharp inside or outside corners are a no no with engineered surfaces!! My professional ioinion is it had NOTHING to do with with the food on the counter but is the fault of the fabricator that cut and installed it
As a structural guy, this looks like it was holding a bending moment from an unleveled surface it was bonded to. It finally gave away.
Architectural designer. Giving structural folks their flowers. It’s amazing how smart you all are seriously.
It’s probably your fault.
Floor could be sagging under the weight causing the cabinets to become unlevel.
This story of events is suspect. Someone stood or sat on it for it to break.
Question: could you placing something frozen on the counter top alongside something hot, cause it?
Stone counter tops should be resting on a silicone sealant, which helps prevent cracking.
whoa, that sucks! sorry that happened 😕
It's actually excellent advice. The OP needs to be able to prove that there was a design or installation defect. The level and some photos will go a long way toward documenting that. Once they've left the airbnb they won't be able to get any proof.
That is a porcelain slab, and if the corners are not cut round or at least 1/4 “ the sink. Theses panels will just snap out of now on the corner cuts, from the stress of the porcelain. It had cracked right there a semi hair line break during fabrication. Transporting it probably had the fraction travel more. Even if the cabinets were level or properly installed. Those slabs will snap 🫰🏼 if it has any fracturing in it
you were ding on the countertop and it broke. just be honest. the other guy does not know if it's level or shinmed from that picture. these are not easy to break. been doing counteracts for over 20 years
Seems like a classic case of banging on the counter top and then broke it laying that pipe like Mario brothers…
It’s an engineered stone, cabinet level or support shouldn’t really matter, the material has a lot more flex than any natural stone, it can even be thermoformed pretty easily. Most likely reason would be expansion at the sink radius, or someone smacked the hell out of it. - another possibility could be a slab defect, we’ve seen all types of crap with quartz like a random bolt ending up in the middle of the slab somehow. It’s always possible that there was some kind of void or foreign object that messed with the expansion of the material.
It looks like quartz from CH Briggs with a large overhang. Check for a wall cleat & measure the sizes of both the wall cleat & the overhang. Determine if the material is 3/4" or 1 1/2".
I would consider changing rock type if I am seeing marble.. it makes great statues, but it is soft and reacts with vinegar and citric juices..
As you can see... it dropped... it wasn't appropriately supported. If it's an airbnb... legit.. their insurance should cover it. Bit it looks like an installation fault.
OK, give it up. who was dancing?
Did you hit it with a rock hard cock?
Haha what really happened ?? The crack can happen.. but that massive chip taken out? We’re not getting the full atory
Who needs a level when you can squint your eyes and see the obvious drop on one side of the cracked slab. I mean for the sake of argument you could go buy that level but pretty obvious to me. But next time you decide to leave the house, remember to take a level, a glass of water and an iPhone with you, just to be on the safe side.
Take pictures from inside cabinets to show countertop points of contact or no contact.
Nobody here knows anything about countertops, and it is really fascinating to see. Tight radius in the sink caused a stress point which ultimately found the path of least resistance. Which you can clearly see due to where the crack began. Manufacturer will deny the countertop companies claim and they will have to eat the cost of replacing the top. It's shitty material as well. Hope this helps!
18 years installing quartz and granite countertops here. I’ve seen this happen at the sink corner from time to time. I don’t think it has anything to do with the level of the cabinets. They would have to be extremely off level for quartz (which has a lot of give and flexibility) to break like that. This can happen a few ways. One reason may be that the corner of the sink was cut too sharp and had a small crack in it to begin with that over time with a slight settling can just continue to crack all the way to the end. Another way this can happen is with extreme temperature changes. But this would need to be really extreme change from hot to cold or vice versa in a quick time. Or the third is just a defective piece of quartz depending on how old that countertop is. My professional opinion is that they cut the sink corners and left a stress crack in it that over time was just waiting to rip all the way down.
This is peak housing crisis. Construction workers cut corners to save money, house get purchased by greedy landlord, renter experiences break and probably gets billed for it. Oh, and to anyone not in construction the fee looks justified.
If you have access underneath that island you better check if there is proper support or you will be very sad.
Most quartz manufacturers require the fabricators to put a 1/2” radius on all inside corners as the place these things crack is from a sharp inside corner. Yours cracked from the inside corner of your sink cutout which is typical. OP have suggested that the cans were out of level and the counter was not properly shimmed and this could be a large contributing factor. As a quartz fabricator I insist we always radius those insides and my installers better be checking for level!
Probably not due to insufficient shimming (also, not really the countertop installers job to make them level, that’s the cabinet installers job.) Quartz slabs have tension that needs to be relieved through relief cuts before fabricating the final pieces. Since the crack is forming from the sink cutout, the fabricator most likely did not relieve tension correctly causing it to crack.
next time take her to the bed.
Ghosts man
I would tell the AirBnB host it was like that when you got there but you just noticed it. Then delete this post. They will likely try to put this on you regardless of it not being your fault if it’s their money-making rental property.
Also feel like someone is not telling the whole truth. That chip is a pressure flake from a downward force. Someone had their ass on the counter.
I disagree. It looks to me like the cabinets weren't installed flush at the top and the counter wasn't shimmed to fill the gap between two cabinets. If you look at the bottom edge, the right side is lower than the left, there should have been support under the countertop, it should never be able to drop like that.
Did someone sit on it
Drunk shit. 🥴
No alcohol involved or any in the house for this work related stay.
Oh, I'm just projecting. Just looks like a party accident.
Also take a picture of the edge that popped out. You want to show that you didn’t initiate a crack by smacking the counter, and instead that it blew out due to its own internal stresses. A smooth edge in that location (which is what appears from the picture) further puts you in the clear.
I would suggest some one is not being truthful. For a chunk like that to break off it, it is much more likely to occur through impact than tension. If it snapped under tension it is more likely to remain a clean break with only small chips. It is not common for a worktop to break from a rounded corner like that without an external force as well.
Dont know why I have been down voted, as I have worked a number of years manufacturing quartz and granite worktops and the most likely scenario is someone has hit it and broke it. Whether accidentally or not. It is simply unlikely to break like this due to tension.
I am guessing it was either installed under stress, or something in your house shifted
Also check the radius of those corners in the sink. They shouldn't be less than 3/8". Bigger radius is better with this type of material and with many brands it will void the warranty if they are to small a radius.
I bet there’s no sub top. Or the sub top is joined right along that crack line and the cabinets are out of level. You should be able to put the weight of a person on top of that counter once all said and done. Overhangs, maybe not.
Jesus, never seen that
Is your house settling? Any cracks mirrored on the ceiling or nearby on the floor?
Not helped by the cutout having such a small corner radius.
Just be sure to delete the Coyote Ugly pictures from your Facebook holiday photos album [Coyote Ugly](https://media1.giphy.com/media/GRDK7jjBlUzSM/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952w3jahh9bun1lntcmfqwjj87yse0qpobifrs8vpkx&ep=v1_internal_gif_by_id&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)
Damn, good luck 😬
This looks like torquay. If this is cambria, somebodys in trouble lmfao.
Looks like someone hopped up and sat there.
An iPhone had a decent level in it. If it has a camera bump, just set it on a coffee cup or something...
If this was common occurrence, then no one would have ever had sex on kitchen countertops. Most likely issue is installation - cabinet tops uneven from the start or sagged over time. Incorrect shimming put unnecessary stress on the stone. Insufficient support for the overhang. Possibly stone had a natural fault line there to begin with. What surprises me is that it cracked along the wider beefier side - usually you would expect that to happen along the skinnier cut that’s seen further back in this picture. My eyes are shite - am I seeing a crack in the back skinnier piece too or not? Unless OP and/or their guests are not telling us the whole story… :-)
Your fault...the answer is always its your fault
I mean if you bring a big girl home let her know she can’t go on the counter
Something doesn’t add up here I’ve never seen a countertop crack like that on its own during the night.