To be utterly fuming at this...

[StatisticallyChallenged]

A few months ago (September) we had some new granite worktops installed in our house. The same day, the installer also fitted some at MILs (I arrange both installations as I was overseeing her kitchen refit for her.)Less than a week later, our worktop cracked along the join. As we discovered, the installer had fitted the worktop with a join over our integrated washing machine - the join was floating, no support at all, no cement etc underneath, and he'd also not used any silicon or adjusted the unit legs to the right so it was unsupported for about 1m.

He initially said he took responsibility, came out and attempted a fix which was hideous and which we said wasn't good enough. He then said he'd send a specialist who was anything but who did another really shit job. A toddler could have done better with crayon. He also didn't install the sink which he was supposed to install and which was included in the quote, so that cost us £150 (weekend) cos he left us at 5pm on a Friday with no damn sink!

We've been trying to get it sorted with the installer ever since. He refuses to accept responsibility claiming that our painter "must have" stood on it (possible but not likely and not the cause of the damage, that would be his botched job) however the worktop actually moved under my hands - so just leaning on it made the right hand side flex up and down IYSWIM? It's the busiest possible spot in the kitchen, exactly where you tend to dump heavy bags of shopping, that kind of thing.

Then he started demanding payment (because it broke so damned quickly we hadn't actually paid yet). We've been trying to come to a reasonable agreement - we asked him to replace them, nowt. We eventually got out own joiner to come and support the units and got a cosmetic repairer to come and fix the surface. Meanwhile he offers £200 compensation (£2.3k worktops, aye right!). We countered with £200 plus our costs, making for a total discount of about £600. Seemed reasonable to us given the mess he'd made but hey (there were other fitting mistakes too)

This has been going back and forth for a while, but today he has emailed MY MIL!! Telling her to"please ask Stat and Stats DH to pay their bill", informing her that we have asked for a £600 discount, a few other details, and then telling her that if we don't pay up he's going to speak to a solicitor!

I'm fuming. How utterly unprofessional can you get!

(incidentally, he actually did the same at MIL's house, she has a floating unsupported join too. We didn't notice until after her bill was paid)

yep home improvements are incredibly stressful!!!

Yes I can see your point. I may be tempted to offer him slightly less than first time around, and in writing point out that harassing your MIL is uncalled for and that the work on her house was not completed to an appropriate standard either as the joint is not supported etc. When is he coming to rectify it

He may not have actually realised that you have evidence of his shoddy work at your MILs!!!

Bloody cheek! Make the offer in writing and tell him he can take you to court if he doesn't want to accept. Sounds like a right bodgit job.

You shouldn't stand on it. They're tough but vulnerable to cracking along a join under weight. They should have told you it couldn't weight bear. Imo whoever stood on it is responsible for it breaking. But the damage can be repaired.

Hey you, good to see you! :)

Sorry to hear about the hassle you've had! I wouldn't pay him, let him take you to court.

As for contacting your MIL...wtaf?? I'd be advising people to give this cowboy a very wide berth!!

I am none too light . I have stood on every kitchen bench I've ever owned or rented. At under 5ft there's always something you need to do or get that you can't without standing on the bench.

Our granite bench...there's a photo somewhere of about 8 of us sitting/standing on it after a somewhat late night with lots of wine. The painters were standing on it, the electricians etc.

He's talking shite. You can not have unsupported joins like that. Idiot.

The worktop was basically free flying for a good length -it moved if I leant on it. The way it broke, what's clearly happened is that the right hand piece has moved down, causing the top to chip off. We don't know that the painter stood on it, that's what the installer alleges. We only know that it has had to be stood on since it was repaired and that once it was repaired the join is now stable.

The way our kitchen is, if the worktop was going to be totally unsuitable for taking weight he should have told us that when installing. You can't reach the window without at least pitting some weight on it. You can't get at the boiler properly either.

The way he did it, it would have cracked sooner or later, because I regularly put heavy bags of shopping there, hell the 30lb cat jumps on it too! It was moving pretty easily without much force or effort. Because he didn't bother adjusting the neighbouring cabinet -despite having the plinth off and breaking the lights in the process - the worktop stopped touching the units about a metre before the join so it could move a lot. He didn't bother using silicon or anything either, just sat them on the unit and left it.

A bit of a side issue, but I think worktops should be capable of being stood on if fitted correctly. Maybe not a 25 stone man, but they should be strong enough to take some considerable weight.

The way our kitchen is, if the worktop was going to be totally unsuitable for taking weight he should have told us that when installing. You can't reach the window without at least pitting some weight on it. You can't get at the boiler properly either.

I have to stand on our worktops to decorate and clean the windows too and I would imagine that is true of most fitted kitchens.

I agree fireside -and chipping, hello! - I've not actually stood on this one but I think I've sat on every previous one!

And how is one meant to shag in the kitchen if the worktops can't take weight?!

If it were me I would be telling him to come and collect the tops and I would be sourcing and having new tops fitted by a different company. I would not be parting with any money to this cowboy.
I regularly stand on mine, it's the only way to clean the windows :).
Also for information, a builder friend of mine said that you can source granite work tops from funeral directors and usually they are cheaper (am purchasing a new kitchen and am on a tight budget!)

I agree it sounds like it was not well fitted.

We've just paid the amount we offered, and sent him an email which says we've done so and if he wants a penny more we'll see him in court. Also points out that contacting family members who have nothing whatsoever to do with it to ask them to pressurise us to pay is harassment! We've already detailed all the faults in writing so we have a solid paper trail

If he wants more he can persuade a judge frankly.