Granite Conversions Inc

THIS WAS A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE, SO BAD THAT WE HIRED ANOTHER COMPANY TO TEAR IT OUT AND START OVER. WE LOST MORE THAN $2K ON THE PROJECT. WE CONSIDERED SUING IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT, BUT DECIDED THAT AS SENIOR CITIZENS IN ILL HEALTH WE JUST WANTED TO BE DONE WITH GRANITE CONVERSIONS, NEVER HAVING TO SEE THEM AGAIN. IT TOOK US 10 YEARS TO SAVE UP FOR A NEW KITCHEN, AND THESE PEOPLE LEFT US WITH A MESS. THEY ARE NASTY AND INCOMPETENT AND WORSE. We have learned from our mistake never to pay the last payment, even if you are tired. Tell them to come back tomorrow. 1. Sean Harvey came to our house to give us an estimate. We discussed the pocket window, and he said we should take it out, but when we explained that it was connected to our security system, he said we could leave it in, and he would cut 2 pieces of granite, hone the edges, and wedge them under the window track.We signed a contract and gave him $600.00+ 2. Sean made an appointment to come to measure a template. Instead of Sean, John came. John was very unfriendly, and seemed to be angry at something. As he was leaving, we asked his advice about what kind of granite to look for, and he became a little friendlier. 3. We bought the granite and shipped it to GC. 4. A few weeks later on a Friday Sean called to say he would install the countertop on Monday. He said it would take about 6 hours, and he would start at around 1:00. We asked him to try to come earlier, because we are elderly, and get tired. He said he would try. 5. On Sunday afternoon we called Sean to remind him to register with our town. (He had previously given us 2 incorrect email addresses, and never answered at the 3rd email address, so it is somewhat hard to contact him.) He said OK. 6. On Monday Sean called to say he could not register with the town, because he first had to go to the Palm Beach County Courthouse to fill out paperwork there (proof of insurance, etc.). He was already working in PB County without the correct documents. (We eventually learned that the company MAY not have a Broward County ?Certificate of Competency?.) Sean said he would come on Tuesday. He said he had to hire some other person (s), because John "is on maternity leave". 7. On Tuesday morning Sean, Danny, and Rob arrived at 9:00 AM. They struggled for 10 hours to install our countertop. At 7:00 PM, Sean said, "How does it look?" Exhausted and glad to see them go home, we said it looked fine, and signed the final paperwork and gave them another $600.00. We thought they would come back to make adjustments and to clean up, but when we called about an hour later, Sean did not answer, but obviously told Danny to call us. Danny defended the quality of the work, and all the workers refused to come back ever. The next day the full extent of the damage became clear, and we called in other companies to see how to salvage the kitchen. We ended up hiring the company from whom we had purchased the granite to come and start all over, replacing the granite. The new company did a great job. 8. Problems: a) John's template called for a seam to be placed over a dishwasher where the support from underneath was insufficient. THis seam was also underneath a weight-bearing post that would be supporting a wall cabinet above. The result was that the seam was sagging at that point, and the 2 pieces of granite were separating. We bought a level, and when we placed it over the seam, there was about 1/2" empty space underneath the level at the seam.During the "installation" we heard someone say "John made a mistake in the template." They modified the template during the installation process, as if this would help, maybe to cover somebody's butt. b) They used a LOT of caulking and pine shims to try to level the granite and make it fit. In some places the only thing between the countertop and the cabinets underneath were the shims. We told Danny this was unacceptable, and his response was "Pine shims last a lifetime." "It is not my job to level the cabinets." c) In spite of our conversation relating to how the granite would be honed and edged under the window sill, the granite had not been honed, and would not fit. This accounted for a large chunk of the time it took to finish the job. They were entirely clueless as to how to do the job. It would have been better if they went back to the factory and honed the edge, but they would not do that. We called in 2 other workers who were working on our cabinets, to see if they could give advice; this helped somewhat. At some point Danny cut a hole in the cement exterior wall of the house underneath the countertop. THis hole was big enough to see daylight outside from inside the house. They did not fill this hole; they did glue granite strips to hide holes where the granite did not fit properly at the side of the window.

When he came for his initial visit he showed us samples and told us exactly what would be done. He offered us options for a sink. He provided a variety of sinks. He then said he would have to come back to create a template that he did. On the website he gives detailed steps of what he has to do. The times he estimated for each were well within the estimations that he made on the website. The instructions he gave required me to disconnect everything and clear everything off. I completed this. They were efficient and they worked quick, fast and much to my satisfaction. They cleaned up after themselves. He was very pleasant to deal with, no pressure. It allowed us the privilege of setting the schedule that we had to. He had no problem coming on the days we needed. I am ever so pleased. It was a marvelous experience. I would indeed hire them again.