APEX SURFACES INC

unknown

We recently remodeled two areas of our house using the services of Champion Kitchens. We remodeled a bar area in our game room and our entire upstairs kitchen. Champion Kitchens used Apex for the stone instalation in both areas. I was very happy with Apex up until the installation of the granite in the kitchen. Upon the completion of the installation of the granite in the kitchen we had another professional (not Champion Kitchens) install our backsplash. The backsplash installer noticed a crack in the granite in the corner of the countertop. I would say that the crack was approximately nine inches in length. It basically looked like it was damaged in the warehouse and then seemed back together. The crack goes the whole way through the surface of the countertop. Apex sent a representative out to look at the granite. They took pictures of the area and told me that they would call me that same night or the next day once they had determined what the actual "issue" was with the granite. Even though it is obvious to anyone who looks at the granite that it was a crack that was repaired and then installed in our kitchen. Apex never called me back like they said that they would, I had to call them. There determination was that the area was a natural fissure in the granite and basically they were going to do nothing. I do not feel that this area is a fissure in the granite and any professional or layman looking at the granite would not believe that this was a naturally occurring fissure. I have never heard back from Apex or Champion Kitchen regarding the granite or my unhappiness. I guess I was expecting more after spending over $30,000 on a remodel and probably $8,000 of the remodel for the stone in both areas.

We chose Apex due to their wide selection of granite when we chose to redo our kitchen. From the standpoint of the stone itself, it is beautiful and perfect for our kitchen which is why we gave them a "B" on quality. That being said, now the bad and why the rest of their rating is so low: 1. They attempted to have us approve the cut layout of our countertops and island via very low quality pictures and made it difficult for us to actually see the slabs and what they planned. Since our stone was highly varied and it's the first thing you see when you come into the kitchen, we were absolutely not leaving that to chance. 2. Apex demanded payment in full from our kitchen contractor or they would not deliver our countertops 3. They sent their staff out to measure after all cabinets were in place (this becomes important later!) 4. Day of delivery, their 3 installers showed up with a truck full of granite, didn't introduce themselves, looked at the kitchen, noticed the range and flat out stated they wouldn't move it to install the granite on that side of the kitchen...NOTE: 3 VERY large guys who handle slabs of granite for a living couldn't/wouldn't slide out a range 5. Had to call my contractor who had to pull 2 guys off a job to drive over and side the range 2 feet 6. First slab comes in, get slid into place and Install Guy 1 seems to be looking at it pretty hard, Install Guy 2 asks him what's wrong and he says "nothing", second piece comes in to butt against the first piece. I decide to see what my backsplash tile will look like against the granite and find a 1 inch gap between the countertop and wall. Install Guy 1 says my contractor will take care of it. NOTE: tile was 3/8" travertine. We originally had a 4" high granite backsplash configured, notified Apex that we did not want it, that we were going to tile and Apex "forgot" to adjust the cut on the slab. I've attached a picture with my hand in the gap which Apex thought was absolutely good to go 7. Called my contractor who left a job to see what was going on. Meanwhile back a the ranch, slabs 3 and 4 for the other side of the kitchen were brought in and were starting to be glued together. Unfortunately, the sink cutout was misaligned to the cupboard under it and the edge overhung the range area which would have prevented us from ever being able to move the range back into place 8. At this point, I called a stop to all the installation, my contractor called the owner or manage or someone at Apex who immediately blamed my kitchen contractor for the problems 9. Install team from Apex left all the miscut granite in place preventing me from even getting my temporary sink back in place 10. Our kitchen contractor contacted Apex who demanded an additional $1200 to recut their mistakes (See Item# 3 above) or we could sue them and be tied up in court with an unfinished, unusable kitchen for months. They ultimately settled for $600 which, in the name of customer service, our kitchen contractor paid out of his own pocket 11. 3 weeks later (they put us at the back of their work queue so as not to upset their other delivery dates), the new, correctly cut countertops arrived. The same crew was sent but I demanded either the owner or manager be on site at all times to supervise the installation which Apex did provide. 12. On the correctly cut granite, they insisted that our kitchen contractor remove several cabinets so the granite could be installed (again see Note #3 above) so about 1/3 of our new cabinets were taken down 12. The grommet in the desk (which was on the original plans) was not in place on the initial delivery, they knew it still needed to be cut when they came back for the second install but didn't bring the tool. They had to send a crew back to cut the hole about 1.5 weeks later. All in all, our kitchen remodel went went extremely well until Apex got involved. While they have a good selection of stone, their work ethics are so suboptimal that I'd never use nor recommend them. Had I not been paying attention on the original install, the Apex crew would have walked out the door and left my kitchen a wreck and we'd probably still be fighting to have the issues corrected.

Purchased two separate pieces of countertop from them. Granite on began chipping on one within a short time. Marks were all over the counter and due to normal use. No cutting or hard use occurred. They came out and refused to acknowledge it was chipping..using some ridiculous explanation. They refused to do anything beyond a cleaning. Chips continue to appear. I have never had granite chip so easily. On the other counter, the salesman, during the initial consultation, lead us to believe that a raised edge could be added to another island piece. This was further discussed in subsequent emails. On installation day no edge was added. The installers told us such a thing was not feasible. The salesman should have informed us of this from the onset as to allow us to build the cabinet differently as we wanted a edge. No apology was given when questioned the issue. I will never purchase from them again.

Great company! Work was performed in a very professional and timely manner. Helped us work through design details and answered all of our questions before the project was installed. Great price also.

They did really well. We went in picked out the granite. They did what they were supposed to do. Their price was very competitive and the granite choices were really good. It is a granite warehouse. They came out when they were supposed to. We did not have any problems.