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Design DilemmaKitchens
benners001

Yellow semi circles on white granite

Nikki
5 months ago

Hello! I hoping for some advice. We've recently had 'Vento White' granite work surfaces fitted and just a couple of days after it was fitted, some semi circular yellow marks appeared on the surface in 3 separate areas. The yellow is not what I'd call a natural yellow and looks (to me) like a chemical yellow as opposed to something naturally occurring within the stone (I'm not an expert so forgive me - this is pure speculation). The granite had not been used/cleaned or had any spillages so nothing to cause a stain from the surface.

When I raised it with the stone mason who fitted it, he agreed that the marks are coming through the granite from under the seal (as opposed to something we spillt), but also added that he's never seen anything like this before and had no idea what may have caused it. His only suggestion was that it's just one of the things that can naturally occur when you choose granite over man made (quartz), he had already told me that he didn't like fitting granite (over quartz) due to it's unpredictability.

I'm upset as the kitchen is not even finished yet. We spent ages picking out a white granite (we did not want quartz as we didn't want anything 'uniform' in appearance) and originally chose Bianco Calypso granite, but the stone mason put us off and said it was very soft and would mark terribly. So we went to a stone yard on his recommendation and picked out for 2 massive slabs of Vento White (as it was the only light colour granite they had). I'm calling it granite, but I'm still unclear whether it is, because although it was sold to us as granite, the stone mason suspects it's quartzite (not sure if this is relevant).


As I say, the yellow was not visible when the surfaces were fitted, they just appeared a couple of days afterwards and where we are now is that the stone mason promised to raise it with the granite yard it was sourced from, but said it's unlikely that they'll accept liability. I asked him if there was anything we could do to remove the yellow, but he said probably not and he wouldn't want to chance putting something on there that could make it worse. I should add that the areas where the yellow has appeared are not near a sink or dishwasher, and interestingly all of the yellow marks are close to the edge of the surface (again, I've no idea if that's relevant or not).

I've attached some photos - they've not come out great - the yellow looks much brighter in reality.


Can anyone here advise whether this kind of thing is the norm? I don't know what to do. Do I just take this on the chin and accept that this is one of the risks with granite? Also is there anything that can be done to remove the marks (or make them fainter) without making it worse?

If you're still reading this thank you for sticking with it. I'd be grateful for any thoughts or advice.









Comments (8)

  • Jonathan
    5 months ago

    Since this is not a natural colour I would not accept the fabricators assertion that it’s a natural idiosyncrasy of real stone. Given the shape is very uniform I think it’s to do with the machinery used to move slabs around. So I would be expecting the worktop fabricators to be revisiting, using a cleaning solution and repolishing as necessary.

  • Isla Cherry
    5 months ago

    I would go straight back to your supplier. Yellow marks do not suddenly appear in a natural stone after a few days. I think Jonathan has a point but the cause of the marks could also be something else. If they cannot clean and polish the marks out then it should be replaced as it's not what you ordered. Please do not accept anything less, as this is a considerable outlay and you need to be happy with your worksurfaces for years.

  • Isla Cherry
    5 months ago

    I don't know your location but I would speak to a stone expert like Rossi Stoneworks in Enfield, London and email them your pics. They may be able to provide an expert opinion on the way forward. Did you sign a disclaimer about the colour variations in the granite? Do you have the exact slabs that you picked out at the stoneyard and do you have pics of them? Good luck. I would do as much research on that particular shade of granite as possible. Where is it from and what are the colour ranges? Serious work ahead unless it can be polished out.

  • Nikki
    Original Author
    5 months ago

    When we reserved the stone slabs at the stone yard we did indeed sign a disclaimer, it was our understanding that we couldn’t have the slabs if we didn’t sign. When I check their website, they don’t have the granite listed anymore, but then I’m pretty sure that we had the only 2 slabs they had of this granite, so this would make sense. Unfortunately we don’t have pictures of them.
    Thank you for your advice, I’m located just outside London so I will get in touch with Rossi Stoneworks. I just felt so clueless, so having a name of an expert to contact is a massive help.
    I did wonder if the marks were due to ‘sucker pads’ or something similar and raised this with the stone mason, but he said that wasn’t possible (I can’t remember the exact reason he gave), but I agree that the marks look so uniform in shape, which (I believe) points to something machinery related (as opposed to something naturally occurring within the stone).
    I fear that the disclaimer we signed may pose a problem - watch this space. I will add more on here with updates, in case anyone else experiences anything similar.

    Thanks again for your comments - I really appreciate it, I don’t feel as helpless now.

  • Sonia
    5 months ago

    Must be so annoying for you. Not quite the same but I had vinyl laid in my bathroom and two greyish black stains have suddenly appeared two months after laying. The fitter is coming back next week to lift it as he feels it may be coming from beneath. Obviously your issue is much more serious and I can see the yellow staining quite clearly. Could it be lemon juice? I know marble can be damaged by lemon juice. If they cannot rectify it then they need to replace it. Take a firm but fair stance.

  • Nikki
    Original Author
    5 months ago

    The yellow marks are coming up from under the seal (as opposed to something entering from the surface) and thankfully the stone mason agrees with this, otherwise I’m sure I’d have trouble convincing them that it wasn’t a spillage (as you say such as lemon juice). It’s so frustrating as we hadn’t even used the work surface when the yellow appeared.
    It’s not the first time we’ve had granite work surfaces (so we’re familiar with care, spillages etc), but it is the first time we’ve had white granite. I’m currently putting together a question with photos for Rossi Stone (as Isla suggested). Hopefully they’ll have some advice for me. I’ll post progress.

  • Isla Cherry
    5 months ago

    Granite is chosen in preference to Marble as it is impervious to lemon juice, red wine etc. that's the point. I have had granite, marble and now quartz in my kitchens and worked as a kitchen designer so I know the industry well and are used to dealing with them on a daily basis.

  • Jonathan
    5 months ago

    You should look at the disclaimer you signed. I would expect it doesn’t absolve the fabricator from blame for errors in handling or fabrication. I bet it is a disclaimer saying it’s a natural product, it will mark with strong coloured things in your kitchen such as turmeric, and since it’s natural there is no guarantee of getting more if you ever wanted a splashback (for instance) in the future.

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