I've ordered Blackwood but it won't be installed for a few more weeks. I was looking at Ashford but then decided that Blackwood was more timeless...I'll post pictures after it's installed.

slo_girl .... what colors are your cabinets?

Blackwood is one of the options I'm considering. I'll have white cabinets.... Trying to figure out which of my choices will match for the right look. It's nice to hear Blackwood looks "timeless"

I have Bristol Blue with white cabinets and backsplash. Love, love, love it.

Cleaned with a soapy sponge, then wipe dry with a microfibre cloth. The microfibre cloth removes all the streaks - it's really easy once you get in the habit. Hope that helps!

My perimeter counters are Zodiaq, but my understanding is that the different brands function pretty much the same. Mine are dark, and all I do is use a dishcloth on them. Occasionally I wash and wipe dry with a microfiber cloth. I never see any streaking -- and my kitchen is very sunny. I'm very happy with my choice!

My cabinets are white, stainless appliances, and wood floors. I'm thinking maybe Botticino Marble subway backsplash with bronze inserts but waiting until the counter is installed. I chose the Cambria over granite because I didn't want the maintenance so not sure if the marble is a good idea. I don't have a large backsplash area in my kitchen so maybe its less of a problem! I'm going for a more traditional/transitional look. Definitely hard decisions!

Do any of you have problems with fine scratches appearing on the darker colors of your quartz countertops?

"My cabinets are white, stainless appliances, and wood floors" ---- this is what I will have. I'm looking forward to your photos when it is installed!

jb1176... I was wondering the same thing. The samples in the store of the dark colors that are more solids (less flecks in them) seemed to be scratched already.

I have had Cambria Nottingham for three years now and it's wonderful. I chose it because I don't want to be bothered with the maintenance of granite. It does not scratch, but it does show dirt. I've used sprays and powders to clean it - even a straight-edged razor to get off sticky things. The only thing I don't do is put hot pots/pans directly on it. The installers told me that excessive heat could possibly turn the resin a funny color. I consider that a small inconvenience.

I still haven't done a backsplash, but that'll be next.

elisamcs.... please share photos if you have them :)

After lurking hear for a month it seems the best thing to do is get quartz if you want a light,solid,or red color and granite if you want a dark color.

Deeageaux, that's one good reason. However, color aside, quartz counters are appealing to it's enthusiasts because they are never sealed, are totally non-porous, and virtually impossible to stain. So for those who don't want even the little bit of maintenance required by granite, they are a great option. We're putting all quartz in our kitchen because of the reasons you mentioned (Silestone White North) and the reasons mentioned above.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Bungalow and Kitchen remodel blog

I have Cambria countertops; did a kitchen reno about two years ago. I am now having some issues with chipping. Live at home with husband and older son and younger son is in college and home on the usual times. Got Cambria b/c of fear of staining with granite b/c of the kids. Now finding little chips here and there; not happy about it. And not so sure in the end i made the right choice. I am not hard on the counters and can't say for sure how these little chips are happening, if you have a busy kitchen i am going to say this is not a good choice. sorry hate to say that, spent alot of time exploring all the options and am pretty disappointed at this point....

kas81057.... interesting. I've never heard that feedback, but it's nice to know. I wonder if anyone else has had similar issues?? anyone?

I've got quartz, (zodiac), and as others have said, microfiber cloths work like a charm. Two chips in 6 years, both from heavy items being dropped, and neither is noticable at all except to me. A couple of weeks ago I put a hot pot lid on the counter and it made a funny mark...

I have currently three chips; one is located in a place that may have been due to something heavy falling on it. There is one that for the life of me I cannot even begin to figure out what could have happened. The newest one and actually the most disappointing of the three is on my island countertop where guests sit. Something heavy, like what? A tray of appetizers? This is not an area where there is heavy stuff. And the reason it is most distressing is that it is in the middle of the counter whereas the other two are on the edge. I actually kept feeling it the other day b/c it almost seemed like it wasnt a chip but was raised. I am still not so sure.
Like i said, i am pretty disappointed. I really thought that this was my solution to pretty much stress-free counters.
One other point that I will also make. Just like with granite, request that your installer allow you to come and view the counter layout before they cut them. Yes, this additional work for you but the resining that occurs in these slabs may not be to your liking. By resining i mean, there are additives of color they use and sometimes they blotch in fairly large sizes. I have a quarter size one on my guest seating area that is black and approx quarter size. It took me some time before my eyes stopped seeing it as a flaw. But some people have asked me about it. I have read where in some cases the resining is worse, for whatever reason. And this may be worse with darker colors, which I do have. Mine generally are not too bad. But i do have this little tiny speck of robins egg blue which is some foreign material in the countertop which is a little irksome.
Also my remedy for the chipped spots? Clear nail polish, keep adding layers to try to get it even. It works. But for the price....idk, shouldn't happen with normal wear and tear in my mind.
Good luck on your decision.
I don't envy you!
:

I had Cambria Victoria from 2004-2009 on my perimieter cabinets and Cambria Black on my island. I sold the house in May 2009 and moved out of state. I'm in the process of remodeling the kitchen in my new home and there is only one reason Cambria is no longer on my list of possiblities for the countertop. At some point about a year before we sold, my DD came home from collete one weekend and decided to make a cup of tea. When she took the whistling kettle off the stove she placed it directly on the cambria. I (nearly) immediately removed it but it was too late. A series of concentric circles had been "melted" into the resin from the bottom of the teapot. I was heartsick. For the record, I reminded both my daughters and my DH many times over the years to NOT put anything hot on the countertop. They knew not to do it, but this one time she "forgot." Everytime I saw the damage it drove me crazy. Since I'm not the only person who will use my kitchen and I cannot control what goes on 100% of the time (we have friends & relatives over a lot), I'll never use Cambria again. It's way too costly to take that risk again. As far as chipping, my countertop did chip in a couple of places along the edge. They weren't big chips and nobody would notice but me unless they ran their hand along the edge, but I was (like the previous poster) very disappointed about it. That said, once the burn occurred, the chips became minor indeed. :-) Anyway...just my two cents worth based on my experience with Cambria..which IS a beautiful product...but not 100% natural due to the small amount of resin and that is what caused the problem for me.

Interesting comments. Storklady - it's too bad you don't have a picture. I've been setting hot stuff on my counters and never had a problem.

After I read your post I did a test with some of the leftover pieces we have. We had to ask for them - we have a future shelf we want to put in and the sink and cooktop are big enough to use. Any way I boiled a pot of water for about 5 minutes and then set it on the sample for over 1 minute. NO MELTING. I wonder if your suppliers were using defective product? Same with the resin pooling. It just seems odd that your experiences are so different from the vast majority of other posts on this subject.

Sorry I cannot accomodate you with a photo, but I assure you it happened. If you go to Cambria's website they warn against it. Again...my two cents for anyone to take or leave.

we just did the same thing with a sample (coincidentally... before I read these responses...) We put a very hot pot on a 12 x 12 sample for several minutes. It didn't leave a mark........ maybe it is certain colors or maybe the product changes with time.

Well, I thought I was going to add new information but I see I'm not the first with the idea. But I will add my results to the database anyway.

All day today I was putting hot pots and pans from both stovetop and oven on top of my quartz samples (Cambria, Zodiaq, and Silestone; I only tried Caesarstone once briefly because they are borrowed). No marks or anything noticeable on any of them.

jsweenc --- might not be new, but it's still good to hear. I'm still planning on going with Cambria..... but not signed off yet. It's useful to hear the pros/cons and see photos..... :)

We just discovered a chip in our brand new bathroom countertop, probably caused by a carpenter dropping something metallic on it, because there is a rust-colored deposit in the chip. I'm wondering if there is any durable technique for repairing such chips, or at least reducing their visual impact.

I have cambria quartz. I have three chips one I know I did with a heavy pot on the edge of the counter the other two I have no Idea and I am diapoointed. My husband thinks some cleanres may be doing it I wipe the counters down with method. I have since now just use soap and water. I am disapponited with the haze that seems to appear. I will try a microfiber cloth. I don't put hot pots on my counter. I read you could but I don't feel comfortable with it. I am going to call around and see it they can fill the three chip the resin they used to connect the counter may fill in the chip. I have a 14 foot run in one point they needed to connect. So they may be able to fix the chips. I would never call the installers they are shady to say is best rips off. They never delivered a table that was suppose to match and used my leftovers to make money. I put stop payment on the check and only paid them for services they had done. They don't have great reviews they are doing it to alot of customers. I have a feeling my counters may be seconds. I have two imperfections on the counterwhere the pattern is funky. I needed to move back into my home so Iet it go. After 110,000 in damage from a flood. I just wanted it all done.
qould I buy cambria again probably but I would try recycled glass just cause of the beauty.I had granite before the flood never again. The possibilty of radon and
they were alot of maintanance.

I am a fabricator.

" quartz counters are appealing to it's enthusiasts because they are never sealed, are totally non-porous, and virtually impossible to stain"

The "impossible to stain" statement is inaccurate. I've personally seen 2 incidents of staining on Cambria; one was dye which bled out of a kids bright colored paper school folder and the 2nd was from "Kilz", a paint primer which left a stain even after being removed with a razor blade. IMHO either of these incidents would have stained virtually any quartz countertop material.

re: heat damage; I have seen this on several occasions; it's a significant weakness in product performance for quartz countertops particularly since it's generally not repairable.

Chipping is a problem with any really hard countertop surface. It's a little surprising that it occurs as often as it does on quartz since the material doesn't have the natural internal weaknesses that a natural stone does. In my experience quartz tops chip at least as often as natural stone tops.

Thanks Oldryder. I am still wavering between quartz, granite, and soapstone or slate. Some days even go back to considering Corian! I really cannot decide which material's "weaknesses" are least important to me!

I have had my Cambria for a couple of months. Love it so far! I clean it with a soapy cloth or just winded and a paper towel (per installer). I will have to be on the lookout for chips. Don't have any, and like others, I would be really disappointed to get some.
Here is a close up.you can see some resin, but it is just like the sample and I find it interesting to look at. In person, you can see down into it--kinda dimensional.

This was before backsplash. The sticky note marked a scrape from delivery that they just buffed out.

Super glue your chip, then scrape off the excess with a sharp razor blade at a 90 degree angle to the top. . It's an easy repair.

Please see photo....is this quartz....any advice what I can do to make it look new? (polish???)

My new quartz counter top from Cambria have two chips as of this morning, I am heart broken. I do not know how they happened, because we treat our new kitchen with much care. Both are on the edge of the sinks. I had marble counter tops for 25 years before our remodel, and they had done great. I am very disappointed, we use our kitchen a lot, but this is so unexpected; a huge let down as this product is not as durable as it is being advertised. I am hoping there is a way to fix it.

Also, super glue will damage quartz counter tops.

If you call Cambria customer service they will set up a service call to fill in and repair chips. I have never been charged for this service. They are very fast and helpful!

We had a kitchen redo about 2 years ago using Cambria quartz for countertops and service area. Last night my grandson sat a hot iron skillet on the area by the sink. This a.m. I noticed a ring that looks like the bottom of the skillet. I have never had anything burn or stain. Do you have a solution to my problem? So far I have used soap and water, soft scouring pad, and a Mr. Clean eraser pad.

Unfortunately susceptibility to burns like you describe is a major performance deficiency of the quartz countertop product category. The burn is actually heat damaged resin which can be impossible to repair to a point where the repaired area once again matches the test of the top. Sometimes a really skilled fabricator/repair can do an acceptable restoration but it takes specialized polishing tools and considerable skill.

oldman3957:

The success of a repair depends mostly on your particulate size and movement, if any. Post a picture please. I've gotten paid for estone hot pot repairs, so the customers must have been happy.

I respectfully disagree with oldryder; there is nothing wrong with the engineered stone. The manufacturers of solid surface, plastic laminate, estone, and yes, granite, ALL require the use of trivets to prevent heat damage. Stoners always hate it when I say this, but this trivet requirement makes them equal when it comes to heat.

I've posted pictures of heat-ringed and cracked granite here previously and just got another call last week. He texted me this pic and I told him his granite was ruined:

I got this estone:

To look like this for less than $500.00:

We're sorry to hear about the damage to your Cambria, @oldman3957. Please contact our Customer Care Department, at 866-226-2742. They will be happy to assist you.

I have fieldstone it is an amazing color. However dealing with Cambria is no good. I wish I would have picked another company like Silestone. Cambria boast of their fabricators are trained complete lie. The owner is but not the little workers.