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cani

using an off brand quartz?

cani
9 years ago

Now I'm in another dilemma with the countertop. I finally picked a marble slab for the backsplash. The place I bought it, Stoneville in North Hollywood also carries their own quartz line, Titan.

They carry a color that would be perfect. It's almost identical to the Steel color that I like by Silestone without the shimmery speckles in it. I wasn't crazy about the silver speckles but it is the only color that has the right hue to it. It makes the marble pop without being too dark like the Raven or Concrete colors.

This material would cost me $895 vs $1396 for a silestone slab and I need two slabs so I would be saving over $1000 by the time you add tax. The fellow at Stoneville said it is fabricated in India on Breton machinery. I mentioned the fact that Silestone and Ceasertstone have 93% quartz whereas theirs has 90%. He told me that you have to look up specs on each slab because that percentage could vary according to color etc and that it means its up to 93%. Can any of you fabricators verify that what he said is true?

Has anyone used an off brand quartz and how has it held up?

I'm really hesitant to go with an unknown brand.

Comments (12)

  • elphaba_gw
    9 years ago

    I would be most concerned about the warranty. Seems like there was a thread here sometime last year and what I concluded was that Silestone had the best warranty, even better than Caesarstone because Silestone really backed theirs up whereas Caesarstone didn't claim responsibility and left it up to the store where you purchased the quartz to decide whether they would back up any claim about imperfection.
    Sorry, I know I'm being vague. You might consider searching gardenweb for "silestone" warranty if this is an issue that is of concern to you.
    If you are not concerned about warranty, then I can't see a problem with a lesser known brand.

  • nosoccermom
    9 years ago

    Well, they give you a lifetime warranty, but who is "Stoneville"? Did you google the other places that sell Titan quartz?

  • cani
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Stoneville is a slab yard. As far as warranties, I am trying to figure out exactly what is warrantied by any of these companies as they do not cover chips or anything that could go wrong. So I'm thinking it only covers defects that are found before installation. Glad to hear that Silestone is the best in regards to warranties as that is what I would be purchasing if I don't buy the off brand.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    9 years ago

    cani123:

    A friend of mine, Evan Kruger, has started a business where he imports estone slabs and sells them to fabricators only so the fabricators can name their own brand.

    If you think there are a lot of different quartz brands now, wait a year or two.

  • Gracie
    9 years ago

    I have quartz and the warranties of all of them are probably worthless. I have no idea what could go wrong after install. Small imperfections aren't covered, as spelled out in their warranty. Make sure you view your slabs.

    Quartz is a hard surface and won't break over 3% less quartz particles. I think durability is the resin's job. I had a chipped tooth resin-bonded and it's lasted me 20 years so far.

    As long as it's Breton, I'd buy it. It doesn't matter which country it's manufactured in, as long as it's not China, where you never know what you're getting from knock-off Breton technology. I was told by a manager at Pental that the Chinese don't cure the resin as long or at as high temperatures as Breton specifies. Pental sells Vicostone, made in Vietnam.

  • cani
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Trebruchet, I have a question for you. I was sitting at the sales reps desk and there was black Titan quartz installed. I noticed that there seemed to be little pits or indentations where the mitered edge is. It seemed to be polished but had little indentations. I then went in the slab yard where they had pre fab slabs and noticed the same on the one I looked at. What in the material could be causing that and should I stay away from it or is it just cosmetic?
    I received a response from someone on yelp that had reviewed the stone yard and had purchased their quartz and they have had no problems with the quartz.

  • cani
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Trebruchet, a quick follow up. I spoke to the rep at the stone yard and told him my concerns and he said that the ones I was looking at were pre fab and done with a machine and I should not have that problem with a good installer. What do you think?

  • elphaba_gw
    9 years ago

    I was wrong about Silestone honoring their warranties. Looks like it was actually the opposite, at least according to this thread. More importantly, be careful who writes the check if you want to have a chance at any warranty claims - only the "original purchaser" can file a claim.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Home Depot/ silestone warranty, etc.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    9 years ago

    cani123:

    A picture would be helpful, but what you're describing sounds like voids in the adhesive of the miter to me. Miter joints should be flooded to avoid this, although if the flooded joints are scraped instead of machined, scraping can pull adhesive from the joint.

    It's much easier to fill larger voids.

    A good installer has nothing to do with glue voids in a mitered edge with the exception of fixing the shop's screw-up.

    I'm not fond of mitered edges for estone. How are you going to get the manufacturer required 3/8" radius on inside corners if the edges are mitered? I'm just not seeing the need.

  • cani
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Trebruchet, maybe I'm mixing up the terminology. I think the fellow said it was a eased edge. I don't want any edges that can chip. I just like the look of adding height to the countertop and I thought that was called a mitered edge. Im going there tomorrow and I'll try to get a picture, although I'm not sure it will show up on a picture.

  • cani
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    elphaba, thanks for posting that link. One would think that Home depot would fight for you. That was also interesting about having to be the original purchaser. Were I to get the Ceasarstone or Silestone, I would have purchased it through the installer and paid him so that is good to know that it needs to be under your name.

    May flowers, I have been wondering the same thing, what would someone be covered for if they won't cover the obvious. Trebruchet did mention that Zodiac fixed his clients counter so that gives me some hope that should something happen they would try to fix it.