Thanks very much, Joseph~ I’m still trying to get installer to correct, but if all efforts fail, I’ll contact Mario.

We are getting Silestone quartz and have 2 rambunctious boys. I had no idea that quartz could chip up so much until I came across this article. What profile would you guys recommend out of the ones below? Has to be one of the 2cm ones I believe as we are having ikea kitchen cabinets and we cant have it overhung like that or the drawers wont open. TIA!

Sheena - an edge that's sharp is more likely to chip than one that's rounded. So out of the choices above, the bevel and ogee edges wouldn't be great choices. The convex edge looks like a full bullnose edge to me (maybe not quite as rounded as a bullnose the more I look at it) and I think of all the choices it looks the least likely to chip.

Yes I thought that looked to be the best one too. The weird thing is that they didnt have a sample there of the convex edge but had a sample in a different material and it didnt look like the picture above at all. It had sharp corners on the top and bottom and a rounded side. I guess I'll just have to confirm if its actually like the picture above or not. If not maybe the double radius?

That sample looked like "crescent".

4cm edges are designed to have a build up under them . They are not designed to lap over the cabinet faceframe to impinge the drawers or doors. Alot of ranges will not adjust down for a flush installation with a 3 cm thick top.. They barely adjust for 3 cm thick tops, unless theres is some consideration made to elevate the base cabinet prior to installation. As far as the edge profile, any edge with a rounded top corner will help, but rest assured, a chip can come out of the bottom corner also.

2cm can be installed per manufacturer's instructions with or without an edge build up, 2cm or larger, and without underlayment. The edges may overlap a cabinet front if the front is designed in such a way as to not have the top overhang interfere with drawers/doors.

Appliances have to be coordinated with a cabinet/top installation to avoid clearance issues. A 3cm top with 34 1/2" cabinets sitting at the finished floor height will have no appliance problems.

Totally agree Joseph, each application needs to be looked at.. Its all in the details.. Framed, vs frameless will make a difference, and I agree if the cabinets are sitting at finished floor elevation there wont be a problem. The problem enters when the cabinets are not installed at finished floor height, because possibly the flooring hasnt yet been determined, or an additional floor has been added on a remodel. I think you would have a problem with 2cm on 34 1/2 inch cabinets and a slide in or flush sitting range. Again, its all in the details..

I didnt even think of our slide in range and how that affects everything. And our cabinets are 34 1/2. The cabinets will be going in at finished flooring elevation and the cabinets are frameless. So would we be better going with the 4 cm then? Any advice is appreciated!

Theres a few options.. 1) elevate the bases 3/4 prior to installation and install a slightly taller toe kick cover or trim. 2) elevate the countertops and install a trim (undesirable with frameless cabinets.) 3) use 4 cm tops with a build up..

I think 3 is probably our best option since ikea only carries one width of toe kick and I dont love the idea of #2. What would you build it up with? Plywood?

Sheena:

Install 3cm on your 34 1/2" cabinets mounted at finished floor height and you'll have no appliance problems.

The countertops were going with only have the 2cm and 4cm options in this pic. We live in a fairly small town with one small city near by so are limited in our options unfortunately.

Buildup can be solid plywood, or 1x4 s front and back of the cabinets..

Underlayment should always be cabinet grade plywood. Strips on the cabinet perimeter are better than solid underlayment. This is the most dimensionally stable method considering the dissimilar materials. No 1x4s, please.

Thanks for all of your help Joseph and Rollie.

So were doing the 4cm now. My husband and I like the double radius a lot more than the full bullnose. Will that be round enough to prevent chipping? Or should we go with bullnose even tho we dont like the looks of it as much? What would you do?

It will be fine. You’re over-thinking this.

I’ve had my quartz countertops - eased edge - for 3.5 years. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve banged heavy SS pans on the edge without a single chip ( I don’t know how the durability of eased edge compares to double radius) Get what you want to look at everyday. I’d rather have a kithen full of something I love with a coupe of nicks and chips than something I don’t like because it’s more durable.

Thanks for the thoughts! Our 2 sons both have autism and break everything so that's why I'm worried about durability lol. I'm very OCD so even tho I might like eased edges the most I know it would bug me a lot to have chips in it everywhere. I think the double radius will stand up well tho (fingers crossed) and we still like the look of it.

I have had the double radius for two years and no chips! Active kids and a husband that tends to break a lot of things! go for the look you want!

That is awesome to hear! Definitely makes me feel confident in our decision.

Joe, do you have any recommendations for fabricator in the D.C. area? TIA.

Has anyone seen this used to build up a quartz countertop? It says it's made to build up a 11/16" laminate. Would it work for the 4cm instead of plywood? Or could we use this to build up the 2cm instead? That would allow to get a more expensive quartz that we like more instead of spending more money on the thicker edge lol. Let me know your thoughts.

https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/70274628/?query=70274628

Need info and advice please! I recently had a kitchen renovation and purchased MSI Quartz Carrera Caldia, which I love, however, there are 3 places on my island (two at the sink and one on the outside edge) that appear to me to be some sort of nick perhaps a cutting issue. They attempted to repair them, but they look the same, if not worse, still noticeable and now the surface where they attempt to smooth the roughness is now dulled. Any futhur sanding/smoothing would affect the edge. What is this? Is this due to cutting, a manufacturer defect in the stone, etc??? I requested my countertop be replaced by my contractor, but he says the stone company said it is not defective. Any info would be much appreciated! Many thanks

I wish I had read this thread sooner! I already have a small nick next to sink in my two month old new kitchen. We have MSI Calcatta Quartz countertops. I, also was told that the Quartz was near indestructable and I thought I had read enough online stating the same. @Joseph Corlett, LLC- any reccomendations for someone that could fix this in NJ?

I can't give you a rec but I would warn it will continue to happen again. I was all heavy pans in the laundry room.

To follow up with my post on March 2018... I never did hear back from the fabricator I used (grrr) and found someone from another company who moonlights and he came by one evening and fixed the problem. He said that it was a fabrication issue-- the areas where I had gotten nicks were cut just a bit thinner. He filled the nicks and sanded everything and it looks perfect and I have not had another nick since. Needless to say, I will use HIS company the next time I need countertops!

"@Joseph Corlett, LLC- any reccomendations for someone that could fix this in NJ?"

Stu Rosen at Stoneshine is the best in the business.

Used a quartz company here in Calgary and within 6 months we had our first chip. We took a plate out of a drawer and nicked the edge of the counter and the counter chipped. The plate was stronger and had no damage! There are a few other very small nicks around the eased edges and sink too. Was wondering if our quartz is defective as its supposed to be so strong. When we contacted the company they did not warranty for chips however did come over to fixed the larger ones at our request but cost us.

Sheena, how have your quartz countertops been doing with the kids?

We have not had a single chip in our quartz countertops ever. I have banged plates and pans against them. I have been careful but not obsessed. I have 4 different quart surface locations and all look like the day it was installed.

Sorry to hear about your chip. I have engineered quartz Silestone countertops in my kitchen and my 3 bathrooms for about 2 years now and they are perfect. They also look like the day they were installed.

we had several chips on the edges and were told by one fabricator it was because we fid the thicker edge 2". we ended up finding a private fabricator who fixed all chips and nicks for $100

We put an edge called 1/4 round top and bottom. Flat front with rounded edge top and bottom.. Absolutely no problems.

I'm looking to find someone to fix my countertop as i have had it for just under a year and have had the guys who installed it come out to fix it several times at no charge.. however i contacted them again for another incident we had and i have been told I now need to pay does anyone know how much they typically charge please inform as they have not gotten back to me yet.

Adeline:

When I was in the repair business, I charged $90.00 per hour, drive and administrative time included, with a 3-hour minimum. My minimum used to be $500.00; yesterday I raised it to $750.00 and still got a job I don't really want.

Thank you for getting back to me Joseph, how much you think they will charge me
for a chip fix? i don’t know what the standard prices are that people typically charge please can you advise me

I called other places around and they said they’ll do it for $250? is that a typical charge for a hip fix?

I put in Caesarstone quartz 20 years ago and it's all chipped up. Had it fixed at first but then gave up. I am re doing my kitchen and so torn, because I hate the chips. But quartz is still on my list of choices but it makes me mad, because I know I will put in new countertops and get chips. Also considering Corian to avoid this issue or quartzite (but I hear chips happen with stone too).

Reading this thread makes me curious what the manufacture of the chipping quartz is. @kculbers stated hers is Silestone. Was she just lucky, or would the brand have anything to do with this?

If your quartz chips, state the manufacture? If it doesn't I'd love to know that too.

We are going on 5 yrs of complete gut kitchen remodel. We had Cambria quartz installed . We’ve never had a single chip. i certainly have banged pans against the edges too. i can’t say enough good things about the product and the installers. Of course i also think the type of edge you have contibutes to your having chips or cracks too. We have quarter round top and bottom on all countertops and island. i have four different areas… not a chip. Cambria product for me… outstanding!

Brand has no bearing on chipping; it's all the same stuff. Edge profile has everything to do with chipping.

I am a fabricator. "Brand has no bearing on chipping; it's all the same stuff." for quartz this is exactly correct. For the harder natural stones a well rounded edge provides substantial protection from chipping. You really have to whack a rounded edge to chip it. Occasionally, even in hard stones, an inclusion can pop out. If you manage to save the popped out piece the repair is simple. For other chips the repair is also relatively simple with the fillers and tools available to the fabricator AS LONG AS the customer has realistic expectations. If you follow Joe you know he spends a lot of effort making sure the customers expectations are realistic before he starts a job.

For softer stones like marble and travertine chipping is a greater risk simply because the mechanical integrity of the stone is much less than granite or quartz. Repairs can also be more challenging as matching light colors or white is more difficult. A trick is to grind up a bit of the stone and use it to color a clear adhesive but you have to have a scrap piece of the stone for this to be an option.

All that said rounded edges are much less prone to chipping on any material. A competent fabricator has this discussion with a customer automatically as part of the edge selection process.

My 2 cents.

Thank you for your input. It's very helpful. I'm glad to hear it even if it's a bummer. I do want an eased edge, with no return, not sure if that is the right term, basically just the thickness of the quartz. As homeowners, t's so hard to get your head around the risk of that, when you see it in so many high end kitchens. In the end, I guess it's just the acceptance that you must live with chips? Of course I want white. The other surface that I am looking at is Corian or Hi Macs, white and thin. But my contractor said he pulls out horrible looking Corian all the time. But I read in this forum folks love Corian. It's amazing how hard this decision is. Thank you again!

We’ve had our Mikado Tree quartz countertops with an eased edge for four months and already had a bigger chip and some really small ones - simply by brushing agsinst it with a cup when filling the dishwasher. The installer came and fixed the big one. I just wished I had picked a slightly rounder edge. i love the look, but the chips drive me crazy.

Romy:

It's not too late to have your edges reprofiled and polished. I'd charge you several thousand dollars, but my rates are kinda high.

I am sorry to hear that Romy it's a bummer!

@Granite City Services How sharp of an edge is still "safe" to avoid chipping? I don't really like a bullnose edge. Is an eased edge okay?

We have quarter round top+bottom. have never had a chip. If product makes a difference, ours is Cambria and couldn’t be happier,

I’ve had LG Viatera eased edge for 8 years. One small chip where I whacked a very heavy SS pot by accident. I am very happy with Quartz.

NC:

The more rounded the edge, the less likely the chipping, no matter the material. No pencil edges at sink cutouts no matter what your designer says please.