Isn't it possible for mature adults to disagree and present opposing viewpoints without resorting to nastiness? And what's the point of a mean comment punctuated with a fake smiley? I guess I stumbled into some passive-aggressive stone versus engineered surface catfight. It's countertops, for goodness sake, chill out. I'm out of this thread.

Erik, nastiness? Viewpoints? Try simple facts. What kind of countertops do you have? Have you had problems? And if so, of what nature? Please share.

I had Silestone for about 4 years in my former kitchen. It never scratched, and I cut directly on it all that time. No stains either. It did develop about 13 pits/chips which were poorly patched. Guy who did all the patching said the material looked defective to him. I also had a big thermal crack (my fault). So, there was good and bad to it. I almost got it again, but I'm glad I didn't, in part because I wasn't impressed with the customer service.

We have one of the Cambria Quarry series quartz countertops. Bigger and more varied chunks, more natural looking. Love it...they've been in almost 2 years now, no scratches, dings, chips, or gouges.

However, like natal, we take care of them. Never put anything hot on it without a pad or towel under it, clean it down with Windex and a soft cloth regularly, and don't slide rough metal pots across the surface.

I think no matter what countertop you have you're going to see it trashed over time if you don't take care of it...stone, stainless steel, quartz, Formica, concrete, paper...they all have pros/cons, and nothing is indestructible. I've seen even stainless steel countertops pitted, scratched, and stained by bad upkeep.

I say get what you can afford...what best meets your needs and budget, take good care of it, and don't worry.

Guess I must have hit a nerve, or a pissed off Silestone customer. It's not BS. Do your research. I did!

Just do a search on "dangers of triclosan" and see what comes up. Loads of articles! Here's just one tidbit:

Triclosan
Triclosan is an antibacterial chemical used in toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, deodorant, cosmetics, lotion and cream. Triclosan is considered a pesticide by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It is a chlorinated aromatic and contains one or more benzene rings with one or more chlorine atoms bound to carbon atoms, a chemical formula similar to toxins such as PCBs and dioxins. Triclosan in clothing and plastics is marketed as Microban, and in acrylic fibers as Biofresh.

Triclosan Dangers
Triclosan may be cancer-causing by itself and/or in combination with other substances. In combination with water, it can produce chloroform gas that when inhaled can cause liver problems, depression and cancer. It is suspected that sunlight can transform triclosan to dioxin naturally. Additionally, the proliferation of products containing triclosan and other antimicrobials has prompted concern from the medical community about resistant bacteria. The FDA held hearings in October 2005 about antibacterial soaps and concluded that they do not reduce the risk of illness and infection in the home.

Everything I wrote about it's problems have been documented and reported here, on this board by it's owners. Read the posts!!! It's ALL here! I also posed questions to fabricators on a pro board about polishing and patching, and it can't be done well. Quartz is VERY difficult to top polish.

I prefer to dazzle with brilliance. I will let you provide the BS. Before you shoot your mouth off, do your research first!

For what it's worth I think we have to lower our expectations of these work surface materials. They all seem to have issues. We have Corian and I just noticed a tiny chip on the edge. I can't see it. I felt it while I was cleaning. I have no idea how it got there. It is at the end of the counter that doesn't even get used. The odd thing about it is that when we moved into the house the laminate that was there also had a large chip on the edge in about the same place. I wish I knew what was going on down at that end of the kitchen. We did consider quartz however we didn't like where the seam would have to be placed. The one plus about Corian is that it can be repaired. Having two teenage boys that is a big plus for us.

Thanks for everyones feedback. Don't know why the cat fight reared up . . . but just the same thanks for the feedback.

I agree that every countertop seems to have it's disadvantages/advantages. I'm leaning now towards soapstone. I like the look the best and I was at first talking myself out of it because of it scratching. But I decided that no countertop is without its problems. At least I can oil out the scratches . . . or sand/oil them if they bother me.

I just want to do more research and make sure they aren't know to off gas radon/radiation like granite. From what I've read they don't.

blondelle,

These articles are put together by law firms that specialize in recruiting plaintiffs to drum up lawsuits just to line their own pockets. Be very careful what you believe. Just because someone wrote it doesn't make it true.

Speaking of dangers in our kitchens, is anyone else aware of the problems associated with Dihydrogen Monoxide? The EPA refuses to comment on this issue, even though it continues to be used daily by industry, government, and even in private homes across the U.S. and worldwide.

Please note big :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ about Dihydrogen Monoxide

Yes, I've considered that, but any law firm worth it's salt knows that it would have to go into court and PROVE those allegations. No sense in trolling for plaintiffs if they couldn't. There are too many articles on the net from medical and environmental groups warning about the dangers of triclosan. Marks & Spencer in the UK is pulling all triclosan containing items from their shelves. It's also being banned in antibacterial products sold in UK supermarkets, and other places in Britain.

http://www.naturallyhome.com/articles/triclosan.shtml

I wouldn't have it in my counters on which food is being prepared, where it's being broken down by water and sunlight into carcinogenic substances especially when it's not needed there. It serves no real purpose as quartz is non porous by it's very nature.

"Yes, I've considered that, but any law firm worth it's salt knows that it would have to go into court and PROVE those allegations. No sense in trolling for plaintiffs if they couldn't."

Wow. That's frightening. Under your theory, there would be no reason for juries, discovery, pretrial motion practice, or a trial on the merits. We could simply skip pretty much everything between filing a complaint and judgment. Accusations made in complaints are not proven facts. There is a reason that defendants are given the right to answer a complaint against them and to seek to dismiss unfounded claims that cannot be proven. There is a reason for pretrial discovery, witness depositions and, where science is involved, the need for each side to be able to present experts to a neutral aribiter of the facts and law. I'm guessing you don't believe in innocent until proven guilty, either.

OMG, I can't believe you actually said if they are trolling for plaintiffs they must be able to prove it. That is a huge leap. Many, many, many, MANY cases are brought for the quick cash that they can get for "nuisance value", which currently is about 35,000.00 minimum. The reason? The cost of defending those cases is larger than than the cost to make them go away. "Trolling" for plaintiffs may bring 50 or 100 or more out of the woodwork and then you are in the half million dollar or more range, and they get a percentage. There are many really justifiable injury lawsuits out there, but assuming if they make a claim they must be right leaves me speechless, and if you have been on this forum for any length of time, you will appreciate just how rare that is. :)

Sue

Oh, by the way, the reason it is a "pesticide" is that it is an antibacterial. By definition, A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for:

* preventing,
* destroying,
* repelling, or
* mitigating any pest.

The bacteria are pests, the triclosan kills the bacteria, therefore a pesticide. Has NOTHING to do with safety. ANTIBIOTICS are pesticides. Would you want to live a world without them again? I wouldn't.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: EPA definition of a pesticide

Was so flabbergasted by the idea that lawyers who troll for plaintiffs must be right, that I missed your post, mrpandy.

"Speaking of dangers in our kitchens, is anyone else aware of the problems associated with Dihydrogen Monoxide?" BWAHAHAHA! Thanks for the grin.

Too funny!

Looks like the lawyer website has been inviting plaintiffs for over 2 years now, but no mention of any action. Doesn't appear to be going too well.

I believe I've been accused of not doing "research". Let's try something current and valid, shall we?

"Residential risks are not of concern for all scenarios."

www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/factsheets/triclosan_fs.htm

It appears our litigious friend has some sort of ax to grind. Reminds me (in a small way) of how Bill V. feels in the Al/radiation saga.

I know many people wonder why make a big deal about something another poster says. I have always just scrolled on by. But when someone with an obvious bias and no experience (this individual does not own the product -has been working on a countertop decision for at least a month) tries to pass off conjecture as fact I feel obligated to point this out. This is not in the best interest of the forum and its users.

Aren't we all here to learn from each other's experiences so as to make the best possible informed decisions for our own projects? Fear mongering has no place here and does a grave disservice to forum members.

Hope all here make great choices based on fact and what is best for them.

>

Sarschlos, I never said anything like that. How are you even getting that from what I said? There has to be some merit in a case to bring it to trial. If there isn't, there's no reason to even make a nuisance payment as lawyers know it would be thrown out soon after proceedings begin. Axe to grind?? Litigious friend?? What the???

I don't have to own a product to research it and report what I've found. Do your own research. It's all out there! How is this fear mongering when there are countless articles backing up everything I said. I have no bias. I just wanted people to be aware of the issues surrounding this material, read the articles, and make their own decisions. I have no stake in what anyone chooses, or agenda, other than to help. If you own Silestone, and want to stick your head in the sand, don't shoot the messenger!

Your responses miss the points entirely, let alone have anything to do with the info I've posted. Being a pesticide is the least of it! Why are you so angry about my making people aware of issues concerning triclosan? Why would it affect you? Wouldn't you want to be warned if something you were planning to buy was potentially a danger to you. Wouldn't you want to know, so you can look into it for yourself, and choose another safer material if they were similar? Your reactions just don't make sense unless you're connected with the company or sell the stuff. I really have to wonder what your agendas are here! Very strange!

This my last post on this. In all my years here I've never encountered anything like you two. You're posts are totally inappropiate, and none of your responses even reference what I'm saying, or make any sense for me to even respond to them again. I'm not even reading this thread again! You can carry on together!

Blondelle, I worked for laywers for 15 years in personal injury. I KNOW you do not need proof to file a claim. I realize that to you it seems logical that they would not file a claim if there were no basis, but that simply is not the reality in the legal world. The huge majority of cases never get to court or "trial", and are never proven or disproven. Attorneys charge upwards of 250.00/hr to do the paperwork, which takes months or years. It makes financial sense for most companies to pay 35,000.00 to make it go away than to pay for all the atty fees. It is crazy but true. The problem is with sources. Many things are claimed on the internet that are not true.

Of coarse you will never read this, but here it is anyway. This substance has been studied and is considered very safe. It is used to coat sutures to inhibit bacteria growth in incisions after surgery, and is used extensively in medicine as an antimicrobial. We always look at what effect substances may have on the environment, but that is true for substances regardless of whether they are safe to use in humans on with human contact. Just because it is safe for us does not mean large amts of it in soil wouldn't be bad for good soil bacteria. But those are two different things.

I did a medline search and this is one quote I found IN PUBLISHED MEDICAL SOURCES on medline:

"There was no evidence of carcinogenic potential in either species, and genotoxicity studies were negative. Reproductive toxicity studies did not reveal any evidence of teratogenic potential. There was no evidence of skin sensitization potential in controlled studies. Pharmacokinetic studies in animals and humans have shown that triclosan is rapidly absorbed, well distributed in the body, metabolized in the liver, and excreted by the kidneys, with no indication of accumulation over time."

That is more than can be said for most over the counter products, like aspirin and tylenol, or even the bleach many people use to sanitize their cutting boards and countertops. Look up bleach and most household cleansers and you can scare yourself silly.

There are many lawsuit phobic doctors, including surgeons, who don't seem to have the information you do. However, your information seems to have come directly from an atty's website who will see great financial gains from instilling enough fear in people about the product to get them to press a law suit. However, a doctor or the EPA would never act on information from talk boards, attornies websites or other potentially biased sources. They need SCIENTIFIC STUDIES. A laywer is no more an expert on what causes cancer than anyone else, and they can just read a scary article like you have and then go looking for clients. It doesn't take any more than that.

The only reference that laywer/person gives is the article referencing Johns Hopskins concerns about it killing too much bacteria or bacteria developing a tolerance to it. No where in the article they link to is there anything about cancer.
We are not trying to be mean, but some people just scare more easily than others and some question what they read before believing it, while others do not as much or at all.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Some info on Triclosan and the scares associated with it

First of all, it is clear from your posts that you are a very angry person, and your vindective from the outset is just strange. Phrases like "before you shoot your mouth off" and "BS" certainly give that impression. Perhaps that is why suska was under the impression that you have an axe to grind.

Second, you accuse me of having an agenda, when all I did was suggest that you might want to check your information source before telling others "Before you shoot your mouth off, do your research first!" (Not a particularly nice sentence, you must admit.)

Just to be clear: I have NO agenda whatsoever about quartz, granite, laminate, soapstone, stainless steel, marble, ceramic, wood, or any other kind of countertop material you can think of. I have so few opinions about the matter, that I've been unable to commit to anything related to my kitchen reno for over a year now, lol! (I do not know what is true or not true about triclosan, and take no position on this subject whatsoever except to note that it appears that the EPA's scientists don't know too much about it, either.)

But I am disturbed by your naive and uninformed view of the civil legal system, which you nevertheless feel that you are authority enough to extoll. Of course, now that you've taken your ball and gone home, so to speak, you may not ever see this response, so I'll just address your points in case anyone else is harboring the same misinformed view of complex civil litigation. You suggest, "There has to be some merit in a case to bring it to trial. If there isn't, there's no reason to even make a nuisance payment as lawyers know it would be thrown out SOON AFTER PROCEEDINGS BEGIN." (I added the emphasis.)

I think what suska and I were both trying to explain (and pardon me suska if I am mistaken on your part) is the cost of litigation, not the merits of the claims, drives the settlement factory. Nuisance lawsuits, particularly those that involve complex scientific questions of fact, are NOT "thrown out soon after proceedings begin." Far from it, these things can drag on for decades and develop entire cottage industries of lawyers who do nothing but solicit plaintiffs to bring more and more of these lawsuits. Once one level of industry is wiped out by bankruptcy caused by nuisance suits based on junk science, the same cottage industry of lawyers "troll" as you eloquently stated for a new level of industry to target and a new category of potential plaintiffs to woo. This is how these cases are won often before the complaint is even filed, and often without facts to prove them.

They are won because the lawyers who bring these suits -- and the companies who are their targets -- know that it is far, far cheaper to pay a settlement than it is to fight the lawsuit and disprove the junk science (proving and disproving scientific facts both in and out of court is an extremely expensive endeavor). Our society is replete with psuedo-scientific nuisance lawsuits that led to huge settlements that bankrupted important industries even though the courts later found that the purported science was false and the plaintiffs' lawyers knew they were bringing baseless lawsuits but did it anyway. Bendectin, breast implants and silica litigation come immediately to mind (all three resulted in "cottage industries" of lawyers who the courts have since determined spread false and misleading pseudo-scientific information in the quest to sign up plaintiffs).

The pretrial proceedings for these types of cases can drag on for years -- some last for a decade or more. Without going into too much detail, there is the litigation over the causes of action alleged in the complaint (motions to dismiss based on the pleadings alone without considering extrinsic evidence) and then answers to the complaint, cross-complaints, motions to dismiss the cross-complaint and answers to the cross-complaint, etc.; litigation over the class action issue; fact discovery related to the personal injury and property damage claims of the individual plaintiffs; scientific and medical expert discovery; motions for summary judgment; interolocutory appeals of decisions made based on all of the numerous motions that have already occurred (this will go on up to trial); motions to determine what testimony and documents either side can show to the jury; jury selection; jury trial on the merits; discovery and pretrial motions related to the damages trial; damages trial (assuming the trials and discovery are bifurcated); motions for reconsideration; appeals (years). Every single step in litigation costs money. Every person involved (even the jurors) gets paid. Every page copied or databased must be stored and storage of this data costs money. Copying costs money. Phone calls cost money. I am not saying this to be mean, only to educate those who are under similar misapprehensions that every claim has a basis in fact. Think about it: if every claim made was meritorious, or every non-meritorious complaint immediately dismissed, there would be no need to litigate -- there would be no "material fact in dispute," and every complaint could be settled by demurrer or immediate summary judgment without the need for discovery or a finding of fact. Since we know that factual inquiries are necessary to settle disputes (even ones supposedly based on "science"), your assumption is clearly incorrect.

The joke about water is very much to the point. Even our drinking water has chlorine or chloramine in it. Sometimes I avoid swimming in the pools because my skin gets sensitive to the amount of chlorine.

I imagine the amount of microban used in Silestone is minimal. Probably not enough to really even be much good at killing bacteria.

On the other hand, I'm always reading that we don't need to use all these antibacterial soaps etc, they just encourage bacteria to mutate or else they kill friendly bacteria further down the line.

I brush my teeth with baking soda- who knew??

I don't think I am going to worry about it until the product has been labled as below.

TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 36--CIGARETTE LABELING AND ADVERTISING
Sec. 1333. Labeling; requirements; conspicuous statement

(a) Required warnings; packages; advertisements; billboards

(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture, package, or
import for sale or distribution within the United States any cigarettes
the package of which fails to bear, in accordance with the requirements
of this section, one of the following labels:
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart
Disease, Emphysema, And May Complicate Pregnancy.
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces
Serious Risks to Your Health.
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking By Pregnant Women May Result in
Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, And Low Birth Weight.
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide.

And people still smoke

Blondelle -- as in-house litigation counsel for one of the Fortune 500, I can tell you that plaintiffs attorneys ROUTINELY file suit when they have no idea whatsoever if they could win or not. Not a clue. Why? Because they know full well that companies are in business to make money for their shareholders, not litigate. It almost always makes more financial sense to settle, and settle quickly, than it does to litigate and "win" and thus "prove" the plaintiff's science or view of the facts is wrong. So companies do settle on a cost-benefit risk analysis, not truth-false-Justice and the American way analysis. I spend half my time talking mid-level managers who want to litigate "for the principle of it" out of their trees: when they find out that the $200,000 - $2,000,000 in attorney fees are going to hit their cost center, blow thier annual budget out of the water and kill any hope they have of a bonus and/or promotion, they get real reasonable real fast. And plaintiffs attorneys know all of that.

That's why frivolous lawsuits get brought -- the economics of it.

And personally, I LOVE dihydrogen monoxide. Can't get enough. Gonna go get some right now ....

I'm pretty sure that the GW bylaws require both granite as the topic and Al G. as a poster before this kind of exchange is permitted....

Can't we all just get along?

I had Cambrian Torquay (white marble looking) installed and it looked great for 2 weeks but then it cracked!! Just after 2 weeks! A few months later I noticed small holes or inclusions at various locations. I am VERY unhappy with the product (and Cambria's customer support). Read through the lifetime warranty its very vague and puts the blame on the homeowners and installers. When it came down to it Cambria refused to honor the warranty and fix it.

Wish I would have saved the 5K and gone with a lower cost alternative.

ksudac:

You posted a picture on another thread, right? If so, that was fabricator error; the radius was too small. Rattle some cage with their own specifications.

Ksudac,
Have you had any contact with Cambria? They came and visited my home on December 19, 2013. Flew a field representative to look at the glass particulate coming out of the Cambria Quartz countertops. The even Recovered my Cambria Parys counter tops and island for "safety" purposes and have NEVER gotten back in touch with me. A Partner from the Distributor, Marva Tile & Granite (who is a large distributor of Cambria products in the Mid Atlantic) also came to the onsite visit and assured me that this "wouldn't go south" on me. I have reached out to Cambria and Marva and have not received a reply. I have hounded my fabricator who said Cambria promised to send me a check...which they have not. The Cambria customer service, which appeared proactive initially, is essentially non existent. They are indifferent and unconcerned about the end users and their quartz problems. I would like to know of other's experience. The pictures are my kitchen, how we've been living and progress stopped since November 2013.

Here is another picture. We can't get the backsplash done since we are not going with this same product & until we have a firm commitment from them to rectify and make us whole, we can't move forward. It's exhausting and humiliating to realize how big companies like Cambria do not care about the small homeowner who has carefully and purposefully chosen their product, which in our case is defective. All products have an occasional defect, and good value companies are measured by how they handle the difficult cases, not the good ones. Among the reasons I chose Cambria is because it is a US company which employs and manufacturers here in the US. Their product reputation is still a good one. It's their customer service that I'm finding appallng. Thanks!

This post was edited by Rob5ham on Sun, Mar 9, 14 at 12:35

we looked at cambria and were shocked at the $98-110 per sq ft quotes we have gotten. we have contemplated just spending the premium for a quality product but now i am seeing posts like yours and i wonder if anything is worth paying a premium for! sorry for your aggravation and i hope you eventually get a solution:)

Rob5ham:

I emailed a copy of this thread to the Cheesehead Chairman and the President/CEO for ya.

I am a fabricator.

I fabricate both natural stone and the various quartz brands. "quartz surface" is a generic term that encompasses all the various brands like Dupont's "Zodiac", Samsungs "Radiance", Cosentino's "Silestone", HanWa's, Hanstone, Cambria, and a host of others. All of these products are virtually the same with respect to the make-up of the material and the product performance as they are all made on machines manufactured by a company called Breton that actually invented the material.

In most cases if a problem occurs after the install you best bet for problem resolution is the fabricator. A quality fabricator will resolve the issue with you and work whatever issues might remain with the slab manufacturer after the fact. I was surprised to see the post about Cambria's lack of integrity in backing up their product; twice in my experience there was a material issue with Cambria tops (fading) and in both cases Cambria promptly replaced the tops. The color you selected has been a very popular one that they are selling a lot of. If they have a problem with the material it could be a very big problem for them which might explain the lack of response if they have been overwhelmed with failures like yours.

It is very rare for there to be a problem with either quartz or natural stone if the fabricator is competent and takes the time before the job to question the customer and properly educate the customer on the variables involved.

Well, at least I heard back from Cambria right away:

Mr. Corlett,
Then with all that, you should disclose same in your initial correspondence…emails from the shadows aren’t impressive, nor noteworthy.
That’s quite an impressive pedigree you espouse…wow…and a newsletter contributor…consulting too. I didn’t catch the name of your building company?
We are just a simple little countertop company, I, a former milk truck driver, and now countertop manager…we certainly aren’t of your self-proclaimed and self-described stature.
We are sorry to do things you think you might, or have the right to, “resent”….
But I will say this…
We don’t call our colleagues “subordinates”, and we certainly don’t “order” them to do their work….therefore with such description as to how things would work in a company, I am certain we don’t need you as a consultant, paid or unpaid.
We don’t deal with customer complaints in such forums Mr. Corlett. Most all of the items in this diatribe you sent us are false, and that includes the criticism and misrepresentation of our competitors product. Both Silestone and Caesarstone are excellent companies, and their products are as excellent. We deal with complaints directly with our customers at Cambria. We are very easily accessed, and welcome such contact from all.
The misinformation and innuendo in these forums are what damages this industry, as do “consultants” who spew the bunk in the same manner, from the shadows of it all….
We have many good customers Mr. Corlett, and we will strive to satisfy any and all, but with a keen sense of your way as evidenced herein, it is clear we do not want you as a customer.
My best wishes to your efforts and your future….
Best
Marty Davis

The "diatribe" I sent him was a link to this thread.

"We deal with complaints directly with our customers at Cambria."

Ummm… I think there are two posters here who may disagree.

Mr. Davis conveniently forgets to address whether or not the radius on the inside corner of the cracked top meets Cambira's own fabrication specifications.

This post was edited by Trebruchet on Sun, Mar 9, 14 at 23:23

For the record, I have had excellent service from DuPont regarding Zodiaq. They flew an engineer to my job twice, developed a technical bulletin from my project that is still in use today, and did all this from a clearly customer abuse situation. I am just as quick to applaud good customer service as I am to make poo-bahs aware of complaining customers.

Wow, I guess he underestimates GW forum. Not too good, as this site comes up on top of web searches often. Shakes head.

Mr. Davis was not pleased that I posted his correspondence, however, he never asked me for confidentiality. I would have honored his request had he made it.

"Mr. Davis was not pleased"

yuk yuk yuk. I bet that was a scorching communication. Mr. Davis do not have a reputation for being subtle.

In a more perfect world he would have immediately looked into Rob5ham's situation and resolved it forthwith. Instead he impugns the credibility of the source and shoots the messenger. Not really an impressive performance for an executive.

Surprising, I have been using cambria for years and have never had any issue whatsoever with them...

Trebuchet, I am curious if you would post your initial email to Mr Davis? Something sure set him off....

I got a telephone call from Mr. Davis yesterday morning. We apologized to each other and focused on the things we have in common which is customer service and the overall welfare of the countertop industry.

He admitted that Cambria dropped the proverbial ball on Rob5ham's job and that he would have a check by the afternoon (yesterday). He also agreed to ascertain whether kudsac's tops were fabricated to Cambria's specifications.

I hope to hear from both posters that their problems are at least in the process of being resolved.

Wow. I'm most impressed that not only can we expose the inappropriate behaviors of such companies on GW, but more impressive is that through our unified voices, we are able to help each other get resolution on these issues. Many props to you Trebruchet, you did a fine job!

I'm glad that threads like this are around - it's incredibly valuable to know that aside from appearance the various quartzes are basically the same. :)

I didn't get a response in the other thread so I'm hoping maybe someone will chime in on this thread. Is the brand ColorQuartz made with the trusted Breton equipment?

I am considering their Fiji White on my island, which is almost identical to Ceasarstone's Organic White, but available in a large slab size.

Thanks for any info!

They are all the same, but all manufacturers do have their own product development and testing. They all have trade secrets on how they make certain colors (recipes). Also Cambria states that they use higher quality quartz. Diamonds are rated on quality, quartz is the same, so they say. This is why their colors have much more depth.

If you put a Cambria sample next to a Viatera sample, you can see they are definitely not all the same. But it all depends on the 'look' and color and texture you want (and the PRICE!).

I wanted a white Italian marble look, but opted for Silestone Lagoon. To me, I just liked it better than Cambria's Torquay. Torquay is pretty, don't get me wrong. I just liked the texture of the Lagoon better. Plus Silestone was a lot less from my fabricator. He stocks Lagoon and offers it at a better price.

Be sure to ask your fabricator or kitchen designer...if there are any specials on quartz or certain quartz brands or colors.

I've had my quartz tops for a year and not one scratch or chip. It's so easy to clean. I'll never go back to anything else!

Kompy
"KD"

thanks Kompy,
I have a sample of the Chinese made Color Quartz brand in Fiji White at home, and I've been doing some stain testing. Mainly the heavy hitters like turmeric, tomato sauce, and sharpie marker. The sharpie marker is a tough one. I've tried BKF, Bon Ami, Comet with Bleach, 409, spray cleaner with bleach, and a mr Clean Magic Eraser. So far the only thing I haven't tried is the soft scrub because I don't have any on hand.

I just wanted to make sure that this Color Quartz brand isn't less stain resistant due to a poorer quality manufacturing process. How could I verify if this brand does use the BRETON equipment?

All quartz brands use the Breton machinery. There's no other way to make it as far as I know!
If there was, I bet quartz prices would come down some! :-)

We had Caesarstone London Grey installed 6 weeks ago. Today I noticed a crack. It's about the size of a pea and it's on the edge by the sink. It is definitely a crack not veining. I was really surprised when I saw it, and I can't figure out how/when it happened. I'm disappointed to say the least.

This post was edited by addiez0630 on Sat, Dec 6, 14 at 23:16

Sink edges are a common place for chips. They are inconspicuously repaired for about $300.00. They can disappear for double that.

Is silestone the only Quartz to have an anti bacterial agent in it?

I think it is, but curious why you care -- do you not clean with soap or other anti-bacterial agent?

Actually the reason I was asking is that I specifically stayed away from Silestone because of its anti bacterial agent. My reason for not wanting the microban or something similar has been discussed previously on this site. I am getting Viatera Quartz and our template guy seemed to think Viatera also had an antibacterial agent in it. I am just hoping that is not the case.

I posted a response here way back in 2008....just a follow up, 10 years after installation. Still love the Cambria Quarry series countertops we put in (kitchen and both bathrooms.) I've only used a wet soft cotton towel followed up with a dry one for most cleaning, it gets all the grease and grit/dough/etc off. Once in a while we'll use Windex. No chips so far, and the kitchen counters get very heavy use. There are a one or two very tiny scratches in the main prep area, mostly where dough is worked, probably from the metal scraper or some appliance getting dragged across it. But you really cannot see them, the pattern covers it well, even in full light. The only other sign of wear I've noticed is a slight matting or loss of sheen in the heavily used areas compared to the rest of the counters. But it doesn't bother us at all and again is hardly noticeable. The master bath counter gets exposed to a ton of stuff and looks brand new even after super heavy use. Can give this stuff my highest recommendation if you're considering it. Also, for prices....check out Costco (we bought ours thru them and got the best price.)