We have Silestone and love it. Clean it with Windex and it never needs sealing. We have a pattern that looks very much like stone. The newer patterns are very lovely with depth and color.
That sounds like an installer problem not the quality of quartz problem. Cambria and others make the product. The installers are independent businesses. If my Kitcheaid fridge gets delivered dented, should Kitchenaid be on the hook for the new door? I don’t think so. Same here. Final finishing is done by the installer. Your friend should have retained a portion of the payment until all was done perfectly. I always do and provide the explanation of specific reasons why the money has been retained. Actually, honest contractors always have it in their contracts that the final payment only happens when all is well and done.
We love our Silestone. In the master bath we have Tea Leaf, which is tan and white with a little green. In the kitchen we have a matte finish darker color that is mostly black with some rust. I think shiny black shows finger prints too much, which is why we choose the matte. Is that the same as leather finish?
We had problems with our installation. Our kitchen was redone to the studs and the contractors ordered a standard depth counterstop, which in one area didn’t even cover the lower cabinet. Usually there is some amount of overhang. They said that the walls were crooked, but they built the walls. Not measuring depth was an expensive mistake and we ended up withholding part of the final payment until that section was replaced.
We have MSI brand quartz, installed 1 year ago. It looks great and the price was reasonable. I love it! Toaster oven sits directly on the counter and we use it a lot for toasting and baking - no issues. Although I’m not sure it is necessary, I do put a hot pad under pans that have come out of the oven, but we’ve always done that so no issue for us. Quartz is easy to clean and maintain. Cambria has some really beautiful patterns but they were a bit too pricey for our budget (and too upscale for our modest kitchen and house.) I am not a fan of the look of lower end granites, so very happy with our decision to go with quartz instead.
We have the quartz Zodiac counter tops. And we love them lots. Have been in 6-8 years and no marks at all. Costco sold them and the installer was fast and efficient.
We put cookie sheets directly on it, no scratches and cleans like a dream. I recommend it over granite for sure because it doesn’t need sealing, doesn’t scratch etc etc.
We also got a quartz composite sink which has been great, but just lately seems to be holding on to stains somewhat. But they don’t show much.
I had a white matte Silestone kitchen sink. The only negative was that it showed scuff marks from pots and pans. It buffed out easily though and the material was otherwise easy to care for. I would definitely buy Silestone again…just not the white matte for a kitchen sink.
I also have a white silestone sink…and I love it. Yes, it shows pot scratches…so I got those things that sit on the bottom of the sink…and that really helps. I wanted a white sink.
This is my second silestone sink (had to replace when we got granite countertops.
We have Ivory Fantasy granite, and love it. It’s not too busy, but the piece chosen for our island does have some character.
I don’t think sealing is any big deal. We have done it twice in the eight years we have had these counters. Really…no big deal.
We have Cambria quartz in our remodeled kitchen, and I love it - no complaints at all, and we don’t do anything special with our toaster. The designer who helped with our remodel said that in our area, quartz is way, way more popular than granite.
I have Cambria quartz in my kitchen and in the bathroom off our bedroom. I really like it. It’s easy to clean. It’s true that you can’t put anything hot on it, but I have never put anything hot directly on the counter, anyway. Just in case, I put a wood trivet under the crockpot when I use it - not a problem for me.
How do they compare to quartzite?
Quartzite is a natural, not manmade, product. It will peform more like granite than quartz.
Personally, I wouldn’t use quartz, because the polymers (glue) holding it together will discolor when you put a hot pan on it.
We have Corian that is now about 36 years old—it was 7 years old when we bought our home decades ago. We’ve generally been very pleased with it and it’s very low maintenance. It’s white with a bit of marbeling in it to give it more depth. It’s pretty heat resistant, though we often put a dish towel between a hot object and the Corian. We have it around the cooktop, up the wall behind the cooktop, for all our counters and up to the cupboards.
We’ve never needed to seal it or provide special care. It looks great.
We have quartzite in our new kitchen. As noted, it’s a naturally occurring stone that’s basically somewhere between a granite and marble. We LOVE it.
Hmmm…I checked. Our new sink is quartzite (blanco) and our old one was silestone.
Thanks for the recommendations. We are replacing an island countertop–the other kitchen counters are quartz (greenish colors). The previous owners installed them two years ago, IMO it would be a crime to replace–I can live with the counters. The island countertop–I hate. It’s a wooden top (light wood–don’t really know what it is). The botton part of the island is cherry with cabinets for storage. I don’t think that countertop will work for us, especially because H is always cooking when we’re here. Colors I’m looking at are: Cambria Highgate and Corian Geo Grigio. There won’t be seating at the island–we just ordered a small cherry wood table (Thos. Moser) so we can eat in the kitchen rather than the dining room.
I wonder if the light wood on the island is maple and meant to be a cutting board surface?
^^It doesn’t look like a cutting board. It has a shiny finish—like you would find on a table top.
That is some kind of permanent finish to protect the wood. I have a wood countertop. Beautiful walnut. I chose a natural finish. It’s a bit pain not having shiny permanent protection. Gorgeous, deep rich mahogany color, but better than mahogany.
Go with the replacement, you will not regret it. We had awful limestone countertop in the kitchen which was installed by the prior owner (why???). It was only 7 years old and looked very neat up. There was no way I would scrub it daily to look clean.
I like your Cambria choice.
Interesting … DH (7 years older) likes granite. I find the look and low maintenance of quartz-etc more appealing.