Avoid remodeler’s remorse

When you’re an editor at Consumer Reports, cocktail-party chatter often turns to subjects the magazine covers—kitchen appliances and remodeling, HDTVs, family sedans, and the like. So it was last Saturday night when, following the usual pleasantries, an old friend updated me on her search for the perfect countertop. After months of deliberation, she’d settled on honed slate.

“Nice,” I said, thinking how the matte texture and blue-gray tone of that slate would be a perfect fit in her contemporary kitchen.

“Actually, no,” she countered.

Although her local stone supplier had insisted that all of the slate it sells resists staining, my friend decided to conduct her own tests on her four top choices. Acid and many counter types don’t mix, so she put a few drops of lemon juice on each slate sample and let them sit overnight. The next morning, two of the four samples, including her favorite, were visibly stained.

She contacted the supplier, who disputed the results and said he’d run his own tests. The next day he called back, his voice a bit obscured by a mouthful of humble pie: Two of the samples had in fact reacted to the lemon juice. His  explanation was that the slate in question had come from a different quarry, one used primarily in the production of roof tiles.

Disappointed, my friend was back to square one, her desire to find the perfect countertop redoubled. As someone who covers home products professionally, even I learned from the cautionary tale.

First and foremost: Due diligence is the secret to smart remodeling. Our product reports, buying advice, and ratings offer excellent starting points when you’re choosing a countertop, flooring, or the kitchen sink.

But don’t stop there. Whenever possible, get samples of your top choices. Live with them for a few days, seeing how they look under different light conditions. (This is especially important with interior paint.) And if you have any doubts about performance, don’t be afraid to conduct your own tests. “I tell my clients to cut on stone samples, scratch them, spill wine on them, or ink or cooking oil,” says South Carolina kitchen designer Duval Acker, ASID, CKBD. Every home is unique, so you need to create the precise conditions a material will be subjected to.

As for countertops made from slate or any other stone, slabs do differ from quarry to quarry. “There are 6,000 varieties of materials, and every one of them is unique,” says Chuck Muehlbauer, technical director of the Marble Institute of America. That’s why it’s important for you to work with a reputable distributor who really knows the specific stones it carries. The Marble Institute of America recently launched a nationwide accreditation program to help you find a reputable dealer in your area on its Web site.

I’ll be sure to mention this to be my friend the next time I see her.—Daniel DiClerico

Here’s the key to the different counter types in the image above: 1. Quartz (aka engineered stone).
2. Granite. 3. Laminate. 4. Stainless steel. 5. Solid surface. 6. Marble. 7. Ceramic tile. 8. Concrete.
9. Limestone. 10. Butcher block.

Comments

[Joan Prescott]

I would like to post a warning about engineered stone countertops from my own experience. We purchased Silestone Black Quartz countertops from Home Depot. We love the look and were told they were "heat resistant". My countertop next to the sink where I place my electric frypan has been damaged by the heat of the frypan. The quartz in the countertop appears to have melted and the countertop no longer has a smooth feel to in in that area. We have contacted the manufacturer and Home Depot about this and neither one will honor the warranty. They say that the countertops are not heat resistant to hot pots and pans.
The electric frypan was never placed directly on the countertop, I always protect the area from grease splatters by placing newspaper under and around it. You can actually see four little round heat marks from the plastic feet of the frying pan on the countertop surface. I never had that happen with my previous lamanite countertop.

[Mary]

We purchased a Silestone quartz surface countertop in 2002 with a ten year warranty. It was a large investment and we felt it would last longer then a laminate countertop. However, we found a defect in the stone (chip) within six months and now we have two cracks and a seam that is easily noted.

The installer said not to worry about the initial chip in the countertop and said we had the ten year warranty to do anything about it. The choice I had was to drill a hole into the countertop and replace the area where the chip is in the countertop and I was afraid it would look worse then it does now.

We contacted Home Valu in the summer of 2007 and they sent out the installers who actually sent the pictures and description of the cracks to the Silestone warranty department. In September 2007, we received a letter from Oscar Jimenez, General Manager, stating the cause of the cracks was due to "settlement of your home" and would not be covered under the Silestone Limited Warranty. Our house was fifteen years old when the countertop was installed and this would not be an issue. I question if I would put this product in a new home since homes do settle in the first year. We have placed no heated objects on our countertop, however, one crack is close to the dishwasher.

I have been in contact with Home Valu, where we purchased the countertop, and they contacted Silestone also. Home Valu manager said a Silestone representative was to call and set up at time to look at the Silestone countertop in our home, however, we've never heard from them (September 2007). I have my third call to Home Valu to inquire why we have not heard from Silestone.

Silestone is an expensive product and in my opinion, Silestone is not living up to their warranty. Unless they change and honor their warranty, I would not purchase this product. I would also be concern about placing this product into a new home due to the Limited Warranty which Mr. Jimenez stated would not cover "cracks due to structural movement, settlement of your home, building etc. However, in our situation, this was not an issue because our home was fifteen years old when the product was installed.

[DENISE]

WE BOUGHT A SILESTONE COUNTER TOP THAT NEEDS TO BE SHORTEN. HOW DOES ONE CUT IT? WHAT TYPE OF SAW..ETC;?

[Lisa]

I purchased a silestone countertop in 2005 from Home Depot. The color is Stellar Snow. It's beautiful, however, it has temporarily stained several times. Someone placed a house warming gift wrapped in blue tissue paper on my countertop during a party. The area under the paper must have been wet because when I later lifted it off the countertop a large blue stain was left behind. I washed it repeatedly over two days and it finally faded away. This happened several more times with large red or pink stains left on the countertop after a magazine or food package was placed briefly on a damp countertop. It takes days for the stains to fade away and is quite unsightly on a white countertop. I found little help from the Silestone web site and finally contacted Home Depot. One of the managers told me that the binding or sealing material could be the culprit and he would research it further but that's the last I heard. Now I'm freakishly watchful of what is placed on the countertop at all times. Could it be defective materials or is this typical of silestone?

[Nyla T]

TO lISA, POSTED 5/08.
I have found that a moistened Mr. Clean Eraser will remove most stains from my white silestone counter top. This counter top is 12 years old and is still quite beautiful. Good luck.
Nyla 07/08/2008

[Susan]

We purchased a Silestone countertop through Home Depot and it was installed by Silestone if Atlanta. We have had several problems with Silestone of Atlanta and do not want to deal with them. Their installer did an improper job and their representative gave us the run-around. We had a large area of counter unsupported behind the sink and the installer propped it with two "sticks" (1/2 x 1/2) thinking we would never see it. When we where finally able to convince someone else from Silestone of Atlanta to inspect the work He agreed that is was poorly done and fixed the problem. This was the worst issue.

We where told by the representative that the countertop is so hard it will dull your knives, yet about a week ago when unloading the dishwasher we accidentally hit the counter with a glass "glass" and the glass is fine but the countertop chipped. I called Home depot and told them what had happened and told them I was concerned that it had chipped so easily and wanted to find out if it could be repaired. The only thing Home depot told us was that the same installer who tried to hide a poor instillation from us would fix it for 75$ when he was "in the neighborhood" and no explanation was given as to why the counter would chip so easily. We where also told that the warranty does not cover chips!

[Paddy]

We refinished our kitchen this past October and used Silestone. In March we bought metal swivel bar stools for the "eat at counter." A few months later I noticed a piece of Silestone chip on the floor after my daughter knocked into the counter while swiveling in her chair. Luckily the chips (it turns out there are three) are on the underside of the Silestone counter where no one but I can see them. I would like to get them fixed, but the company that installed the counter top would charge $125 to come fix them. What are my options to fix an under the counter chip in my Silestone counter? Is there an epoxy that I can purchase from a home improvement store?