Does anyone have experience with Silestone countertops? From everything I’ve been able to track down thus far, it’s pretty decent material. FYI, it’s a competitor to granite but claims some advantages, primarily than it doesn’t stain. Granite stains surprising easily. It’s made of quartz chips of varying sizes imbedded in some type of resin. Heat resistance is claimed to be very good but of course not what granite has. I’ve can’t scratch a sample with a pocket knife but carbide will. Fortunately my wife has never found carbide tipped kitchen knives. As soon as she does I’m sure she’ll have them!
Tks,
Al
Replies
I installed some silestone countertops fabricated by a shop outside my area for a new nordstrom store. They shipped the finished product to the jobsite without having an installer so I ended up getting a call to do it.
The material was similar in color to MDF and even though I only work with natural stone I liked it. It is extremely strong, chip resistant and non porous (won't stain).
I haven't seen other colors of Silestone and suspect there are very few I would find as appealing as natural stone. If you find a color your wife likes go for it.
The big challenge is getting top quality fabrication and installation. There are so many fabricators out there with so much pressure to turn jobs around quickly that a lot compromises get made. Ask for contact info on the last three clients the shop did an installation for. Call them up and get their opinion on the workmanship and professionalism of the fabricator. Be picky on accepting the final product and do a thorough inspection before paying in full. The material will hold up for a long time so you will be looking at any flaws for quite a while.
Karl
If you can find a magizine called Consumer Reports, September issue,they have an article on it.