Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Mar 11, 2009 3:41 pm I've come across numerous engineered stone benchtop products and wonder if you guys have any feedback on their relative merits? The brands I have in mind are:
Caesar Stone Essa Stone Silestone Granite Transformations Quantum Quartz Was also thinking of Corian but having read another topic have been turned off that option. It's a new house, not a reno, in case that makes a difference. Re: Kitchen benchtops - engineered stone options 2Mar 11, 2009 4:02 pm Engineered stone is great.
There was a review on various benchtops on TV where they tried to stain, burn etc them. I think engineered stone was the best 'all rounder' from memory. As for which brand is better, it's a bit like Ford vs Holden in my opinion. Re: Kitchen benchtops - engineered stone options 3Mar 11, 2009 4:11 pm Thanks ed.
The other thing is environmental responsibility and health. I am aiming for ultra-low VOC materials with cupboard doors, paints etc...but I just read that engineered stone products often have high VOC content, and I couldn't see any of them listed on http://www.ecospecifier.org which is where I get most of my recommendations from. However I don't have a subscription so am limited to the publicly available information, which means those stone products might be listed even though I can't see them. If any of the engineered stone products are low-VOC I would love to hear about it. They do list a Samsung product called Staron, however looking at the Staron website the product appears to have high maintenance requirements (ie probably scratches easily). It's an acrylic resin, not engineered stone.[/url] Re: Kitchen benchtops - engineered stone options 4Mar 11, 2009 7:58 pm I'm bias because I used to work for one of the companies you've listed but to be honest at the end of the day the majority of engineered stone is the same. Double check each companies warranties on their product and maybe check with your stone mason as to which product he'd rather work with.
You'll definitely pay more for some engineered stone purely because of the brand name, like anything though I guess. Re: Kitchen benchtops - engineered stone options 5Mar 12, 2009 9:34 am Thanks Rebekah, that's good to know. Re: Kitchen benchtops - engineered stone options 6Mar 12, 2009 4:57 pm we have got CS (ice Snow)
hard to keep really clean with out heaps of elbow grease adn pricey special cleaner In hindsight a dark colour may have been better choice for us Grandview 36 on Beautiful Bribie Site Start Dec 5th 2007 Projected completion May 12th 2008 NOPE Handover 24th June 2008 Moved in 11th July 2008 Wating on one final thing - Still - Oct 2009 Re: Kitchen benchtops - engineered stone options 7Mar 16, 2009 8:17 am coljacqld hard to keep really clean with out heaps of elbow grease adn pricey special cleaner Wow, that's not good... Re: Kitchen benchtops - engineered stone options 9Mar 16, 2009 8:37 am Ok ...
all together, CaesarStone Quantum Quartz EssaStone SileStone Smart Stone Quarella etc etc are very much all the same, made by the same type of CNC machines. Only difference in the material is types of resin used and also quartz and granite dust. So really your best buy for reconstituted stone would be to find the best deal and warranty, as they all are very very similar in all aspects of the stone. Granite transformations is alot thinner and i personally would never use it. Hope my opinion comes in handy Jeremy@SSP.Stones SSP Stones Pty Ltd, Detailed Manufacturers of all stone materials. Kitchen Benchtops, Bathroom Reno's, Floors, Facades and all other stone works. Re: Kitchen benchtops - engineered stone options 10Mar 16, 2009 8:49 am coljacqld we have got CS (ice Snow) hard to keep really clean with out heaps of elbow grease adn pricey special cleaner In hindsight a dark colour may have been better choice for us Really Anne? I honestly thought that yours would be an easy colour to keep clean. What's the problem? We have Quantum Quartz in Ice. I love it, really easy to keep clean. I wipe over with warm soapy sponge or an enjo glove. Doesn't leave streaky marks, looks perfect. Re: Kitchen benchtops - engineered stone options 11Mar 16, 2009 9:00 am Jeremy@SSP.Stones ...are very much all the same, made by the same type of CNC machines....So really your best buy for reconstituted stone would be to find the best deal and warranty, as they all are very very similar in all aspects of the stone. Thanks Jeremy, that is really helpful. Re: Kitchen benchtops - engineered stone options 13Mar 16, 2009 9:17 am coljacqld we have got CS (ice Snow) hard to keep really clean with out heaps of elbow grease adn pricey special cleaner In hindsight a dark colour may have been better choice for us Anne, I thought you had Osprey bench tops in the kitchen. Or have I mixed you up with someone else. I could see Osprey being hard to keep looking clean as there's not big "bits" in the stone. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Kitchen benchtops - engineered stone options 14Apr 01, 2009 1:14 am i am trying to find out some pricing for the material + the labor involved in this process. the benchtop i am looking at it will be quite long[2m approx]...maybe a little longer even. Does anyone have any experience within WA or costs/recommendations for materials used/best deal/stone mason suggestion... actually..to be honest, i guess it doesn't matter which state you're in, i'd still love any and all feedback Re: Kitchen benchtops - engineered stone options 15Jun 01, 2009 11:09 am god joles you know my house better than I do! yes is it opsrey. still strugling to keep it looking nice and I now have 2 stains that will not come off. I have a tech coming from cs to have a look. Grandview 36 on Beautiful Bribie Site Start Dec 5th 2007 Projected completion May 12th 2008 NOPE Handover 24th June 2008 Moved in 11th July 2008 Wating on one final thing - Still - Oct 2009 Engineering timber is certainly a less fuss option, times cheaper to supply and install and better withstands humidity. 1 15909 Thanks Simon, I guess I'm no concerned with the volume of the noise rather that dead and hollow sound and feel that is associated with floating floors. But I'm not sure… 3 6146 I asked this question of one of the forum's resident cabinet makers who may/may not wish to identify himself to answer other questions if he sees this, but the rersponse… 3 7726 |