Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Jul 21, 2014 4:07 pm Hi all, After getting some helpful advice on here some time back, we ended up stretching our budget for a kitchen "mini facelift" and go from Laminex benchtops, to stone (Essa Stone). On the whole, quite happy with the results, however, a month or two after installation we noticed a very small chip out of the top edge of the breakfast bar - pretty much in the centre of the length of that section of bench. I initially reported it to the store I bought the tops through, and they sent their installer around. He fixed up one of the joins which had started to crumble, and also patched up the chip with a little bit of the resin glue/putty stuff that he used for the join. Within 24 hours the patch had "popped" out. Reading the warranty info, it's clear there are a LOT of exclusions and disclaimers on this product, and after speaking to the place I bought it through again, I get the impression we're up against it in terms of a successful warranty claim for this issue. I won't lie... I'm pretty disappointed. Having worked in retail (yeah, that old chestnut, I know!), but also having some level of understanding of Australian consumer law, I thought that most products are warranted to fulfil the purpose for which they are intended. In this case, it's a breakfast bar, being used as a breakfast bar. We're not 100% sure when or how the chip happened... it could have been there from installation, but we didn't notice it till a month or two after, so we're assuming something has knocked it. That said, we have definitely not subjected the bench tops to any form of mis-use or abuse... just normal everyday use consistent with the use for which the product is intended. As I say, I'm disappointed. We stretched the budget to get a product that I thought would not only look great, but also be at least as durable and hard wearing as laminate benchtops. As I see it, there are two options... either this particular piece of stone is/was defective (i.e. not up to it's intended taks), OR, the product itself is quite fragile, and requires cautious, gentle treatment. Either way, I'd find it incredibly hard to recommend based on current experience. Anyway, the above was intended to be me giving some background, but ended up being me getting my frustration off my chest... sorry about that! What I'm keen to know, from anyone who might know, is whether this is "par for the course" with this product (i.e. chips should be expected through normal use), or whether I should be really making a scene, and pushing for that piece of stone to be replaced? To me, having this happen in the initial couple of months after install isn't satisfactory, and considering a "patch up" has been attempted already, and failed miserably, I'm certainly keen to pursue a replacement piece. Is this a realistic expectation? Anyone else have similar experiences with the product, and what was the resolution? Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 2Jul 22, 2014 5:51 pm Sorry you don't have a leg to stand on! If you had found the chip with in 7 days of install then you might have a claim but two months later your out of luck. All stone bench tops chip. We have silestone tops and my wife chip ours within 6 months of installing it. She misjudged where the bin was and clipped the bottom of a beer bottle onto the edge of the top. I had my stone mason fix it(properly) and 2 years later its still good! You must understand that stone is much harder than laminex. Laminex will stand up to a few knocks as it gives a little. Stone is hard and brittle, knock it with something hard like the bottom of a glass bottle, pot or knife and you could end up with a chip. Sorry to be blunt but you are wasting your time. Just get it fixed properly. Cutting Edge Kitchens and Cabinet Making http://cuttingedgekitchens.net.au http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cutting-Edge-Kitchens/290484196676 Mobile : 0419 430 575 PH: 9452 4772 Fax :9452 4772 cuttingedgekitchens@outlook.com Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 3Jul 23, 2014 9:21 am I appreciate your bluntness! I'm not the type to make a scene where it's not justified. I.e. all I really wanted to confirm here was whether this is "tough luck", or whether the supplier (and Essa Stone themselves) are just being lazy/trying to fob me off etc. It is, however, knowledge I wish I'd had before spending more to go stone. I don't think I would recommend these types of stone product in hindsight (Essa Stone, Caeserstone and the like), knowing how fragile they appear to be... certainly not in a household with children, anyway I honestly don't understand how the product can be so popular when a simple knocking of a bowl/bottle/cutlery will take a chip out of the surface, and that's simply bad luck, that's the product. Buyer beware, I suppose - I'm a little surprised this issue didn't come through in all the research I did prior to buying (yes, I understand it could chip, but I was thinking if you drop something from height, or a hammer slips out of your hand or something... not my 6 year old knocking her breakfast bowl on the edge of the bench when dismounting from the breakfast bar!) Cheers, Damien Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 4Jul 23, 2014 2:34 pm Hi Damien, I understand your fustrations. Sometimes with these man made stones its the angle that it is hit that really is the problem. You could drop a pot flat onto it without issue but if it hit the edge on 45degrees then it will most likely chip. I have two kids 4 and 6 and our kitchen has been in for 3 years now. We only have one chip and that was done by my wife! I think your just unlucky. Cutting Edge Kitchens and Cabinet Making http://cuttingedgekitchens.net.au http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cutting-Edge-Kitchens/290484196676 Mobile : 0419 430 575 PH: 9452 4772 Fax :9452 4772 cuttingedgekitchens@outlook.com Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 6Jul 24, 2014 11:26 am Quote: It is, however, knowledge I wish I'd had before spending more to go stone. I don't think I would recommend these types of stone product in hindsight (Essa Stone, Caeserstone and the like), knowing how fragile they appear to be... certainly not in a household with children, anyway I honestly don't understand how the product can be so popular when a simple knocking of a bowl/bottle/cutlery will take a chip out of the surface, and that's simply bad luck, that's the product. As CEK, says all stone bench tops chip. Clients of mine installed a new kitchen as part of a reno with granite tops and two years down the track ( 3 kids ) they have a couple of decent sized chips off the edge - both about the size of a 5c piece. One from a bottle ( kid ) and one from a cast iron frypan ( wife ). Don't for a minute think that granite etc is bulletproof - it ain't, nor are all other stone tops. Stewie Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 7Jul 24, 2014 12:39 pm Thanks Stewie. Again, info I wish I'd found prior to making the purchase. Not sure what others think, but to me, it seems that the product really isn't up to the rigours of being used as a kitchen benchtop. Dunno, maybe others are happy enough to fork out the $ knowing that the product will inevitably chip within a fairly short space of time, but I guess I expected better durability from a product that isn't cheap, and is sold for the purpose of being worked on, with bowl's/cups/utensils being put on it, etc. Ah well... live and learn. It's only money Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 8Jul 24, 2014 1:07 pm damienh7 Not sure what others think, but to me, it seems that the product really isn't up to the rigours of being used as a kitchen benchtop. Dunno, maybe others are happy enough to fork out the $ knowing that the product will inevitably chip within a fairly short space of time, but I guess I expected better durability from a product that isn't cheap, and is sold for the purpose of being worked on, with bowl's/cups/utensils being put on it, etc. Ah well... live and learn. It's only money Sorry but I disagree. As Stewie said all natural stones suffer from the same problems. With granite you can add cracking to the problems! You cant expect a product to withstand a hit from a fry pan or pot without some sort of damage. You can put bowls, pots and pans directly on it but when they are bashed on an angle into the edge there will be damage. Your only other option is laminate and it suffers from scratching, water damage and has design limitations. Unfortunately every option has positives and negatives. On the whole stone is a much harder wearing, better looking and longer lasting product that laminate. Cutting Edge Kitchens and Cabinet Making http://cuttingedgekitchens.net.au http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cutting-Edge-Kitchens/290484196676 Mobile : 0419 430 575 PH: 9452 4772 Fax :9452 4772 cuttingedgekitchens@outlook.com Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 9Jul 24, 2014 2:16 pm Quote: it seems that the product really isn't up to the rigours of being used as a kitchen benchtop. You can take any benchtop material - stone, artificial stone, Corian, laminate, Stainless Steel,Tiled, Copper, Timber Glu-lam. They can all be scratched, dented, chipped, split, discoloured or cracked to a degree with normal everyday use. They all have their pros, cons and price points. To expect your bench or any other to not have a few marks after a while is just unreasonable. The same goes for flooring - carpet, timber, tiles etc. They are working surfaces. Stewie Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 10Jul 24, 2014 5:04 pm I see your point guys, and maybe it's still a bit too raw for me to forming making rational views on the product, but the laminate tops this stone replaced still looked brand new, some 10 odd years after install. I think your statement, CEK, that "On the whole stone is a much harder wearing, better looking and longer lasting product that laminate" is the message that came through when I was weighing up products... the disclaimer "much more prone to chipping", not so much. I think it's a classic case of managing expectations and understanding limitations. I never felt like I needed to treat laminate tops with kid gloves, for example, and then you read that stone is a tougher, harder wearing, longer lasting product, and as a result (as someone who doesn't deal with the product on a daily basis), you build up these expectations around product performance. If I had've been warned how easy it would be to chip stone with an innocuous knock on the right angle, I could've factored that into my product choice, and been better prepared for it when it did happen. I guess I would advise anyone weighing up the respective pro's and con's of products on offer that stone, while hard wearing in terms of scratch resistance etc, is much more prone to edge chipping than, say, laminate. Anyways, what are your views on repairing the chip? Last contact with the supplier was that they should be able to do a proper patch up fix (as you might recall, the first patch just came straight back out... not to mention it stood out like dogs ball - I'd rather just leave the chip with is hard to spot, compared to the original patch up job!). Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 11Jul 24, 2014 5:31 pm damienh7 I see your point guys, and maybe it's still a bit too raw for me to forming making rational views on the product, but the laminate tops this stone replaced still looked brand new, some 10 odd years after install. I think your statement, CEK, that "On the whole stone is a much harder wearing, better looking and longer lasting product that laminate" is the message that came through when I was weighing up products... the disclaimer "much more prone to chipping", not so much. I think it's a classic case of managing expectations and understanding limitations. I never felt like I needed to treat laminate tops with kid gloves, for example, and then you read that stone is a tougher, harder wearing, longer lasting product, and as a result (as someone who doesn't deal with the product on a daily basis), you build up these expectations around product performance. If I had've been warned how easy it would be to chip stone with an innocuous knock on the right angle, I could've factored that into my product choice, and been better prepared for it when it did happen. I guess I would advise anyone weighing up the respective pro's and con's of products on offer that stone, while hard wearing in terms of scratch resistance etc, is much more prone to edge chipping than, say, laminate. Anyways, what are your views on repairing the chip? Last contact with the supplier was that they should be able to do a proper patch up fix (as you might recall, the first patch just came straight back out... not to mention it stood out like dogs ball - I'd rather just leave the chip with is hard to spot, compared to the original patch up job!). Laminate will scratch and mark a lot more easily. You can work directly on laminate. I roll and cut pizza bases directly on the stone. As has been said every product has pros and cons. All chips in man made stone are able to be fixed easily. They should be able to match the colour and it shouldn't fall out. I would be insisting that they come back and fix the chip considering the patch fell out. Cutting Edge Kitchens and Cabinet Making http://cuttingedgekitchens.net.au http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cutting-Edge-Kitchens/290484196676 Mobile : 0419 430 575 PH: 9452 4772 Fax :9452 4772 cuttingedgekitchens@outlook.com Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 12Jul 24, 2014 6:03 pm CuttingEdgeKitchens All chips in man made stone are able to be fixed easily. They should be able to match the colour and it shouldn't fall out. I would be insisting that they come back and fix the chip considering the patch fell out. Thanks CEK. I'll follow up on this avenue... I assume, considering this is simply a pitfall of the product (i.e. no warranty of any sort to apply here), that I should expect to pay for the repair? And what sort of cost? As I said, I'm a little nervous cos the previous attempt wasn't successful AND the colour matching wasn't very accurate. The supplier has mentioned a different method of fixing is to actually grind up some of the Essa Stone in the same colour and mix with the resin, or whatever it is, so that it matches much more closely. He also said that if done correctly, it shouldn't come out. Cheers! Damien Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 13Jul 24, 2014 6:26 pm CuttingEdgeKitchens I had my stone mason fix it(properly) and 2 years later its still good! out of curiosity how much is a repair job on a small chip??? Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 14Jul 25, 2014 8:31 am I've had caesarstone in two separate kitchens, including having an undermount sink. Touch wood, but it has never chipped. I would say it's very hard wearing and practical, but not damage proof, nothing is. End of the day, even if it did chip, you can repair it as CuttingEdgeKitchens has advised. I've rather have reconstituted stone which MAY get chipped rather than laminate which will DEFINITELY look cheap (and scratched). Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 15Jul 26, 2014 9:23 am As with anything, how long your benchtop remains looking good and relatively new will depend a lot on the people using it. I've seen kitchens installed and five years down the track are still in pristine condition. Then I've seen others that are two years old that look like they have been trashed. It also doesn't matter what the surface is too. Don't laugh - our original 1947 home still has a couple of laminate benches that have hardly worn. A few minor scratches and general dulling of the gloss surface but no chips or cracks ( I will however take great delight in ripping out the kitchen when we knock down our house later this year ! ). Stewie Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 17Jul 27, 2014 10:21 pm Good luck with laminex, we had a essatone bench that had 2 chips and white spots throughout the whole bench top. This was in a kitchen BEFORE handover so still brand new and they said it was within their acceptable standards. Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 18Jul 28, 2014 7:39 am WildwoodHome Good luck with laminex, we had a essatone bench that had 2 chips and white spots throughout the whole bench top. This was in a kitchen BEFORE handover so still brand new and they said it was within their acceptable standards. It may be what the builder calls "their acceptable standards" but no chips are acceptable in a new kitchen and you are well within your rights to get them to repair or replace the affected stone!! Cutting Edge Kitchens and Cabinet Making http://cuttingedgekitchens.net.au http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cutting-Edge-Kitchens/290484196676 Mobile : 0419 430 575 PH: 9452 4772 Fax :9452 4772 cuttingedgekitchens@outlook.com Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 19Jul 28, 2014 8:38 pm We have ceasarstone which was in storage for close to 2yrs, been installed our kitchen since Nov 2010 and we have 3 kids under 8yo whom are all as rough as guts. Not one chip as of yet, touch wood. I much prefer stone for its strength over laminex that can scratch, melt, mark any day. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Recent kitchen makeover - Essa Stone has a chip! :-( 20Aug 05, 2014 8:51 am damienh7 Thanks Stewie. Again, info I wish I'd found prior to making the purchase. Not sure what others think, but to me, it seems that the product really isn't up to the rigours of being used as a kitchen benchtop. Dunno, maybe others are happy enough to fork out the $ knowing that the product will inevitably chip within a fairly short space of time, but I guess I expected better durability from a product that isn't cheap, and is sold for the purpose of being worked on, with bowl's/cups/utensils being put on it, etc. Ah well... live and learn. It's only money I think its important to realise that the benchtop is still perfectly capable of performing as a kitchen benchtop - with or without the chip Its stone, although man made, but any stone will chip They can generally be easily repaired very well, but it sounds like the stonemason doing the repair job wasn't particularly skilled. I would be more concerned about the fact a join was already crumbling within a few months - that would be my biggest worry - we've never had to repair our own install and they are all given a warranty on the install. That is the installers problem though not the product. 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