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Discussion Forum

Silestone

GJR | Posted in General Discussion on April 15, 2004 04:44am

Any opinions  on “Silestone” good or bad for kitchen counter tops?      Thanks

“Don’t take life too seriously, you are not getting out of it alive”
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Replies

  1. DougU | Apr 15, 2004 05:03am | #1

    Gary

    I did a kitchen (posted some pic's in the gallery) and did a counter top; inhttp://www.caesarstone.com/

    It sounds like something similar, I looked on the Silestone.com site, they are both quartz, man made, didnt look to long but there are some similarities.

    I was able to work the caesarstone my self, wasnt all that difficult.

    Doug

  2. geob21 | Apr 15, 2004 05:04am | #2

    Just did a kitchen and the customer used it. The counters where outside my contract.

    They look very nice and the sales pitch was hard to beat. No real downside....except she bought them from the big orange box. After waiting an extra week because "they fell off the truck, in the middle of an intersection " on delivery day....yea right...And when the morons installed them the stove opening was 30" in the front and 30 1/2" in the back..

    It's a good product just choose your supplier carefully.

    1. User avater
      GJR | Apr 15, 2004 01:35pm | #3

      Thank you both for your response.  I am finally extending my kitchen and the wife has started to look for cabs/tops.  She really liked the look of "Silestone".  I have sold tons of corian (not one of my my loves)  granite and formica but never had experience with "Silestone".   From what I have researched it seems to be a good material.  I will call my corian fabricator and see if he deals with it and get their feedback.       Thanks again."Don't take life too seriously, you are not getting out of it alive"

      1. movingmtns | Apr 17, 2004 09:32pm | #4

        Gary: I am a kitchen and bath designer in Los Angeles, and have also worked in a large Mid-Western City (you'll see shortly why I am not identifying the city). I sold a lot of kitchens, with every type of countertop imaginable, including Silestone. It is a very good product, but my experience was that Silestone limits thier distribution to one or two fabricators per area and the problems are with the fabricators, not the product. The same fabricator that sold to the fancy kitchen showrooms in the large unnamed Mid-Western city, was the same fabricator that did Home Depots installations. It got to the point that I stopped recommending Silestone to my clients because of all the installation problems and the client callbacks. Even inspecting the work in the fabricator's shop prior to installation didn't help.

        Also, one of the things that I discovered through personal/professional experience about Silestone, despite their claims to the contrary, is that it will discolor if you put a hot pot directly on it (Absolute Black).

        Personally, I prefer granite or marble. There is a huge range of colors, it is durable, it will boost your property values higher than any other countertop material and depending upon the color or type of stone you chose, it is competitively priced to all the man-made "stones", such as Silestone and Ceasarstone. Nothing looks as good as marble or granite. It is what all the other "stones" aspire to be. It used to be a lot more expensive, but due to it's popularity, the prices have dropped enormously. You can buy marble and granite from many more fabricators than you can Silestone, so you can negotiate a better price and pick whom you want to work with. Silestone is a good product, but why settle for second best?

        Hope this helps.

        1. User avater
          GJR | Apr 17, 2004 10:07pm | #5

          Movingmtns,

             Thanks much for your reply and yes your input is a help.  The wife originally decided on granite and I have a great show room nearby with a large number of slabs to choose from, but then she was shopping around and saw Silestone and loved the consistant pattern/color throughout.  I have never delt with it before and most customers either want granite or corian.  You are so right about the price of granite being much less expensive.   This is her kitchen and she will make the finally decision.  I personally love granite, and will push her towards it.   Thanks again."Don't take life too seriously, you are not getting out of it alive"

          1. movingmtns | Apr 18, 2004 12:59am | #6

            Gary:  There are a number of granites that have a very consistent particle size and little or no "movement" of pattern. Tell your wife to think "resale". Also, if you buy Silestone, there will be thousands of kitchen counters in America just like yours, but if you buy granite, it will be unique in all the world!

            Good Luck.

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