Quartz Silestone Good or bad?

[peteyuri]

We are remodeling our counters and are considering Silestone versus granite. Sales people pitch different stuff and I want to get honest opinions
about the Silestone.

Thanks

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[Davestone]

I don't think i've ever heard any bad comments,but there are some discussions around here,keep lookin.I like to refer to is as granite without a granite personality,doesn't have the same look as a regular slab with fissures and textures,and looking at a regular slab sideways,with the lines telling you of the layers added and compressed,you can just picture it forming inside the Earth,with enormous pressure and heat,crushing and melding the different materials into a superhard molten homogenous mass, millions of years till it's brought to the surface and cut and polished and formed just for you.Then there's silestone,the parts of granite thrown away,and mixed with manmade bonding materials,poured and formed.See what i mean. But really,it is very hard material. :)

[WorldIRC]

Consider the looks? Consider the performance. Granite requires a lot more maintenance then silestone. You MUST seal Granite or you risk staining it. Granite is also porous (which is why you seal it). As a result, it is IMPERATIVE to clean it from bacteria such as that from raw meat. Problem is, you use any chemical, you wear down the sealer. As a result, your granite is at risk of being stained and you must reseal it.

Silestone on the other hand is non porous. It can't be sealed. If you try to seal it, you'll make a mess and you'll spend a long time cleaning up the mess. The good thing is, it is NSF 51 food approved. This means that it can be used for commercial use...therefore you can use bleach if you want. Generally, comet cleanser and a Jcloth is the MOST you'll need to clean off that countertop. No other maintenance required.

Then theres the looks...which do you like better.

Both countertops have near equal performance in terms of durability. It's hard to scratch both countertops.

PM me if you have any other questions. My dad's the Ontario distributor for Silestone so I have quite a bit of "experience" in this.

[doitright]

Some granites do not need to be sealed, or you'll make a mess of them! :)

Hi Pete! :)

As far as the Silestone or natural granite question:

I think its a personal preference issue. If a natural granite is properly selected, it will provide a lifetime of practical use, and a beauty that can't be matched by any man made product.

The Silestone on the other hand does use natural granite as the main ingredient. Therefore the granite chips combined with the man made resins, provides natures beauty in a form that is impervious to almost anything.

Hope this helps you make your decision. ;)

[WorldIRC]

Yea.. like Nero Asoluto or something. I know that doesn't need to really be sealed since its almost all quartz.

[Jim Cuviello]

PM me if you have any other questions. My dad's the Ontario distributor for Silestone so I have quite a bit of "experience" in this.

As I was reading this I thought to myself this guy has to be a Silestone salesman and at the end I was pretty dam close.

I belive Fred Houston at NTC has a study that shows that granite is a safer surface to use than most others in terms bacteria growth. Not all granite needs to be sealed, most don't. Most impregnators on the market these days hold up well to most daily cleaners if the stone does need to be sealed.

Do you want a real diamond or a fake one?

[Stacy]

I don't know much about Silestone. But I do about granite. Like said before, some don't even need sealed. Others it is good to seal every couple of years. It totally depends on the granite and how porous it is. We sealed our granite counters only once about 5 years ago and they don't have a stain on them. They are as beautiful as the day we put them in :-)
I think it would come down to which looks better to you. They are both very durable.

Just my 2 cents,

Stacy

[WorldIRC]

PM me if you have any other questions. My dad's the Ontario distributor for Silestone so I have quite a bit of "experience" in this.

As I was reading this I thought to myself this guy has to be a Silestone salesman and at the end I was pretty dam close.

I belive Fred Houston at NTC has a study that shows that granite is a safer surface to use than most others in terms bacteria growth. Not all granite needs to be sealed, most don't. Most impregnators on the market these days hold up well to most daily cleaners if the stone does need to be sealed.

Do you want a real diamond or a fake one?

What'll surprise you even more is I'm only 17 :)

[Jim Cuviello]

Yes, very surprised. I hope he has hired you.

[WorldIRC]

Not yet..I've just started university. I have gone with him on many business trips. He will also soon be getting the North American rights to a product which will hopefully give Corian a good kicking :) Same smell, features, workability, and same ease of fabrication. Also, any corian colour can be replicated. Same plastic to...VERY cheap.

[John Bridge]

Hi Pete, :)

I've generally been impressed with Silestone. Down here, though, you can get granite for the same price and sometimes a little less. ;)

Hey World, :) Give us a first name, will ya? What will you major in?

[WorldIRC]

Yes we all know the "local gravestone guy" can make you a countertop ;)

Name's Brian. Double majoring in Business and Music.