Anyone know anything about quartz worktops?

lindos90

Alan_M wrote: »

I would be very surprised if Samsung release a product of this quality knowingly, it can be incredibly damaging to their reputation.

What these big boys do sometimes is release a slightly lower quality to commercial suppliers....

For instance, a fit for a new hotel that may be having 650 rooms fitted with TV shelves, bar tops etc that can all be cut from material that are slight seconds as the imperfections are entirely hidden.

However this type of material is very rarely released to suppliers that would allow it for sale for public worktop fitting.

Thanks again Alanm, do you know of an industry standard way of identifying a piece as 'commercial' grade? There must be something to identify it, so it doesnt get mixed up with the good pieces in storage. Im just wondering if theres a letter or symbol I should be looking for.

Ive taken the plunge and sent a clear but polite email to the company (took all morning for me to pluck up the courage to press the 'send' button) and im crossing my fingers that it can be resolved amicably, however the more informed I am the better really.

If the supplier denies responsibility and feels everything is acceptable, it would be good to have something to respond with, so he thinks I 'know my onions' IYKWIM.

Alan_M_2

Unfortunately there isn't anything other than the actual appearance of the product itself.

The clustering of the fleck in your top is enough grounds for rejection, the rest is just icing on the cake.

You big advantage with this particularly product is they simply can't play the "It's natural" argument, as it's not. It's also not a "Feature".

Good Luck

lindos90

Alan_M wrote: »

Unfortunately there isn't anything other than the actual appearance of the product itself.

Guess thats the problem, as that could be open to interpretation or subjective about what is acceptable.

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for me, the owner of the business that supplied and fitted it has emailed back, he's coming out tomorrow to have a look for himself.

lindos90

Well the owner came out, it was thankfully quite amicable and this is the outcome:

He totally admits that the clusters of air bubbles are not acceptable, and that the bad fitting is their fault too, both of these issues are with one particular slab, and he has offered to replace this. (this is part of an 'L' shape, and he says they will beable to detatch it without damaging the other piece)

He said he had spoken to one of his employees who works in the cutting workshop today, and explained the problems I had described. He told the owner that if the quartz is heated that it can 'bubble' making crystals which look like mirror flecks. Apparently during the bad snow some of the slabs had frozen together and the water in the machinery had frozen too. The workers used blow torches to defrost, and had realised this caused bubbling with the sudden change in temperature.

When it comes to the pitting, he said that some holes were 'boarderline acceptable' but overall most were too small to be considered a flaw, as they were not very noticable. He offered to get the samsung rep out, but felt he would say the same thing.

He also said he could not see the white marks near the sink at all, (and to be honest they are not too bad, if they had been the only problem I probably would not have contacted him specifically for that) it was the sum of the problems when added together really. I didnt expect the slab to replaced just for that but did ask if they could be polished out, but he said not.

So fingers crossed we should have the main issues (Air bubbles and uneven overhang) sorted out with a replacement piece.

Thank you all for your support and advice which gave me the confidence to contact the owner.

Im just hoping they can remove the reject piece without disturbing the rest, that the join is kept neat (worried it will be angled to overcome the overhang issue), and that the new piece matches (I didnt dare ask him about batch numbers, was just SO relieved he offered to replace it!:o).

Alan_M_2

Good news, that's pretty much the best outcome you could expect. They sound like a thoroughly decent firm.

The blow torch explanation is quite feasible, they often use blow torches to dry out granite, it's standard industry practice.

If they had an employee not fully aware of the properties of quartz then I can see quite easily how this would have occured.

A good mason will be able to remove the top without issues.

lindos90

Thanks, I can tell you it was a BIG relief really!

Im now feeling a bit sorry for his workers, as they worked hard to get the quartz fitted for Christmas, and must have worked in very cold conditions, now their boss is not going to be very happy with them.

He mentioned something about 'chasing into the wall' at the far end to reduce the overhang of the next piece, Im just hoping that will not make the 'joint' in the other end tapered- its an 'L' shape. (theres no pleasing some people:o)

Anyway, overall its potentially a possitive outcome, and reasuring that you Alan confirm his explanation is feasable.

Im now feeling in the mood for buying all the finishing touches now, floor covering, blinds etc, and hopefully start enjoying my kitchen, rather than walking in there with a heavy heart.

This particular Kitchen has been quite a nightmare including,

Gas leak due to screws in a gas pipe:eek:

New plastering so uneven that the plasterer tried to level it buy useing his electric sander on the walls (and then my oh STILL had to fill in areas with patching plaster)

Kitchen cupboards stuck in a snow drift, then when they arrived, almost half of them were danaged and had to be ordered by courier to get delivered before Christmas!

Ordered the oven when in it was stock, then told it was not in stock, then they had forgotten to put on the lorry, then damaged, then discontinued :mad:

Transformer to undercupboard lights EXPLODED!

..so faulty quartz was the last thing I needed!:o