I used Hanstone in my last house and was very happy with it. In fact, I'm building a new house right now and putting Hanstone in the laundry room and all bathrooms. Quartz is a fantastic product in general.
try_hard
...

I have silestone. It is my understanding that all quartz counters are made under the same patent and that the only difference between brands is in polishing and colors. Be aware that there are one or two colors that are softer and not a durable as others if they are honed--caesarstone lagos blue is one of them--but the manufacturers clearly tell you which ones those are. I don't think Zodiaq has any colors like that. My silestone has been great!

I didn't know that about the soft colors. I saw a royal blue countertop recently that was just gorgeous with maple bird's eye cabs. Took my breath away, and I don't usually go for modern/contemporary cabinets.

I used Cambria, simply for the color choice. My counters are in and I do love them but there are a few spots that I have named inkblots that have excessive amounts of a solid color that frequently catch my eyes. I'm sure in time I will get used to that.
I do really, really like them and so does everyone else that sees them.

I have Silestone countertops, the color is Amarillo Palmira. I am very happy with them, having had them for about 2 years. They're durable, bullet proof actually, and I would get Silestone again if I needed to choose a new countertop:-) That being said, different brands of quartz tops offer lots of different color variables. We went to the Expo Home Center in Orlando to look at the various options available. If you have a place like that near you, I strongly recommend it to view your choices up close.
DONNA

kas81057,
just curious, what color cambria? I wonder if that is typical.
My dh saw cambria at the cabinet maker and loves it. He picked brownhill and won't let it go.

We have Cambria also, picked them because of the more natural look of the Quarry series. Larger chunks, more irregularity and randomness.

Most people don't realize it's not real stone or granite, and the maintenance is a breeze...spray with blue Windex, wipe down with a clean cloth, and it's like new.

I picked Chatham

And I'll second the cleaning; its a breeze

You can e-mail Cambria and they will send you samples for free(up to three choices)

PS we picked Victoria also...looks great with natural cherry cabs and natural maple floors.

I've had Silestone (Kala Hari) for almost 7 years. It appears that this stuff will last forever -- looks the same as it did the day they installed it. And as far as I know, it's not out of style -- yet. There is some very, very, very minor pitting -- but I'm the only one who sees it. The only material harder than quartz is diamond; but do realize that Silestone is approx 95% quartz. Prices do vary greatly. I paid a premium ($8900 for 100 square feet), but at the time it was rather new. Prices have come down dramatically.

Brunosonio,

Do you have any photos of your countertops? I looked at the Cambria site and really like the looks of the Victoria. However, I noticed that the photo of the sample color looks more gold than the pictures of it installed. Which of the photos do you think are closer to what you have?

Hi sail-away...it's not really gold, but more a tan/beige in the splotches that goes really well with cherry.

I find it takes on different characteristics depending on the wood tones around it. Your best bet is to get a sample and place it next to your door sample in various lighted areas.

There is a lot of black in the background, also. We went back and forth between Windsor and Victoria. You can get samples of both and see which works better for you.

I can't seem to find any pictures of our countertops right now...if I can I'll take some pictures tomorrow in the daylight.

I like OKITE and really depend of color and finish you are looking for it.

Thanks so much for responding. I'm glad it's not really gold, as I didn't think I would like that as much. Yet it looks a little livelier than the average beige background. I agree that it must be seen with the cabinets and in my kitchen to know how it would work for sure. I've already emailed Cambria asking about how to get some samples. The problem is I like almost all of the colors. I've narrowed it down, for lighter countertops, to Victoria, Sutton, or Lancaster. However, if we end up going darker, the Windsor and Chatham caught my eye. Of course, I can't really tell without seeing them in person. Depending on how much they charge for samples, I may need to get quite a few. Although, I will first go to a local dealer and see what they have before deciding which samples I want to take home.

I'm just starting to think of what we will use to replace the current countertops--one minute I think I want granite; then I get scared of committing to granite and decide I should just get laminate again, only a much better quality (not that ours looks bad, even after 15 years); then I decide I want an engineered stone/quartz countertop. I hadn't seen the Cambria Quarry series, though, until I read this thread. I really like the Quarry series--based on what I've seen online, at least! Of course, I'm also wondering whether I'd like soapstone. I found a place where I can get some samples, so I think I might get those, too---just because I have absolutely no experience with soapstone and don't want to rule it out prematurely.

Anyway, thanks, again, for answering my question.

We have Caesarstone engineered quartz in the Carmel color code. It's been installed for 6 months now. Love it. Bulletproof. Breeze to clean.

I have had Silestone Kali Hari the same as Joyce 6333 for 4 years and am so pleased with it. So strong--I even stood on it to paint around the sink window.

Sail-away...if you want total ease of maintenance and beauty, you can't beat quartz. The only thing you can't do that you could probably get away with with granite is put a very, very hot pan directly on it. Because it still has about 5% resin to hold everything together, you can burn or melt the counter.

But honestly, I don't know any good cook who puts a hot pot directly onto the countertop without some sort of pad or trivet underneath, or at least a kitchen towel. You're probably ok with a pasta pot full of hot water, but I wouldn't put a hot frying pan directly on it.

We can put hot cookie sheets out of the oven on the quartz with no problem.

With quartz, there is no sealing, and because it cleans like glass, if you use the blue Windex, it cuts all the grease and leaves a streak free sparkling clean surface. It's also naturally hygenic, so you don't have to sterilize surfaces.

brunosonio, If I end up getting the quartz, I should take you in to see the suppliers with me. I'll tell them they should give you a commission for doing such a good job of selling me on the engineered stone. Actually, I was very strongly drawn to it earlier, but I hadn't seen any colors/patterns that "spoke" to me. The Cambria seems to be doing that.

I think I could be very happy with granite, but there are just too many variables and little consistency. Therefore, I've decided I'm not willing to take the risk on getting granite that I really like, only to find out that it was a poor choice in terms of durability, ease of use, etc.

I also know I could be happy with a good quality laminate, as I have been for a number of years. However, I really want the undermount sink and just a little more upgraded look, while preserving the function. So the quartz/engineered stone is looking really good right now.

I also think the quartz could be good for resale, which could be an issue in about five years or so, if we decide to downsize then as we have discussed.

doberman, Dupont Zodiac is a very good brand of engineered quartz. As other posters have indicated, there are several engineered quartz products, and Zodiac is certainly considered among the best. In my own opinion, DZ has some of the best and richest colours and when I was considering EQ, it was the only one that had colours I fancied. It is also perhaps one of the most expensive, mostly because Dupont's products often are.

Silestone, Caesarstone, Zodiac and Cambria are perhaps the better known EQ brands and I think you'd shop amongst them all to find the colours you most like.

On my counter tops i have the solid surface, has been there for long time but still looks great so i didn't want to change that but decided to change the isle top to silestone and a darker color then counter tops. Love the silestone. The papers that came with it said, i could clean with 409. I think it's indestructible.

doberman -

My wife and I had our countertops redone with the Dupont Zodiaq two years ago. Best move we ever made. We have a rich green color and it is very easy to clean. Windex works real well. For any food material that gets dried on, a simple razor blade gently scrapes it off.

We looked at other brands of quartz and did find that Zodiaq was the most expensive. But it had the color we wanted and needed.

Enjoy the journey.

eal51 in western CT

Doberman-

To answer your question -
In MY Opinion, All Engineerd Stone Products are pretty
much equal. They are ALL made on the same equipment processing line as sold by Breton.

REGARDLESS of what sales people tell you, EVERY manufacturer
of Engineered Stone (aka "Quartz")....
uses a Breton manufacturing line to produce their specific
product - be it Zodiaq, Silestone, Cambria, Hahnstone, Technistone, etc - the only variation is in color and texture of color for each "brand" of Quartz.

When I work with my customers and they ask the same question you did, I use the "Milkshake Analogy":

It's kind of like going to a McDonald's in Tampa and ordering a Chocolate Shake,
then, going to a McDonalds
in Seatle and ordering a Strawberry Shake...
same Milkshake,
made on the same "manufacturer's" milk shake machine,
just a different flavor... Make Sense?

"Is there anything more durable that Quartz?" Well, yes there
are other products that you could look at: Granite will not
melt or burn (yes, I have video of a piece of Engineered Stone litterally
burning - ie; on fire, lit up like a candle...) it will be on my new website - www.naturalstone101.com very soon.

Solid Surface can be repaired in many cases, and so can Granite. Lots of products will work well for you.

To answer the most important question of "What will be the
best product to choose for YOU - you need to identify exactly
what you expect the product to do for you. Analyze (sp?)
each option and narrow down to a top three, then to the one
that turns you on the mostest... the bestest ;-)

Follow your heart, but use your head and keep on asking questions - there's lots of good products that will work for you in this project - Quartz, Natural Stone, Solid Surface, etc... you just have to identify which one will satisfy YOUR needs and desires BEST...

hope that helps

kevin

Kevin M. Padden MIA SFA
Fabricator, Trainer & Consultant to theNatural Stone Industry
www.azschoolofrock.com

Interesting thread. I'd wondered about Cambria's Victoria too because it looked different in every picture on their website! I haven't seen it in person yet. I'd be interested to hear from people who shopped all the major brands; what sort of price differences did you find between brands? And has anyone tried LG's Viaterra yet? I never hear that mentioned here, but I guess it's new. Lowe's carries it.

Well said, Kevin. Each kind of countertop has its pluses and minuses, and none is perfect. You have to find the ones that best meet your lifestyle and color choices, and have a maintenance/cleaning program that you can live with.

And I agree, pretty much all of the EQ material is the same, regardless of what the manufacturers tell you. I just find myself drawn to one company over another because of pattern or color choices.

FWIW, I believe Cambria is the only brand manufactured in the US, if that is important to you.

Caesarstone is manufactured in Israel, which is not why I am buying it, but it makes me a bit happier to be supporting Israel with my countertop purchase. (I'm buying Raven for my perimeter kitchen counters.)

For what it's worth, I got an estimate on Silestone, Zodiac, and Caesarstone, and there was a huge price difference between the three, with Caesarstone being almost twice as expensive as the Silestone. My KD explained that the fabricator didn't have Caesarstone in stock so I would have to buy the whole slab. Obviously, that won't be the case everywhere, but it's something to consider.

I agree: I've had estimates for Caesarstone, Silestone, Zodiaq, Cambria, and Hanstone. Caesarstone was significantly cheaper than the others. Check what the prices are for the different ones, and then determine what you're prepared to compromise for price/color.

I've decided to go with Silestone in a gorgeous color called Silver Nube. It's a light gray with subtle silvery glints. I originally was going with a black color, but decided it won't work in my narrow, windowless NYC apartment.

We went with Lancaster from Cambria. We really looked at both Victoria and Sutton, but after seeing a whole countertop done in Lancaster we were sold. The Cambria website can tell you where there are display kitchens done with the different types, it can put on a lot of miles, but I think it was worth it.

I just got an estimate on both Caesarstone and Zodiaq, and they were different by $230, with CS being less.

Anybody have some good photos of the Cambria Brownhill and/or Chatham? Those are the two choices we liked, but only saw them on 12" or 16" square samples. Would really like to see a full kitchen in them.

Cambria website has no decent photos of these.

Cpanther-I have the Cambria Chatham. I will attempt to get a pic or two here for you to see; i had the same experience with the website, too. I requested samples which they will send you 3, free of charge. My kitchen is still not completed(95%) so I have not done the picture taking thing yet, but will try to get some close-ups of the counters for you. I will post them to a new thread.

Appreciate it. We were curious if pieces larger than the samples pull a lot of the reds out or if it appears more brown/earthtone.

Does anyone have Caesarstone "Blizzard"? Does it seem white or off-white to you?

We're looking for a true bright white with minimal speckling. Cambria has "Whitehall" but it's too speckly.

So glad to hear everyone loves their low maintenance quartz!

I'm so glad I came to these forums to find out about the different choices in countertop materials.

My 22 year old kitchen needs a little umpf! I never liked the laminate counter since we moved in almost 15 years ago. I wanted it to shine, it looks like it "should" shine. I gave up after several attempts to buff it with a rag and shining products. I also put a great big dent in it once when I got mad and threw a heavy root-beer style mug and it landed on the counter. Thankfully I'm more mellow now but I do wince when I wipe down the counters and see that.

Silestone, granite, soapstone....I didn't know one from the other. After reading here only a few days I know a little more! But I was glad to read here that the quartz will shine like new with just an application of windex! Yeah, that's what I want! I can appreciate the soapstone fans who want the pantina, but I'm doggone tired of my pantina! I want some personality and color and shine and a brand new undermount sink.

Well, back to lurking and taking notes. And can I remind everyone to take pictures of these wonderful products and colors that I keep reading about? Thanks! :)

ccc 123, I have Caesarstone "Blizzard" in my bathroom. It is very white. My woodwork is Cabinet Coat white and the Blizzard looks perfect with it. I'll see if I can post a picture.

I also have Cambria "Victoria" for my kitchen countertops. While I do love it, I was very surprised to see how much black is in it. It works for my kitchen, but might not for others. I would highly recommend seeing the slab before deciding. Just like granite, the slabs do vary. I saw mine after we were already pretty much committed to buying it. I think it's great with my cherry cabinets and birch floor, but just a word of caution--the small samples are not always representative of what you will get.

Here is a link that might be useful: Caesarstone

Neesie, I definitely think you will get 'shine' with quartz! That's one of the reasons I chose it for my kitchen (it's not here yet, probably 2-3 more weeks). The finish on all of the samples I looked at had a smooth, shiny finish.

We are building new & looking at Quartz countertops. However, we don't want high shine. Does anyone have the low-down on Ceasarstone Honed or Silestone Leather finishes being used in a kitchen? I know the websites say it takes a bit more work to keep fresh, but some dealers have said there really isn't any problem while others say "absolutely do not use in a kitchen". Who knows what to think. Anyone with direct experience? Also, anyone know about Okite (from Italy), just starting to be available in Canada?

i have heard horrible things about keeping the silestone leather clean. do a search in this forum and read for yourself.

we were looking at the honed caesarstone for our current project and, after seeing a work table in a store that had been used for a couple years, we opted against it. there were lots of scratches and marks all over it. the lady said that they could be cleaned off with soft scrub, but i rubbed them pretty good and they didn't budge.

i prefer a honed surface as well, for the soft look it provides, but we are opting to go with caesarstone in a polished jerusalem sand. both caesarstone and silestone don't have a high sheen, even on their polished products.

i think you could use the honed caesarstone in a kitchen, but you'd probably have to expect it to become patina-ed. we did slate counters in our last kitchen, and i didn't mind the patina, but it drove my wife crazy and she's laid down the law that this next one needs to be 'bullet-proof'.

I've been to the Cambria website but couldn't figure out how to request samples. Where is the sample request form?

busymom2006, I got Cambria samples just by sending an email to them and asking. Go to the "request more information" part of the website and fill in the blanks, and just ask for the sample. Mine arrived pretty quickly. No charge either (but I only asked for 2).

I love my quartz counter tops, so much so that I'm updating a new home with them. We originally went thru Lowe's with a product called Avanza. What a nightmare! I believe they were manufactured in Italy and it took forever to arrive with both Lowe's and the manufacturer blaming each other for the delay. At any rate, won't be going that route this time. The only comment I would make is that it took me a while to figure out which "splotch" of color was the counter top and which "splotch" was food. You can certainly tell, however, by wiping with a cloth

We've only had our Cambria quartz counter top for about 1 month and I LOVE it!! I did want more of a shine but find it is not very shiney at all : ( But is sounds like more prefer the less shinier type.

Around here the popular ones are Oxford, Nottingham and Victoria from what the dealer told me. I like them too and thought that one of those would be my choice but ended up choosing the new Cranbrook Quarry series just because it went better with the cabinets. Preston and Brownhill were also very nice. I was able to take the small 4"x4" sample home for a few days to decide.

I can barely see the seem and love how it cleans. Haven't put anything REALLY hot on it, like a slow cooker, and probably won't just because I'm scared to LOL.
Here are some pics.......total cost $5700 (install & tax)

I wish my Cambria top looked as good as yours, Sask girl. We have the cambria Oxford on a small island. Didn't expect the one large orange blob about the size of a half dollar. We're ripping it out and replacing it with granite.

I have the Cambria Victoria and love it. We've had it in for almost two years, and haven't had any problems at all with it. It cleans very easily and I think it looks great. We do have some larger blobs in it, but I honestly don't notice them often and don't think they look bad when I do. I don't have a great picture of my Victoria, but here is one that does show it a bit.

Cambria Victoria is the one we're leaning towards. I think your's is very pretty. What color are the blobs? What color does the overall counter tend to "read" in your kitchen?

FWIW-I have read here that you can check out the slabs in advance, just as you would a piece of granite, to check for blobs.

I have Cambria Chatham and there are a few "blobs" that at first always caught my eye, but no longer.

That being said it seems that some have had maybe bigger blobs and maybe more and were very unhappy. To avoid this from happening to you(and anyone else considering the Cambria) it will probably be wise to ask your installer for a look first at the slab prior to fabrication.

But, like i said love mine and its conveniences.

HTH

I changed my mind and went with granite. Once I was out shopping and actually saw the granite, nothing else would do! I'm looking for those swirls and blobs that they refer to as movement! Oh well, there's something for everybody!

Any color suggestions for me using Cambria? I have just gotten my pine cabinets finished into a nice mellow natural color. I live in an old relatively dark farmhouse with dark walnut floors I was originally thinking I needed much lighter countertops but the cabinets have really changed the brightness factor in the room. I am drawn to the darker choices to be honest. Right now I'm leaning towards Brownhill which has just displaced Victoria as my top choice. I'm wondering if anyone thinks it will be too brown or still too dark? If anyone has a picture of installed brownhill, especially with lighter cabinets I would really appreciate taking a look. Tim