What kind of maintenance problems did he mention? I have Cambria, not the two you mention, and didn't think that there were any kind of maintenance issues.
I would think given the type of material used that if one has issues, they all would.

I have Caesarstone quartz countertops. I liked them best because they require NO maintenance at all. I did a lot of research on countertops before settling on Caesarstone. I have Lagos Blue in my kitchen, but if you're looking for a dark brown you may like Espresso. Check the link for the different colors and pictures...

The other thing I liked about them is that they have a lifetime warranty on their products, and they're pretty much the only company to do that. They're also a greener option for countertops because of their high quality standards.

I'd be interested in hearing what other people have to say on experience with different types of quartz countertops. I think quartz is the new - and improved - granite.

Here is a link that might be useful: Caesarstone countertops

Oakhampton looks more flat and Nottingham looks more granite-like, but its all what look you are going for.

http://www.cambriausa.com/design_palette.cfm

I suppose the maintenance issue is that a consistent solid color will show more things than a speckled type.

I have solid black in my bathroom and it sure does show water/soap spots easily.

I just got Silestone Sierra Madre in my kitchen and it hides EVERYTHING. I have to remember to wipe it down now and then!!!

I have Cambria Preston color. Here is my attempt to post a picture, below. You see orange-ish spots in the picture, but that is just the effect of the flash. I love that it is so durable, very easy to maintain. I've had it for about a year. To me, mine looks more dark grey/black than the image I see on Cambria's website of Preston color (has a little beige and white in it, too). On the site, to me, it looks more tan than I think it is in reality. The main "warning" you get re engineered stone is to be aware of the "pooling" issue, i.e. large blotches of one color pool on the slab. You can, I am told, ask to see your specific slab before you buy it. I didn't do that, but I am happy and have no problems.

Thanks for your input. I have not seen Ceasarstone, but I will go looking for Espresso this weekend.

He didn't really elaborate about the maintenance, but he refered to the solid colors and mentioned coffee rings. Also, the large sample in the store has mysterous white flecks like dust in the finish. I've looked at samples at a couple different stores and I've not seen the "dust" before. He's basically telling me that I've been warned. I'm thinking there may be warranty issues.

The Oakhampton is the ONLY thing that I've loved consistantly since this all started.
I went to Cambria's Website and emailed them. I guess the speed of their response will tell me a lot.

I had an island in Silestone quartz, a shiny black with flecks of mirror in it. I enjoyed knowing that it was a durable, maintenance free product. I did find that it being essentially a solid and dark colour, that it did show not only all water ring marks, but also wipe marks (as did my black ceran topped range - drove me nuts - the range that is)

We were all set to buy Cambria Nottingham- I had seen a sample that I loved and was reassured by the store that the sample would be very close to what I would actually get. To make sure I went to check out another sample and see an actual kitchen counter with the Nottingham. It was a completely different color from the sample I liked. The first sample was more black and the second was mostly brown.

I called Cambria and was told that they don't guarantee exactly what you are going to get and that color differences are not a cause for replacement. I was told that there was no way to see my actual slab. It made me too uneasy to go with the Cambria and we are going with granite. I felt more settled being able to choose. my slab.

I'm surprised by the refusal to allow slab inspection, because I have Cambria Bristol Blue, and saw my slab before it was cut. I was going to request it, but the fabricators suggested it before I even raised the question. Talk to the fabricator about inspecting the slab - clearly, if you do reject it, then you will have to wait again while a new one is ordered, but it should be down to the fabricator. I was able to spot one white mark that I didn't like, and they marked it up, to ensure it was avoided when my counters were cut.

I was surprized too that upon my request to see a slab I was told at the store and by Cambria that this was not possible. I live in Minnesota and offered to drive up to the factory if that would help. Well at least I'm saving some money by going with granite- the Cambria was $1200 higher.

beware, I love how your stone looks on my monitor. It is so much richer looking than the sample on their website.

Yours is just scrumptious.

As was mentioned previously, I suspect the "maintenance" comment was b/c of the essentially "absolute black" look...if you don't wipe your counters down daily you will see dust build-up. In our case, our AB has a light smattering of silver inclusions which helps to hide the dust, but we wipe all our counters down daily.

You're also apt to see larger water spots, streak marks, and, if you use too much detergent, a cloudy film from wiping them down. We handle it by once a week or so using Method stone cleaner on all the counters...gets rid of any cloudy build-up immediately and once dry, is streak-free. (Sometimes we don't use the Method even that often...the cloudy haze isn't that noticeable and it doesn't usually bother us.)

If you need a surface to look clean and pristine all the time, then you probably should avoid the Oakhampton...and any other virtually solid black (or other dark color) surface.

Good luck w/whatever you finally decide!

Hello,
If I may add my voice to the opposing view of avoiding solid dark colour surfaces...I chose Antique Brown granite for my perimeter counters...they are a very dark chocolate brown and I have no maintenance issues with them; I have to squint and look at them at an angle if I want to see streaks. I also clean with Method.

I didn't mean to hijack this Caesarstone thread with my granite comment: I just wanted to reassure Lodalady that streaking and water rings are not an issue with all dark counters.

I wonder if it's possible for you to take a sample home to test?

Good luck with your final choice:)

Here's a couple before and after pictures. The first is Cambria which we had replaced. The second is granite. I've had both quartz and granite in this kitchen and I can tell you I think the granite is much nicer. When light hit the Cambria top it looked like plastic.

Tonight, I'm considering granite. Last Saturday I drove for two hours to a granite site and when I got their they informed me that their stock was low (about gone) and that they would be restocked in two weeks. The granite may be less that quartz as well, which may be easier. This fabricator said that the quartz was the same cost as the Group D of the granite. Does that sound right?
How is granite priced?

Having cambria and helping a friend picking out granite i have to say i really wish i had picked granite but the reasons i didn't was because of issues with kids and staining.....heard some stories of water leaving marks on granite and knew that i would never be able to live with my (adult) children and husband and granite

they just don't clean up the way i do

that said I will say that my cambria countertops do not look the best with good old soapy sponge cleaning but that i believe is due to our water(water softened high in iron)

the only time i don't see spots is when i use the blue stuff

and again i am finicky

good luck in your decision but i have to say i truly love some of the movement in granite and you don't get that in cambria

also i have a black ceramic tiled bathroom that shows everything; every fleck of dust, water mark etc

but that was inherited and may soon go for granite(no food in bathrooms :

I have Cambria Preston. I agree with Beware's comments on the color and think Beware's pic is a pretty good representation. I really like my Cambria. I have a 9x4-ft. island and there is not one bit of pooling. My fabricator let me stop by and inspect the 2 large slabs that were used for my kitchen, and they were perfect.

It cleans up well and doesn't show much betweentimes, other than dust when veiwed at an angle or across the room. -- Old1880's first slab looks to be unfortunate. Our counters don't have that plastic look and receive compliments all the time. I do recommend it.

Old 1880 home: What is the name of your granite? It's really nice!
Thanks!

I think your fabricator told you that because of your choosing such a dark color, like everyone else has said, the darker the color the more it shows & he probably wants to say " i told you so" if you go back saying you hate it.
But go with what you really like & just keep in mind what we've said. There may be more maintenance in cleaning or dusting, but that's it.
Good Luck :)

Here is a link that might be useful: granite countertops

If you're out looking at other Quartz brands - take a look at Hanstone. Their Ruscello Basento may be close to what you're striving for, or possibly Genesis, or Ruscello Piave. I don't have mine installed yet (I'm getting Odyssey), so can't show pics, or give wear comments.

Hope you find exactly what you want!

-Susan

Old1880's cambriadid have a more plasticy sheen than the granite
Anyone know whether that's the case with caesarstone, too???

Caesarstone comes in normal, honed, and textured finishes. For me, I don't like that high-gloss super shiny finish, which you get with granite because it has to be sealed.

Some colors appear shinier than others, but I guess it really depends on your personal taste. When I was comparing Cambria and Caesarstone, however, most of Cambria's colors seemed to have a matte finish... Here's the Caesarstone Espresso I mentioned earlier...

{{!gwi}}

luvnlife, thanks! I really do like my granite, too! It's called Santa Cecelia. Also, if there were any stains I would never know because of the color and pattern. It's so easy to maintain. Much easier than the quartz. I've had it in almost a year now and I love it more every day.

Lodalady, have you made any decisions yet?

Granite is priced by the square foot; I'm in Canada and the price hovers around $55/sq foot depending on the grade.

It is important to select your slab.

Oh, I know what you are going through! I had originally contemplated quartz because I read so many positive things about it..but I wasn't enamoured with any of them. I loved marble, but at the end of the day I was honest with myself and knew I'd worry over the patina (so I put it in the bathroom). When I went looking at granite slabs I LOVED all the unusual ones with movement...but not for my counters. I didn't want my counters being the focal point in my kitchen. When I saw the Antique brown I immediately loved it's understated elegance and how well they would look with my cream perimeter cabs. I chose Blanca Romano for my dark stained island. And yes, I love my selection:)

As another poster said, the quartz has a matte finish and it's really all about your own personal vision and what you love. Good luck!

HEy Susan in Maine,
I was trying to track down samples of hanstone's ruscello teslin here in MA and was told it was not available in the states yet, they don't have many suppliers here in MA do you th ink I should try and ask another one?

I also think granite is nicer, but if you want a color that doesn't come in granite or a more sold or uniform color to let a backsplash shine, or a limestone or marble look alike to avoid maintenance issues with the real deal, then quartz is the way to go.

I would agree that if you want your counters to be the focal point, the gorgeous motion of granite is the way to go. For my part, the woodwork is the star of our kitchen, which is only one reason we chose the more consistent patterns of quartz. I would have to say that my Cambria Preston does not have a matte finish at all. It's so glossy I can see very defined reflections in it. I didn't ask for that...it just came that way, and I do like it.

We've had Cambria in our kitchen and bathrooms for 3 years now. In the kitchen I used one of the Quarry series, it had just come out and I found the patterns to be much more realistic.

The only thing I heard from the fabricator about it was that since the product was still relatively new, no one knew what the 10-20 year endurance and maintenance record would be for quartz.

I confess that I use the blue stuff also to clean it. Any soap product will leave a haze unless you really rinse it down. Windex followed with a quick dry/buff using a soft towel leaves it spotless. I've not had any pitting or staining, nor any scratching and loss of surface finish.

It hides dirt and crumbs so well that I have to run my hand over it to determine if it does need cleaning.

Thanks, shelayne, on your compliment of the Preston. Ellen, you're the only other person that I've heard also has Preston. I will say that mine is not very shiny, and that's one of the things I like about it. It's just a personal preference. One of the reasons I often don't like granite is the very glossy look it can have. I realize that you get honed, brushed, etc. etc. To each her own!

Thanks for the pictures. The ceaserstone espresso is beautiful. I feel the same way, I don't like the shine of granite. My original plan was to have a the oakhampton on the island and laminate around the exterior. I had to take this weekend off kitchen detail and spend it with my son and daughter-in-law, who went in to early labor. She is home on bed rest, soo I need to get this project completed.

Also, Cambria responded to my email with a phone call. She basically said that if there were no manufacturing flaws, the counter top finish is what it is.

I know I want brown, so the search is on!!! I will look at Ceaserstone this weekend.

I THINK I looked at the oakhampton..is that a solid brown? I wanted a very dark brown so went with Zodiaq Okite. I love it. Sooo pretty. At first I was like, great and easy maintenance. Well, let me tell you what a pain in the ass this stuff is. You see EVERYTHING. Every print. Every water mark. I still love it but will never get it again. VERY high maintenance. It also took 3 slabs to get a piece with no strange white cloudy imperfections...

I had my heart set on Caesarstone in Rosemary but there were several things which swayed me over to granite; the little sample with which I fell in love looked completely different when I saw a larger piece (larger piece had big splotches of gray to it, which I didn't notice in the small piece), my husband said he'd prefer to have the natural stone versus a manufactured stone, and it was priced by our fabricator at $6000 vs. $4000 for Black Pearl granite.

Whatever you decide on, be sure to look at the whole slab before it's cut. It's a big investment to not be happy with once it's cut and installed.

For the life of me I cannot find any posts that have pictures of "resin pooling." Or, if there are posts that read as if there is a picture for some reason the pictures don't show up for me. Can someone post another picture here (or include a hypertext link to the picture if it's on a photo site)?

the_big_bad - Take a look at old1880home's first post on this thread. The first photo is of quartz, the unsightly orange spots are pools of resin, the second photo is the granite replacement. I did a ton of searching and that photo is the best example of resin pooling I found. When I look at quartz now the pools of resin are all I see. There are a couple of pictures near the bottom of this thread:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0500211820610.html

Also, I don't use the forum search, because I don't like forum search engines, I use google:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1C1GGLS_enUS314US314&q=resing+pooling+site:ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath&btnG=Search

The search term there is:

resin pooling site:ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath

Which is google's version of a forum specific search.

site:gardenweb.com works really well too for a full site search.

Rosielove623

Tell me more about your lagos blue countertops! They're my first choice but I've been concerned about the threads that mention nicks and scratches.Most of these threads have died off and my posts haven't revived them.

What does this color look like to you? I like the way this color looks different in different light, but what I'm after overall is a neutral grayish green for a clean modern look that's not too cold.

This is the only kitchen remodel I have done and probably ever will do--so I need to get it right.