No engineered stone is approved for UV exposure. It’s not an industry secret at all. None can go outside. Period. If your professionals that you worked with had done their jobs, you’d be an educated consumer and know that it’s not an exclusion just for Cambria. Direct sun from standard new windows shouldn’t pass enough UV to damage your floors, furniture, or e-stone. Standard windows already come with UV blocking properties, so if yours are so old that they don’t have it, you’ve got other issues about UV exposure in your house. Old windows need UV blocking film installed to avoid degradation to all kinds of interior finishes. Not just your e-stone. If it’s a relatively new window, that’s a conversation that you need to have with your window manufacturer. It’s defective. This is Not on Cambria. Or Silestone. Or Pental. Or Zodiaq. Or any e-stone manufacturer. New windows shouldn’t have issues with transmitting enough UV to damage your home.. Poop happens. This isn’t on Cambria. Talk to your window manufacturer.

Timely topic, as I'm right in middle of granite installation now w/HD. I paid back in early Feb, but had delays with new cabinets till now. HD still honored the promo pricing I had at the time of purchase ("D" level granite for "C" level price, plus free undermount sink.) I thought their price was good...I did some research and it seemed in line competitively with what others were quoting....not ridiculously low or high. Someone who works at HD once said they often negotiate really good prices from fabricators since they represent so much volume to a local shop...and if you catch them during a promo, they can offer some pretty decent values, even with their middleman markup. Not saying their price is always best, but wouldn't count them out right off the bat. They definitely let me choose slabs - in fact, they stressed that I must do so to make sure I got what I wanted. Local fabricator they subcontract to has been in business 20 years and granite yard is one of the largest in the nation. Doesn't mean my experience still may not go horribly wrong, but I feel I've covered bases as much as reasonably possible without over-obsessing any more than I already have. (And according to my husband, I'm a big time over-obsesser!) HD does have the 1 yr labor and 15-year stain-resistant guarantee. As someone here mentioned, can't say how well they'll honor guarantee if a problem arises - and I have polished black granite, so I already know I may have specific problems related to that color - but the kitchen/granite places I've checked offer no guarantee at all. So it's something. Chose slab yesterday...install should be within 8-10 days. my fingers are crossed that all goes well. (Tip: one thing I did as soon as I found out who they sub-contracted to was to Google that business's name along with "complaints" in search box, as well as check BBB to make sure there were no red flags. I think the #1 risk with HD all comes down to who they choose do to the work.) Hope this helped someone...

Nightmare kitchen reno stories are certainy not just the domain of box stores. I congratulate anyone who gets a good kitchen they are happy with at a fair price by laying their cash down and just buying it without a lot of research and comparison shopping. I don't think many people have that experience and for the rest of us it's research, research, research. I found this thread really helpful in preparing me for the box store experience. My Mom in doing her kitchen started pretty cold at a Home Depot and found the experience less than pleasant. Design was poor and after paying $50 they didn't want to let her have the drawings to take home and think about. They were also quite indignant when she informed them she was comparison shopping. She walked away and I offered to help her navigate the process outside a box store. Now 6 months later we are waiting for measured drawings from HD so we can place our order. Part of the reason is that one of the HD's exclusive lines (in Canada) was the best constructed cabinet we looked at behind the doors in her price range that came in the colour and style she wanted and could be configured in her desired layout without too many major compromises. New Depot, new Kitchen Consutant who isn't a CKD but has a design background and has worked in kitchens in that store for 2 years. Store has 1 installer who has been working with them since they opened. He comes and does the measure and he comes back for the install. I asked to see his work and they made arrangements for us to see a recent kitchen (if things go well we would offer to do the same for someone ese). He gets paid the same to install her entry level product kitchen as he does Thomasville and KraftMaid and he has years of experience working with the product we are buying (not always true when you are working with a GC or a store with inexperienced installers). I haven't seen the labour quote yet but I have estimates from other companies so I will have a good idea how inflated it is. Basic design evolved from other consultations so we are not looking for a lot of layout advice and I plugged the product we are getting into my rough measure (I actually made a product list and had another Depot give me a price quote before we went too far). Once we have measured drawings from them we will verify the dimensions they are using as well as double check the order to make sure it is correct. They are frustrating to deal with in terms of service compared to dedicated showrooms but so far so good. My Mom will get 10% off the cabs and 1 year interest free by putting it on their card. We probably won't get the countertop through them as they sub-contract it and I can get it direct without their mark-up. I may yet end up here cursing them but I think each circumstance is different and people shouldn't automatically cross them off their list without seeing what is happening in their local stores. I'll update as we move forward.

Do not use Lowes..... Do not use Lowes as a contractor! On June 23, 2015, my life and my son’s life was turned upside down causing not only unnecessary stress to us but, causing me to incur thousands of additional dollars in costs due to the construction of the bathroom. On June 23, 2015 I initiated an agreement with Lowes to remodel a 5X7 bathroom. I paid in full $14,913.00. My son and his wife were supposed to move in to this condominium at the end of August as the bathroom was to be completed in 15 days of actual work or by the agreed upon date of August 15th. The events of the last 5 1/2 months were perpetuated by the poor and ineffective project scheduling and by the contractor hired by Lowes. However, it always seemed that Lowes had the back of the contractor and not us the customer who had paid in full the entire cost of the bathroom renovation prior to the start of the construction. The guarantee of satisfaction we signed with Lowes on June 23rd 2015 had no effect on the construction. Therefore, after deliberate consideration and consultation it is obvious that the bathroom renovation was not completed to expected and reasonable standards of satisfaction. 5 1/2 months’ later the bathroom was never completed to expected and reasonable standards of satisfaction. Examples of the extremely sloppy workmanship include: The door and door frame should have been replaced with a quality door as agreed to in initial contract. Door is damaged, poorly spray painted so its surface is like sandpaper and the frame is damaged too so that the correct hardware could not be installed. Old rusted hinges were reused with caked on paint of years of use. The threshold is not the marble one we selected and it is the wrong color. The bathroom is beiges and browns and the threshold is an orange composite material. The wall and the tile molding was never completed behind the vanity. The grout is coming out from between the tiles in the shower. Instead of re-grouting the tiles calking was use on the surface only. The ceiling has gouges in it from when the bathroom was demolished and the light fixture was removed. The vent fan does not sit flush against the wall due to a wall that is not vertical. The light switch was poorly installed and now it cannot be aligned. Due to the inexpensive door when the towel bars were connected to the door the door was hollow so they could not be anchored correctly. Other expenses we incurred were my son's 2 months’ rent in his Manhattan apartment since the timeline for the renovation changed from the end of August to the end of November. And you can’t move into an apartment that has no toilet. (Expense of $3,358.00) Also… *** You have to see the photos of the mess in the apt. Nothing was covered. Everything is covered by a layer of dust. Floors, walls, windows, all the furniture, television, bedding, couches all appliances and more. In the middle of the living room is a 4-foot pile of bathroom debris (tile, floor, wall board, ceiling, plumbing and probably asbestos & lead too. The floors were left in such a damaged condition due to the contractor's dumping the demolition refuse into the living room that we needed to scrape the damaged floors for $2,126.00. And finally the couches were discarded because the debris that covered them and it was not worth the risk to use them. Their replacement value was about $1800.00 In all we are requesting compensation in the amount of $ 22,197.00 without the cost of painting the entire apartment that is covered with dust that probably contains asbestos and lead. Photos are available if you contact me at Bschreier@aol.com.