I wanted to add I took neither offense or joy at this piece. Just pointing out, in the above post, that it's not a review and how these sorts of stories are quite common. I in no way, shape or form think it's a diabolical Bluestar plot for world dominance or the like, and absolutely see why it's a perfectly good, useful and pertinent piece for people on this forum to read. I've said it before: I have a Bluestar. And I like my Bluestar ... When it works. But I've had some horrendous service problems and found the people at this company, including Mr. Trapp, whom I've had the personal misfortune to correspond with, to be pretty close to awful to deal with and frequently flat-out dishonest. Based on my experiences with the company-not the product itself, per se-I would never buy another range, or anything else, from them, and would never own the one I have without an extended service contract in place, something which has been all-too-frequently called upon these past five years. What Mr. Trapp forgets when he's making his "Rolls Royce" analogy-and I have zero doubt those were his words-is that Rolls Royce is not just a top-of-the-line car, but prides itself on top-of-the-line service, too. In my experience, Bluestar may be TRYING to provide a high-end product, but their service is anything but. And I say "trying" because there have been enough build-quality/quality control issues with the brand to give one serious pause about that level of quality as well. It's possible that, in stove terms, I just got a bad one, but the treatment I received from the company, echoed by others I've spoken with, whom I came into contact with via my distributor, have been pretty much beyond the pale and, yes, those bad interactions have admittedly tainted my view of Bluestar as a whole. Where I stand now is I'm trying to make the range I have work, at least for another five years, when the extended warranty maxes out. My feeling about Bluestar as a whole is: great-in-theory, not-so-great execution, and if you do get one cross your fingers and toes that you'll never have issues, especially more than one (for me it's been: stuck oven door, banging oven floor, bad ignitor modules, etc), because that's when the nightmares begin. And, oh yeah, always, always get the extended warranty. I'm a convert!

Antartide quartzite slabs - do you know anything about this type of quartzite? I can't find information anywhere on line. The slabs show alot of mineral and have some sparkle; ranges in color from white/gray/tan to faint greens, blues and deep burgandy. Thanks.

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Hallmark sent one of their guys out and inspected the floor. They claim this is all install and humidity. I keep my house at 35-45% humidity with a whole house humidifier. I had a curbside additional opinion and he said there is no way the floor could ever be refinished which I was told with the purchase of the wood by the retailer. Ultimately, it isn’t just the splinters but all the brushed areas are showing the wood underneath. Bottom line is this hallmark floor is garbage and I spent over 30k on flooring (install and boards) for a floor that won’t last 5 years. I am still contemplating if I have any further recourse and have yet to give negative reviews of the seller and of hallmark floors in every place I can- not that that matters. Below is the report. The Independent Inspector Concludes: o Manufacturing: no related issues observed o Site: The moisture content readings of the product do not support the ambient conditions of the site the day of this inspection....The low moisture content is likely contributing to the chipping/crackling/splintering of this product. The Rumba remote vacuum is not recommended for this type of product and can be a contributing factor. Robotic vacuums....can leave micro-scratches on the hardwood. Subsequent damage is not covered under warranty. o Installation: There are several planks with finish issues and significant edge damage which were filled after installation which should have been culled and not installed. o Performance/Expectation: 10-15% of the planks are exhibiting side and end edge chipping and splintering that has occurred since the product was installed – the issues are worsening with time. Face veneer splits/cracks have also appeared over time. Distributor rep. and Independent Inspector confirm the average Moisture Content (MC) of the flooring to be 5.2%. Our floors when packaged are dried to between 8-10% MC. This floor has lost a considerate amount moisture since install. As wood dries it shrinks and eventually cracks / splits as noted. The distributor rep. reported the edge damage appeared to be installation related. The Independent Inspector notes that fill was used after installation in an attempt to repair the damage. 2360 S. Archibald Ave. Ontario, CA 91761 Phone 909.947.7736 Fax 909.947.7776 Objectional noises are consistent with unapproved fasteners and or an out of flat subfloor. Also noted by the inspector and confirmed by the photos, the fastening schedule is every 7”- 9”. Per our Installation Instructions guide (www.hallmarkfloors.com) the fastening schedule for this floor is every 4”- 6”. This could also be a contributing factor to the objectional noises. Any objectional planks with perceived manufacturing defects should have been culled out at install and reported to the dealer. Our Maintenance & Warranty guide exclude the use of robotic vacuums on this floor and any subsequent damage. A history search of the production run installed in this home was preformed dating back to January 1, 2018. April 2018, we received into our Ontario facility over 31,000 sf. of this run from our factory. It has been sold out for some time. To date, no other claims have been received against this production run. Review of all the information provided, no manufacturing defects could be identified. Consequently, Hallmark Floors is unable to authorize any corrective measures under warranty.