Lillo, I have the caesarstone misty carerra on my island in the kitchen. I always dreamed of real calcutta marble but was afraid of the etching with the kids not cleaning up after themselves. Not a day goes by that I wish I had real marble, real stone, and someday I will change it out. That is why I went with the real statuary marble in my master redo. Love it. expensive but makes me happy. I am happy with the maintenance free caesarstone with the kids but would not like it in the bath. Your not cooking, chopping, drinking OJ or squeezing lemons on your tub surround. Stick with the calcutta that is in your heart or you will regret it. I would consider caesarstone in the boys bath redo, no worries or maintenance and they have nice colors but you won't be happy with substituting the caesarstone marble look for the real thing.

We have a light Caesarstone countertop. No staining. No etching. No heat problems. Now, on heat, anything above 350F, I use trivets or mats to protect not only the material from thermal shock, but to protect people from getting burned after the hot pan is moved off the stone. This goes for any material granite, tile, quartz that can retain heat. I also avoid contact to avoid anything I can't see well on the countertop surface from sticking onto and reacting w/ the underside of the very hot pan. Also, the MFG says it can handle "brief periods" of heat up to 350F. Above that, it runs the risk of damage - either from scorch marks or perhaps cracking. I have never seen or heard of thermal damage yet. On staining, even on wine, curry, or saffron sitting overnight. One time I did spill methyl blue indicator dye (very aggressive staining agent, used in chemistry) - I'd say a whole ounce or so. It really had me scared at first as it didn't just wipe up like everything else - it spread and penetrated deeply. To my relief, I did manage to buff it out with damp paper towels after 4-5 minutes. Had it been anything else - granite, marble, tile grout - it think it would have permanently stained, even if sealed. Caesarstone, or any quartz material similar, is really a great material .

I have honed Caesarstone in a light color and I love it. Yes, I had to sign the waiver, which was a little disconcerting, but after living with it for a year, I'd say it is easier to maintain than my old laminate counter. It never stains - not with red wine, beet juice, grease, or anything else, no matter how long I let it sit there. The only thing that requires a bit of scrubbing is scuff marks from aluminum pots, and pencil marks. And those come off fairly easily with any type of cleanser (I use soft scrub or Bar Keeper's Friend). For daily cleaning, I just wipe down with a damp microfiber towel, using very hot water from my instahot. I might rub over some spots a few times more than if I had a glossy finish, but it doesn't feel difficult to clean at all. I love the silky warm feel so much - I'd do it again in a heartbeat. We've cooked on it daily for a year (family of 4) and it looks as good as new. No patina at all! Everyone who comes in rubs their hand over the counter and says how nice it is! I'm not a fan of glossy counters (too much bling and glare, too cold in the winter, and too hard when setting delicate dishware and glasses down) so for me, the trade off of slightly higher maintance is definitely worth it. I really find my counters a pleasure.

The should have communicated with you about the crack and allowed you to see the repair and approve it before it was installed. However, any repair in the stone will be stronger than the stone itself, so you have zero worry about the structural stability of your counters if they were properly repaired with epoxy. The stone around the crack will give way and crumble before that crack ever cracks again. The only concern that you have would be an aesthetic one. And frankly, I do think that their repair merely looks like a wide vein and not a repaired crack, if they tweaked the color a bit to have more variation rather than just be a mostly single color. If it were smooth, I think it actually adds a lot of character to the stone. People pay big bucks for the dramatic veins and swirls, and you just had "value added" to your stone with the "vein" added to it. OK, that last was kidding. Sorta. But I would have zero fears about keeping the stone in my kitchen as long as it was smooth. It's almost a "Where's Waldo" type of thing. Which vein is Mother Nature made and which is man made?