That's got to be a new product. This is the first I've heard of it. The ones I've heard of so far (stain resistant) are Quartzlock, Spectralock, and Prism, the only one of which I've worked with is the Spectralock. I've heard good things about Prism, though. As for Quartzlock, I haven't heard much, good or bad. glad-- no, caulking doesn't need to be sealed. raynag-- I wish I'd seen your post earlier. If you're going to be washing out paint and dyes, I would highly recommend AGAINST a tile backsplash. You'll permanently ruin it in no time, unless you're meticulously careful. Think stainless steel!

Hmmm, nope, not really a chance I would want to use that for a backsplash - if you cook at all, you'll be at it with a toothbrush all the time trying to get it clean and it will never really get there. You are so very right to be concerned about cleaning it. In our early parts of planning, I had someone at a design place show me a dimensional tile like that and he was so pleased, saying how wonderful it would look in kitchens. I stopped him dead when I asked if he included a cleaning service for the life of the kitchen because that's what it would require for me to put something in my kitchen was was so cleaning-unfriendly.

Our backslpash is a combo of crackle glass and slate. We sealed everything shortly after install last July. Currently everything looks as good as the day it was installed. Haven't come across anything that was difficult to wipe off or clean. I should say though that we have a sheet of stainless behind the range. I cook every single day and most of the time quite messily so the stainless has been awesome and easy to clean in that area. Here's a close up pic of our backsplash...it may not be for everyone but I just love it. I wanted all slate...hubby wanted glass so this was a perfect compromise! This was right after install and all the grout wasn't cleaned off the slate yet. I just love all the different colors in the slate!

Here’s the thing, you don’t have to convince her, she already knows the installation is bad. She’s trying to convince you to go with it to save her the cost of the tear out and a whole new installation. How do you get her to take responsibility for this when she is trying to wiggle out of it? I’m sorry, I’m not great at this, but you absolutely have to tell her what is wrong and how you want it made right, you have to put the pertinent facts in writing, then see how it goes. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING FROM THIS POINT ON. Take images with a tape measure showing the grout line thickness wherever it is less that 1/8”. Download the installation specs and highlight that the minimum grout joint must be 1/8”. That tile was supposed to be sealed before installation. If it wasn’t, that’s another error on their part. It’s that simple, and that difficult. This is not your fault. You should not feel bad that you are asking for this to be done properly. That said, you might want to give her the option of paying for your tile and for the installation, and whatever it costs to get you back to smooth drywall, and removing the backsplash from her scope of work. You could then rethink the tile, and choose another installer.