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Remodeling Kitchens

Underside of quartz countertop on pennisula left unfinished

3 years ago

The underside of my new quartz countertop was left unfinished. My daughter was sitting on a stool with knees under the overhang and she whacked her knee on a screw sticking out of the rough material underside.- got a pretty good scratch. It's not even plywood, its a dark composite sitting under the quartz. Is this normal? My previous countertop had a smooth underside. I find this to be incredibly bad and unacceptable workmanship, but when I sent this photo to the contractor, he didn't even respond to it.

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Comments (12)

worthy
3 years ago
OSB under quartz with no steel in sight. If it's a more than 6"-8" overhang I'd be concerned.
Debbie Vallone thanked worthy
Colleen Ryan
3 years ago
I just paid extra to have my contractor mount a bit of cabinet panel under the overhang for exactly that reason. it does look better and finished, but I think without is standard.
Debbie Vallone thanked Colleen Ryan
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I am a fabricator. A plywood underlayment for 2CM is typically complemented by a 4CM drop edge which masks the underlayment on the edge. the plywood is really just a spacer as it does not contribute significantly to the structural integrity of the overhang. For 3CM quartz a "fussy" fab shop will grind the underside of the overhang to remove the printed Logo's from the OEM. If requested the fabricator can polish the underside but the fab shop polish will not be of the same quality as the surface. However, it will be good enough to look finished on the underside. Polishing the underside is NOT an option typically offered by the fabricator. In my business we've learned to ask the question when the layout of the room, and particularly the stairway location, means the underside will be readily visible on a regular basis and not just when someone is on the floor looking up. Another option is to make the overhang "double thick" where 2 pieces of the engineered stone are mated back to back so a factory finish is on both sides. This is an easy option for 4CM assuming corbels are used or the double thickness is extended back over the cabinet. Finally, some natural stones that are crack prone have a fiberglass matting epoxied on to the back of the stone to help it hold together during transport, fabrication, and install. A competent fab shop will remove this backing as a matter of course. I am always annoyed at the poor quality evidenced by a job where the backing can be felt and seen on an island overhang and even on the narrow countertop overhangs. If you really want a great looking underside the best way is to double up the material back to back. It's an expensive way to do it for a variety of reasons.
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PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
3 years ago
OSB is not approved underlayment for any engineered stone that I'm aware of. A screw protrusion is just hillbilly.
Debbie Vallone
Original Author
3 years ago
@Joseph Corlett, LLC- Hi and thank you for your response. I live in CA - do you know if that is true here or where would I look to find out? Thanks very much, Joseph
Debbie Vallone
Original Author
3 years ago
@worthy - The overhang is 10.5 inches.
Debbie Vallone
Original Author
3 years ago
@Colleen Ryan - Did they give you that option beforehand or did you just know? Is that something I should have known? I wasn't aware until my daughter was scratched by the screw.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
- "Caesarstone surfaces must be supported on a strong perimeter frame or on a full deck support of plywood." Page 36: http://www.caesarstone.com/media/44923/csu-fabrication-and-installation-manual.pdf
worthy
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Each quartz manufacturer has its own set of guidelines for overhang support. Though some of those guidelines are light on details, it would be the first place to start. As an example, here are the Guidelines for Dupont Zodiaq, which I have used.

p. 43 above: "Acceptable substructure materials are moisture-resistant MDFboard, plywood, structural steel and wood. Particleboard is not an acceptable substructure material. Flexible or epoxy adhesive is recommended to fasten a Zodiaq®top to its substructure."
Kailuamom
3 years ago
Debbie - the GC brought it to my attention as we were wrapping up the kitchen, and had some additional panel.
Debbie Vallone
Original Author
3 years ago
@worthy Thanks very much, worthy.
Debbie Vallone
Original Author
3 years ago
@Joseph Corlett, LLC @worthy Many thanks to both of you. I think what i am taking away from this is that what is under my countertop is very rough particle board which is not moisture resistant. Well, this guy is so hard to talk to, but I will discuss with him tomorrow.
worthy
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
What you have is oriented strand board (OSB). It is not the same as particle board. And it is not approved for either Zodiaq or Caeserstone. And, according to Joseph, no other engineered stone manufacturer either.

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