WATCH FOR THE DOTS

We have recently seen an increase in the number of dots/discolourations in engineered stone, or quartz worktops. 

The reason for this isn’t totally clear, but we think that it may have something to do with recent changes across the industry as manufacturers switch their “ingredients” to reduced the crystalline silica content.

Check out the slab shown here – marked up with tape and Sharpie to show the dots.

Some dots have always appeared in quartz materials, even from premium brands. Manufacturers like Silestone and Caesarstone cover themselves by giving some warning of this – you cannot expect a COMPLETE absence of spots in any material because the task of “sieving” to remove impurities cannot necessarily deal with small coloured particles. In fact, cheaper materials sometimes look very uniform precisely because of using a higher resin or plastic dye content to mask the erratic dotting.

Please note that this is not price – related in any way and we have had as many issues with this with higher end materials and premium brands.

Under a certain size and frequency dots are not considered a fault by the manufacturer. I believe that we are fussier than many other fabricators and possibly pick out slabs as problems that others would simply install.

When we are dealing directly with the end user, we generally make our own call and ask the customer if they want to come and look at the stone and approve the slabs. This can raise more questions than it answers – do we or don’t we is not simple, especially where it is not possible to get replacement slabs that are any better.

We don’t mention this issue to cause panic but to inform. We will continue to look for any issues with the slabs we buy. We just want to flag the problem, and ask for customers to be equally open as we work together with you to find the best worktops for your new kitchen.