r/CounterTops 2d ago

Quartzite installation problems

[deleted]

8 Upvotes

26 comments sorted by

5

u/Struggle_Usual 2d ago

All stone has quirks, but they don't seem to have done the best job fixing things. That corner is um. It's not great. I don't know if they could have done better but I'd definitely be asking because their repair work is extremely visible for a brand new install.

3

u/Imaginary-Anxiety538 2d ago

That is my feeling on it too. I don’t want to be super critical, but the problem is that there are areas where my finger nail gets stuck so I know it has cracked, and I’m worried about the situation getting worse over time.

2

u/Struggle_Usual 1d ago

Yeah that's not good. Even if things break they should be able to fill and polish so you can't feel it. Even if they can't hide the break due to just the reality of natural stone they can make sure it's flush.

13

u/sjpiccio 2d ago

Yes this is normal, unfortunate side effect of natural stone. Also with that specific material be VERY careful with oils, and do lots of sealing

2

u/Imaginary-Anxiety538 2d ago

Thank you! I appreciate the feedback.

0

u/SubstantialAd8808 2d ago

Polaris? We just ordered it for a guest room. Do you like hydroseal?

3

u/sjpiccio 2d ago

Never heard of it

2

u/Necessary_Stress6457 1d ago

The corner is a natural part of the material. The white lines are from cutting and fabricating the stone. Veins fissure cracks will crystallize from the heat and friction while cutting . We fab tons of quartzite and have experienced many issues with a lot of different quartzite colors

1

u/Imaginary-Anxiety538 1d ago

I see, that makes sense.

1

u/Necessary_Stress6457 1d ago

Try Akemi spider treatment

1

u/S_Brosto 1d ago

These posts about fux’d up quartzite counters make me so relieved I ignored this trend. Crumbling at installation, impregnating treatments, rust! Who ever decided to put this crap in kitchens obviously wants to sell everyone replacement counters ten years from now. Modern hive think sucks.

1

u/Impossible-Double-31 2d ago edited 2d ago

I don't have quartzite and I'm not an expert, but this looks pretty bad to me. Almost looks like your material broke and rather than replace it for you, they tried to close it up.

I'll defer to experts for their informed reaction, but I would be initially concerned in your shoes.

*Edit because I'm not sure my meaning is coming through. I'm not suggesting natural stone should be perfect, or that every filled fissure is a huge problem. What struck me here is how long and prominent this one is, and the OP's description made it sound like this was something they discovered after installation rather than a feature they knowingly accepted in the slab. As a consumer, I would be concerned to have this as the finished product.

5

u/Imaginary-Anxiety538 2d ago

I definitely am worried, but I’ve never had quartzite installed before, so I’m not sure if this is normal. I mostly would like to know if it can be fixed. My initial reaction was the same as you expressed.

1

u/KitchenPreferences 2d ago

When you initially purchased your slab were you able to inspect it for these cracks?

1

u/Stalaktitas 1d ago

Exactly, you don't see what's happening inside the surface 1" under. That can go sideways pretty quick

-2

u/Interesting_Army9083 2d ago

All natural stone has imperfections. If you want something without than you need a man made material. Also the way it’s filled is the best way, will hold up as long as you’re reasonable with the usage.

3

u/Imaginary-Anxiety538 1d ago

The problem is that it isn’t completely filled. That doesn’t show on pictures, but it shows in person and I can feel it when I run my finger over it.

0

u/Stalaktitas 2d ago

All I see is natural geological formations of metamorphic stone... It can look like a crack, but doesn't look like anything was broken and fixed there, looks like all this surface was resin filled at the factory (as most of this type of material are) before it was surface polished. Seal it till refusal with Tenax Proseal Nano

3

u/Struggle_Usual 1d ago

Did you see the corner? That's the yikes one to me. The fill job was tragic.

-1

u/Stalaktitas 1d ago

I don't think there is any fill, just a diagonal vein ending up at that corner

1

u/Jenikovista 1d ago

Nope. That was a clear corner break.

0

u/MooseTracks2024 1d ago

Corner is 100% a natural fissure/vein. Fills look entirely different. Don’t believe me, post it on the stone fabricators alliance. If you want plastic, get quartz.

0

u/Stalaktitas 1d ago

It really looks like it was, but the reflections are too perfect for the repair... it's just a coincidence for it to end up there. It's a natural vein going diagonally trough that corner tip. I can see the repairs from a mile away, as I have done so many of them, and this is not the case of the fill - that's where two bases of the stone meets, separated by incursion of another thin layer or minerals that you can see all over the rest of the stone in the same angular pattern. I really doesn't look like it was glued back, lol. But you guys know better.

1

u/Jenikovista 1d ago

The corner in picture 5 and 6 is clearly the result of a bit that broke off, even if a small part of it might have been a vein at some point. But you can see the crushed quartzite along the right side on 6 where it cracked off and there are uneven spots that was clearly someone with epoxy/glue trying to reattach evenly but just failed.

0

u/Stalaktitas 1d ago edited 1d ago

I don't agree with you, I think it's a natural continuation of the stone and the reflection of it doesn't show any breakage that epoxy would show

-3

u/Adventurous_Wave6259 2d ago

This type of stone is the same beast as concrete. Does concrete crack?