Feb. 2, 2007
The only downside Paula McAllister of Germantown has experienced with her new Silestone kitchen countertops is that sometimes the composite surface — made from the fourth hardest natural mineral, quartz — is a little too hard.
“The only drawback I’m having is that it’s such a hard surface that I have to get used to setting down glass ware,” McAllister said, because a few beverage glasses have cracked when plopped on the counter indelicately.
Linda Kis of West Bend had laminate countertops for more than 13 years. When she started picking out materials with her husband for a renovated kitchen, they were draw to Silestone for its appearance.
“First off it was for the looks,” Kis said. “There were so many colors to choose from. The little samples didn’t do it justice now that it’s installed.”
Then they learned of the surface’s durability. Granite countertops have to be coated with a sealant periodically, she said, and scratches to coriander must be sanded out.
“My husband took a butcher knife to the sample and it didn’t even scratch it,” Kis said. “We haven’t tried this, but I know that you can put a hot pot down on it without damaging it.”
McAllister also found the heat-handling durability of Silestone can be hard to believe.
“It’s something I’m still a little leery of doing,” McAllister said. “I used to have formica so I would never do that. I have set pans down for just a second, and it doesn’t appear to be hot afterward.”
The price point and look of Silestone is very similar to granite, but with added durability because of the strength of the quartz composite, according to Carmina Mendez, sales and marketing director for AMC Silestone of Fond du Lac. It also contains a material known as Microban antimicrobial product protection, which structurally inhibits bacterial growth by not allowing germ cell walls to form.
Silestone is manufactured in Spain, where workers make a mixture of 95 percent ground quartz, Microban and a polyester bonding agent, Mendez said. The mixture is poured into slabs like wet sand, then packed together by a machine called a vibrocompactor. Different finishes are applied — Silestone recently introduced surfaces with leathery finishes and is expanding its offering of matte finish counters, which are currently popular in Europe.
For local orders, certified installers take measurements in the home, then cut the counters out in Fond du Lac.
“The installation was really slick,” McAllister said. “They come in and they measure it and they won’t measure it until your cabinets are done. It actually only took 2 or 3 hours for the counters to be installed.”
After years of laminate countertop, when an errant spaghetti splatter could leave a pink spot, Kis appreciates easy cleaning and stainless maintenance of the nonporous surface.
She said unlike other granite countertops, she doesn’t have to Windex for a shiny surface, just soapy water.
“It cleans up like a dream. I’ve actually saved on cleaning products,” Kis said, although water spots take a little extra elbow grease to remove.
Kis said she can chop food right on the surface of her kitchen peninsula’s countertop, which she decided to do in a striking black version of the material called “Ebony Pearl.” Now she plans to use a differently finished type of Silestone, “Capri Limestone,” in remodeling her bathroom.
McAllister said her pattern, “Stellar Night,” seemed unique because reflective mirror pieces in the surface gave the counter a sparkly sheen. She has friends who are remodeling, and she’s relating her positive experience.
“It’s just been great. I absolutely love it,” McAllister said.