I am looking to replace the countertop at my dry and wet kitchen of my new house. My current house is using quartz stone I am very happy with it so I will likely use the same material i.e. quartz stone. Below are some of my notes on the few products that I have exposure to:

1. Silestone (Spain): used in my current house. Wide variety of choices. Extremely durable and consistent color and does not fade after many years. Nice edge design. My favorite but price is typically more than RM300+ to 700+ Per ft run😅
See samples of the products below

2. Okite (Italy): more limited choices than Silestone. Has some nice design. Price comparable to Silestone and some slightly cheaper.

3. Local made quartz stone: much cheaper <RM200 per ft run. Pattern not as consistent and uniform/pleasing.

Does anyone has other choices and experience on those. I rule out solid surfaces because they can sustain scratches and must be maintained/polish one every few years. You don't need for quartz stone.




This post has been edited by blancpain4470: Apr 3 2019, 08:52 AM

I’m using Caesarstone.
Can’t say good or bad. I think they all about the same. Just if they got the design and color you are looking for.

True also. How much is yours per ft run?

dry area. can try white oak. come i do for you

I saw your work. It's nice! I can consider but my new house already has kitchen island. Need to remove the top. Let me PM you later if feasible

better remove this top. looks very erm... chipboard rm1k look.

Ya loh. Previous owner pasang one. I just bought the house. Title transfer in progress. That's why wanted to change the top and the curtain 🙂

Gotta agree from those photo looks very ....

Maybe a closer look will present itself differently..

See reply above

My house currently uses DuPont Corian for the sink and stove area and an IKEA Hammarp Solid Birch wood top.

No complaints thus far.

New place, thus far only decided on cengal and balau frames, cengal and bamboo paneled doors, haven't decided on the top yet. If we don't go for a wood top then we want one that is pure black, been considering Okite but ultimately the missus will pick and she is leaning more towards wood. Will be only 1 kitchen at our place as we don't like separated kitchens.

Are you planning on the same surface for the dry and wet kitchens?

1) Where can we go and have a look at quartz countertops?

2) Mine is apparently italian quartz.. but dunno how to verify. Any idea?

[quote=Bjorn1688,Apr 3 2019, 10:14 PM]
My house currently uses DuPont Corian for the sink and stove area and an IKEA Hammarp Solid Birch wood top.

No complaints thus far.

New place, thus far only decided on cengal and balau frames, cengal and bamboo paneled doors, haven't decided on the top yet. If we don't go for a wood top then we want one that is pure black, been considering Okite but ultimately the missus will pick and she is leaning more towards wood. Will be only 1 kitchen at our place as we don't like separated kitchens.

Are you planning on the same surface for the dry and wet kitchens?

Silestone quartz stone is nice with bevel edge and many patterns to choose from. It's my preference but not cheap: at least RM350 per ft run for cheapest up to RM900 for the latest range.

Likely we will go with same type but different colors: black for wet kitchen and white/beige for dry kitchen. Dry kitchen also can consider solid oak wood as I saw on the other thread. Keep my option open

Reviving this thread. Have been doing some research on quartz top (and stumbled on ultracompact stone) for a new kitchen countertop. Been leeching lots of info from LY forum, and thought it's time to give back. Sharing some info I have so far.
Price is calculated either as PFR (for 2ft width) or PSF (for >2ft, which I'm guessing is mainly for island)

Quartz :
Branded- Silestone, Caesarstone, Okite (imported) ; Zen (local)
Pros :
-From what I understand, it's not only the name you're paying for, but for formal documentation that its >90% natural quartz
-Seem to have lots of variety and nice designs
- long warranties from "reputable"/regional company
Cons : $$$$
zenstone (have not done enough research though) seems to be the most affordable: RM200-RM300pfr
Silestone/caesarstone : >RM400 pfr (up to RM800-RM900)
manage to stumble upon 1 website which displayed prices : https://stoneinnovations.com.my/ (ceasar,stone, silestone, zen, Dekton, Moca)

China quartz : difficult to find accurate information on specific brands
Pros : much cheaper : RM150-RM300 pfr
Cons : <90% natural quartz. supposedly most are only 60-80% natural quartz and there's no formal documentation to prove it.
From my reading, sounds like quartz in the western countries by nature refers to >90% natural quartz. Seems like in Malaysia, it's a different story.
The lesser the quartz, the properties of course would be different, and if I remember correctly, the main concern would be it's less heat resistant among others (sifu's please comment on this)

Ultracompact Stone (UCS)
Branded : Dekton, Neolith
Pros : Comparable quality (scratch resistant, heat resistant, durability etc) as >90% quartz brands
Cons : $$$$ (slightly lesser compared to branded quartz range)

Silestone, Dekton (same company = Cosentino), I managed to speak to someone direct from Cosentino Malaysia. Found out they don't supply direct to consumers but they do have showroom for consumers to visit (Kota Dsara/Sg Buloh) and can recommend their partners who services consumers
Neolith : Very difficult to find KC specialist supplying this, but the ID company I'm in discussion with provides it ($$$ of course, ID mark up + branded UCS)
Caeserstone : Quite a few KC specialist does provide this top

Would like some inputs and advise from sifus if possible. Anyone heard of :
1. LUMI quartz : https://www.sci.com.my/counter-top/
2. Artiq quartz : https://www.havanaconnect.com/collection/ar...rtz-collection/

Has anyone used this quartz before, perhaps could share feedback? And does anyone know the "quality" of the quartz (the composition of natural quartz)


Disclaimer : Purely sharing whatever info I gathered from discussion with KC specialist, ID and google. I'm not in the reno industry.

Cheers!

Vern

This post has been edited by vernee26: Apr 1 2021, 09:33 PM

I had previously asked for feedback about GEOLUXE quartz in here but there was no feedback. The product looks really good online but I have not had a chance to see it in real life. Pricey of course but looks very high end. Made in Thailand so I’m surprised at the premium price.
Perhaps someone has some experience with this product?

I have no idea why my quartz is so easily stained. Each time I need to leave the detergent on top of it for 10-15mins before removing the stain. The stain just wont go off if only rubbing it with cloth.

Not all quartz countertops are created equal especially the resin used. You will not have problem if it is reputable ones.

Not sure if sig kitchen consider reputable or not. Their quartz do come with 10yrs warranty. I have only used their quartz for less than 3 weeks and find that it stained too easily compared to my silestone quartz. Abit regret now for taking their quartz

It is still china quartz. Won't be better than silestone. Do you have the specs? Good quartz composite won't stain easily unless it is reasonably acidic. My silestone is still perfect after many years and the new ones in new house is also perfect after 1.5 year.

Something to share in this thread as well. Discovered Nex Stone while browsing and looks interesting.

I've not been able to visit their showroom but will hopefully be able to soon. Will report back then.

Does it mean that a quality quartz is >90% natural quartz, am I right to assume that? More resistant to stain, heat, scratch

That's the only info I could dig from their site. So you ended up chosed silestone as your kitchen top for your new house? Mind to share it here?

The higher the quartz content the better but the resin used to hold the quartz together is equally important. Silestone's resin is quite good.

If you go for Dekton then there is no resin. So it is uv proof and much more stain and scratch resistance

Yeah. China quartz doesn't work like a quartz is advertised to be. I think my cheapo quartz is more sensitive than natural stone like granite. Spill some oily curry on it, it would straight away leave a hard to remove stain. I regretted going for cheap option on the table top.

Now I'm thinking.. can I seal my cheapo quartz like people seal their granite?

How cheap is your tabletop?

RM200 per foot run

These are all standard marketing jargons not technical specs. I have been using Silestone for the old house and very happy with it. I installed Silestone for new house as Dekton is more pricey and I was already over budget then! Silestone is really a fine choice for the price.

This is what I meant as technical specs.


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Hmm not sure what's the standard price for real quartz but got mine at 240/ft, I remember the price range for real quartz is between 220~260 from my KC maker.

Some KC vendor recommended me to use porcelain instead of quartz . Any advise from the sifus here ?

Im wondering as well. Below is porcelain tiles big size can be use on counter top. I think only 10% of quartz price.

Top photo is 2 x 4 ft Rm92
Below photo is 3ft x 6ft can rm370. Basically this one can make into island.

This post has been edited by mois: Apr 18 2021, 02:11 PM


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Tiles will have joint lines of which this can be reduced by buying large format tiles i.e. bigger than standard 2x2 tiles. Large format tiles also larger pricetag vs 2x2.

Quartz you will need to get the real good stuff, cheapo china one tend to stain easily.

The good part, material wise porcelain tile is also very stain resistant, but its weakness will be impact damage (can crack from heavy object dropped on it).

The unit I'm currently renting is using porcelain tiles as the countertop. In my opinion, they work well but because of their thinness, usually you'll have to 'wrap' the tile around something to mimic the side profile of a marble, granite or quartz slab. This will of course still work fine but will never look as nice (the veins will not match, you'll see joints, etc.)

The joint might be less visible if use large format tile like 2 x4. Only need 3 pieces to form 12ft counter top. For side profile, any idea how to solve it? Porcelain if polish the side wall, will have white color residue. Wonder how to wrap it.

mind to tell the supplier for this tiles? where to find porcelain tiles like this

Actually, you've got tiles that are actually as big or even bigger than quartz/granite/marble slabs. Don't think you can get away with just wrapping the counter top with the tile i.e. you'll have a 'boxy' looking counter top with sharp-ish edges and corners.

This will work well if you have a boxy kitchen island, as then you can wrap the entire island in large format tiles for a fraction of the cost of quartz.

If you have the space for an island, plan the kitchen so that most work is done on the island. That way, you can wrap the island with large format tiles and it'll look great. It's the far, far cheaper option.

If I had the space, this is what I'd do:

Found this supplier but I’ve not been to their showroom.
https://www.quadrasurface.com.my/design.php

This is imported from indonesia right? I've surveyed their price is on the high side some almost comparable to silestone quartz.

bro can u recommend me silestone kitchen cabinet supplier or manufacturer??

any contact?