The length of quartz surfaces

by **timfoley** on Tue Jun 23, 2009 5:44 pm

Paul,
Whether it be 30mm, 50mm or 7mm, any visible joint isn't pleasing to the eye but much depends on the skills of the installer who fits the surface, the bonding agent used and the willingness of the client to accept this. We make all clients aware of whether a joint is necessary, which for most quartz surfaces they are beyond the slab length of 3020mm once the rough edges are polished off. (Certain Silestone colours are of course the exception here).
A joint can be made on the hob/sink cut out in 30mm quartz and your argument that a joint on 7mm quartz supported by a an MDF substrate is somehow stronger isn't one that I agree with.
Given the greater moisture content that any surface is subject to around sink and hobs, my biggest concern would be the vulnerability of a surface that relies heavily on a sufficient and effective bond between the core and susbtrate in order to prevent the problems that would not be present if using a solid core slab. As detailed by the client in my previous response, the word "warp" is one I have a great aversion to and it may well be that his definition of the cause was perhaps incorrect.
Time will tell this tale better I think and if thin core surfaces withstand that test as Solid Slabs already do, then I stand to be proven wrong in my current assessment, however, I still consider the comparison of cost as the main criteria that deems the vast majority of clients will choose thick over thin every time.

by **pauls** on Wed Jun 24, 2009 5:05 pm

Tim,

Now I'm really confused! You said in your earlier post that your clients warping occurred above the ovens and on the window sill. Now you are saying that it happened around the sink or hob. If this was your client surely you would have seen this warping for yourself and could have determined the cause. Maybe you could have established a method for preventing this occuring in future installations.

by **timfoley** on Thu Jun 25, 2009 8:53 am

Why the confusion Paul? As the hob was situated above the oven and the sill in question was located to the rear of the sink it was a fair assumption that water and/or possiblby heat damage was the culprit. No possiblity of this with Solid slab Quartz.

To recap on our brief association with thin quartz: we were approached by a company wishing to sell the product in tandem with ourselves and after initial meetings that allowed us closer inspection of the product and a number price excercises, I decided to give clients, seeking a more affordable cost, the opportunity to obtain a quotation on the surface. We were impressed with the people behind the product but being mindful of the necessity to ensure all was well with an untried product, we kept a close eye on the installations that were undertaken yet, I hasten to add, we never received any payment or commission on the product. before, during or after the excercise ceased.

Feedback from the four clients that had installation was of great importance to us for any longer term relationship offering the surface on our website and as detailed in an earlier post on the possibility of our offering thin quartz, an initial installation proved problematical due more to delays and incorrect fabrication of the project.
A subsequent project and this initial installation provided such poor feedback on the installed product that we asked that one unhappy client be re-imbursed for the installation. This effectively ended any chance of our collaboration with a thin quartz provider and the client was refunded in full. His response to me was in admiration of our professionalism and he thanked me for our speedy reaction in ensuring he was recompensed. To be fair two of these installations provided good feedback but 50% positive feedback wasn't enough to convince me to go ahead in offering a product.

Paul, the deal being offered us to assist with sales of the surface was one that could have proved very lucrative given that many more are seeking a to place themselves in a mid-market position between laminate tops and bespoke Solid and Solid Slab Quartz surfaces but in all my years of offering any products on this website as anyone who works with us will tell you, they must meet two main criteria -
1. The product must be of proven quality with a relatively issue-free history. We undertake many hours of research before labelling the product as capable of fitting the bill
2. Although similar products can be offered by the High St stores and kitchen retailers or by other internet competitors, it has to be offered to our clients and visitors at the most affordable cost and it must prove cost effective in terms of durability and longevity.

The 8mm thin quartz we were contemplating offering our visitors, failed to meet some of these pre-conditions, hence our pulling the plug on any deal.
There are of course other requirements such as a manufacturers guarantee to match the belief in quality of what we offer and a courteous, friendly and knowledgable customer service is essential. This was happening yet alone this is never enough to satisfy a strict conditions of product sales via our website/s.

The same can be said for other surfaces we could very easily offer and which, no doubt, could generate us greater revenue but we decide not to because of my opinion that they will not provide us with the belief that they will offer long term satisfaction to those who choose to buy from us. For this reason we do not offer granite, solid wood, thin core solid surfaces or glass surfaces. I know that most of these surfaces are popular with kitchen buyers but my belief is that our reputation will suffer in the long and possibly short term if we were to profit from products that, in some cases, offer no guarantee, have very little resilience, are very high maintenance and may have a chequered history.

As for establishing a method for preventing this occuring in future installations, I did, by not including the surface for sale on our website/s.
In the past two and a half years we have, in collaboration with the fabricators we chose to work with, undertaken approximately 400-450 installations of bespoke surfaces across the UK and the number is growing at a progressive rate, largely because our clients recommend our service, prices and products to others seeking the same. I'm not confident this would happen if we didn't take the care we do to offer what we believe are the best of products available to a kitchen buyer

As stated in a previous post, should the issues highlighted in our short term assocuiation with thin quartz be remedied and the price become more reflective of the comparison with Solid Quartz slabs, then we would reconsider offering thin quartz surfaces but only once we were certain that previous issues had been resolved.

The length of quartz surfaces

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