Tell them to come and remove the countertops and refund your money in full, and then hire someone who actually knows how to install a countertop. TOTALLY unacceptable...

I had this happen on my installation. They cleaned a small area of epoxy with acetone and Barkeeper's Friend and left a dull spot. They wanted to try buffing it out and worked on it for two hours. The problem with quartz is you can't restore the original sheen so you have to buff the entire slab. That's a lot of labor. So they replaced the countertop for me--no argument. I'll guarantee you they never made that mistake again. But your guys did make that mistake before and didn't learn, so your countertop wasn't protected. I'd demand replacement. I'd contact Silestone too. If those scratches are backlit from the light from a window, they could look even more noticeable when it's not winter.

A chip can be repaired but it takes an artistic eye to color match it well. That is a big chip though.

Truth be told I don't think that the results would be any different if they replaced the countertops and I can tell from their behavior that I will never get my large deposit back, $2000. I also have a $350 deposit on the backsplash labor. I paid for backsplash tiles myself. We were told this was a 2 week project and it has been 6 weeks without a sink, cooktop, and oven. My husband wants to live with the countertops and just not pay full price. Hence, my original question of "Should I have to pay full price since they
scratched and chipped the quartz during fabrication or installation?” I really could use some help with the ethics on this question. To me it is black & white, but I would like to have some other people give their view.

I know that you don't want to have them redone - but that would be my first choice. Otherwise, if you're going to live with it - then yes, I would ask for a partial refund.

Jen, how much of a partial refund is fair to both parties? Keep in mind that the original price was $6700 for just the countertops & our countertop deposit was $2000. Countertops in kitchen, master bath, & laundry. Also, we still need them to do the backsplash & we don't want to piss them off. Backsplash in just the kitchen. Thanks.

They need to totally replace them!

Well, scratches should never be patched with glue. They sound pretty deep. I had a granite crystal pop-out repaired with epoxy filler and was warned that the filler could pop out in the future. How long are the scratches?

If you decide to keep them, of course they should pay you for ruining your countertops. They knew from past experience that the potential for damage was there if the slabs were mishandled. They pay for their mistakes. I'd have them redo the chip too. Do you have a photo of the chip so we can tell you if you can expect a better result?

It's hard to come up with a number that would make it livable for you, to be honest. And you can't worry about "pissing them off" - they thrive on their business and should do everything they can to make you happy. Especially since they are doing your other projects as well. I would ask them for an offer, and go from there.

Have you paid them for the other projects? If not, give them $650 (with your deposit it's an additional $1000 to them) to go away and find someone else to order tile from and install the tile. Do you really want those hacks installing your tile?

They have installed the wood & tile floors throughout & we have paid in full for those. They did a great job on the both floors. Another sub installed all the cabinets. We have already purchased the tile through a tile store. It is a very dark gray quartz and pictures don't show up very good with my camera. From the way the owner of the company acts I believe if I asked for an offer I would get zero! I think I need to make an offer. Any suggestions?

Craftsman Seeker:

I've successfully taken etch out of estone. Scratches wouldn't be much different, depending upon how deep they are. You'll probably always be able to see the repaired chip no matter how well it's done because you know where to look.

Tell your contractor the scratches and chip are unacceptable and that he will remove/repair them to your satisfaction or replace the tops. Don't budge.

Joseph, specifically how do you do these repairs? My contractor thinks he has done an acceptable job.

Joseph - hijacking from another thread - is that Silestone Stellar Snow? If so, do you have any more pics of this project? I'd like to see what this looks like properly installed.

"Joseph, specifically how do you do these repairs?"

You buy a set of quartz pads from Braxton Bragg and a Quartz Renew kit from Regent Stone, scratch up some scrap, and practice. It took me about 20 minutes to get that etch out. The real estate leasing company b!%#&ed about my charges, but the property owner was deee-lighted.

On jobs like this customers are required to admit that their top is ruined in writing, or no Joe for you.

"Joseph - hijacking from another thread - is that Silestone Stellar Snow? If so, do you have any more pics of this project? I'd like to see what this looks like properly installed."

I looked up Stellar Snow and I don't think that is it. I don't have any more pictures of this project and unfortunately pictures of proper installs are rare. If it's put in right, I don't get called.

A 4' level will tell you nearly all you need to know as to whether or not a job is installed properly.

Joseph, thank you so much. My contractor did not do anything like this. They said they cannot buff-out anything or Silestone will void the warrenty as Silestone has done it before to them. I don't understand this because they were using hand tools on the edging right in front of me when they installed it.

OK, NEW PROBLEM. I don't know why I did not mention this before. Every time we touch the countertops the oil from our hands turns the countertop dark and it will not go away with just soap and water. It will only go away with "Rejuvenate" Kitchen & Bath Countertop Polish. My husband talked to 3 different people at HomeDepot who said that there is something very wrong with the Silestone product if it does that! It must have happened at the factory & was sold as "Seconds". They said the contractor must have purchased the product knowing this & should have told us before selling it to us!!! Some people don't mind this and will purchase it anyway, but must be informed in advance. Have any of you ever heard of this or had experince with this before? I am so frustrated, I don't know what to do. They are installing the backsplash as I type this. It looks OK so far. Wish me luck with it.

That's what honed quartz does. It grabs oils and holds on to them.

Hi Sophie, this is not honed quartz. It is polished.

Have you called Silestone yet as suggested above?

Show pica. This has only been an issue with honed. I want to see what it looks like.