Oh my. That is not good. I hope you are able to find a better resolution.

I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. I wish you luck and perseverance. Thank you for the warning.

Thank you for sharing your experience. This must be so frustrating and disappointing. I’m sorry this is happening to you and wish you luck in resolving it.

Thanks for sharing! Hopefully you get a satisfactory resolution. Reading about your bad experience and seeing those disturbing photos is certainly very off-putting for all of considering using this material as a countertop!

Good luck and thank you for sharing. You make an excellent point that a warranty only covers the materials and not the extremely high cost of fabrication and installation. That is definitely not a factor I have even contemplated. Good luck and I hope that the distributor and fabricator get their act together and realize that word of mouth is very powerful and they may find themselves without customers.

Honestly, now that you know how this material performs, do you want to be back at this point in another two years? I would tear it out and install your favorite ANY OTHER surface. Or keep fighting to warranty replace the Neolith and plan to eat out; forever.

shalij01:

The radius in your sink corner looks too small to me. I'd look it up. If the radii are too small, that's fabricator error, not manufacturing defect.

I had such high hopes for this product when I first saw it 2 years ago. But it appears that it really is not suitable for residential usage and that fabrication is still a major problem here in the US. So sorry for all your problems with what is a beautiful product where looks are concerned.

I agree with Joseph

I cannot comment on this fabrication; however, I know that it's been used in plenty of European kitchens for years now.

Radius is supposed to be at least 3 mm, 1/4". Also look at details for cutouts. There should not be any unbalanced weights, e.g. a short long piece (like behind a sink) that's attached to the remainder of the counter. The pic shows what I can't describe properly here:

https://www.neolith.com/en/downloads/visor?descarga=000170

Thanks everyone for your supportive comments and insights. @Joseph - I am researching further into the radius on the corners, thanks for your input.

@nosoccermom - the technical specifications link is very helpful!

I don't understand why your counter cracked from dropping a pyrex dish on it, when it's portrayed as rather indestructible. You are not the first, or second who has had problems. So was the demonstration somehow exaggerated? I wonder this every time I see one of these posts....

I hope you get resolution soon, but I have to say, I agree with chocolatesnap.

Hello Shalij01, thanks for giving us all the information.

We are
sorry about your bad experience. Neolith
is a very durable product but as with any material, it is important that all
fabrication and installation guidelines are followed in order to ensure its
technical performance.

We have opened an internal case to
understand the causes and come with a solution.

Regards.

I think the above post says it all; there are just not enough experienced, truly educated fabricators for Neolith at this point, in the US. Until there are, it's going to be very risky. It's one reason I decided against using it in my kitchen (very high cost was the other!).

Poor fabrication is exactly how Corian lost its standing as a luxury countertop material. DuPont had problems with their fabricators, told them they all had to be re-certified by them, granite was just coming out, most chose to go with granite and not be re-certified, and then bad-mouthed Corian.

As with so many things, proper fabrication is key.

And sadly, Corian has not regained its former position in the market. Many people see Corian and Formica as being comparable. I think Neolith is on its way to being seen poorly as well- an expensive mistake for homeowners who choose the premium priced product and a much more expensive mistake for a company unable to respond properly to the market.

Agree that training and certification is key.

But in all fairness, European companies deal with a better trained work force. For instance, in Germany, anybody who works on your house (and is licensed) has gone through a 3-year or more formalized education (theory and practice), being trained by a master craftman/woman. So, electricians, plumbers, tile layers, painters, carpenters, roofers, etc. are all different specialized trades.

shalij01-Thanks for your post. Who did the fabrication? Was the fabrication done by the distributor?

shalij01 Do you have any updates as to how this is being resolved?

shalij01 Is there an update ? Was your situation resolved? Please post or if you prefer you can email me _ margom@temple.edu

Is porcelenosa slabs good to get ?

Rick:

There is a propensity here on Houzz to believe that a certain brand doesn't have the same properties as all the other products in that catagory. Please don't make that mistake. Porcelain, sintered, etc.,; just like engineered stone, it's all the same stuff, no matter the brand.

The most disheartening aspect is the company's lack of responsiveness. Many customers have reported difficulties in obtaining proper support or finding satisfactory resolutions to their concerns. This level of unresponsiveness has only added to the frustration experienced by those who trusted in Neolith.