A few things to note, unless it's vinyl or porcelain, you have to seal it in a kitchen. When I was looking at countertops, I saw my quartzite in the leathered finish and asked several people. In short that gloss on top makes it less porous. If I am remembering correctly, Quartzite is (in general) stronger than granite and heavier but it's more porous. I got mine with the polished top and my partner has dropped cast iron pans on it, put hot pans out of the oven on it and spilled who knows what on it, no problem. But I seal it every 6 months. They say 4 times a year but I clean it with a cleaner that has small amounts of the sealant in it so I've never had issues.

Also quartz is not maintenance free. I remember in the 90s when people said you'd never have to seal granite. Load of horse dung. It's not as often (3 to 5 years depending on usage) but you still need to do it. I had quartz and they have upkeep especially the light colors. Its just a different kind.

Mine was the white with infrequent Grey streaking like very mild marble. Everything dark, yellow (like tumeric), and red stained it. Now it's easy enough to get out with bleach and a magic eraser but it's time I'll never get back. Sealing taken 30 minutes with a good chunk of that being the wait for the sealer to dry a bit before the next step. I'd spend that ever week cleaning the counters when people were over and cranberry juice somehow accidentally left the tiniest spot so noone noticed or one of the kids ran the blender and used a plate as the top inside of the lid. The other option is to be hyper- vigilant in the kitchen and when something spills clean it up right then.

Once more, do not, I repeat, do not put anything hot on quartz counters. They say it's good to 400 degrees but I've seen some of them be fine and some were lefted scarred. Quartzite is good to 550? 600 degrees? I don't even think about it anymore as nothing ::knock on wood:: seems to have hurt it thus far.

With all that said, I'd take the money from the seller put it towards buying a new countertop if you can. It's not what you wanted and you will notice because you live with it everyday.

If you like a more matte look, there used to be a low gloss finish you could have the supplier use but i haven't seen it in awhile and it's usually custom stonework.

Also, if you can, get a scrap of your next countertop from your fabricator. Usually they will give you insanely good deals from a sink cut out from some else's fabrication. Put it on your counter and use it as your family and you would. Spill things if you have kids, write on it with markers if they are little, use a cheap pan you don't care about and wack it a little if you have a spouse like mine who tends to drop things, etc. Then let that dictate where you go.

All in all, I know people who love their quartz, but it love my quartzite. Every home is different. But you should love your home.

100% agreed with the above.

IMO polished real stone is always the best choice and that is where this went wrong. Now you are forced to seal constantly . Quartz IMO is just fake stone with some real limitations so always real but not leathered and not honed.

So sorry this happened. I personally love quartzite and wanted it with my remodel but after much research went with quartz. One, for the resale factor (planning to sell soon and quartz is big here) and two, I cook every day and entertain frequently and didn’t want to deal with the maintenance and worry. I love it, it always looks great and easy maintenance. I am doing it again in my new build. To me it’s worth the ease of not having to worry constantly.

Sorry for your disappointment thus far. I hope they can help you out. FWIW, this is one reason I am happy that in my area (Ohio), you typically will get your slabs from your fabricator (not a supplier)....unless you want something non-stock and more exotic. Getting the slabs and fabrication from one place prevents this finger pointing.

I've seen a few posts like this on Houzz regarding quartzite. I have to admit, I'm shying away from it.

A couple years ago, I more than once told a client NOT to select the leathered travertine for her kitchen. She brushed off my warnings. Guess what happened after a few weeks of using her tops? Every little thing shows up.

Let us know how it goes with the new fabricator.

I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. We have not had any problems with our quartzite. I hope your issues get resolved soon!

Thank you all for your input. The seller of the stone has now offered two options. Option 1 is to have the new fabricator strip, clean and enhance and seal the stone that I have. Option 2 is that he'll give us two new slabs of the same material. We then have to pay a fabricator of our choice to remove the current counters, fabricate and install the new ones, sealing them appropriately this time, and we then have to fix the resulting damage to backsplash, etc. Option 2 is only available for the same material I currently have. I can't switch to a different material. Whichever option I choose, the seller is hands off after that (should staining continue). ARGH.

Cathy VB — could you post a pic of the silicone “bleed” to know what that looks like?

Cathy - what did you wind up doing? I wouldn’t have been happy with either option - I assume that you weren’t either.

Melissa:

Here you go.

To answer the request for what the silicone bleed looks like, here's a picture of it. You can see it's a white line that runs above where the countertop was glued to the cabinets below. It soaked through to the top of the counter. It's not overly noticeable. I can live with this error, especially since this isn't getting worse.

What did I end up doing? I shopped replacement counters. I finally got the company I bought the countertop from to agree to let me replace with a different material but when I selected one, they told me the one I picked was so much more expensive that I'd have to pay MORE than I originally paid. That stopped me in my tracks. The company, Mont, does not have transparent pricing. Their prices are letters of the alphabet, the higher the more expensive. My original counters were an "R". They have since dropped to a "P". The counter I wanted was a "T" and it was going to cost me an extra $9,000 for the material, demo and installation. I decided they were trying to rip me off. So, I told them to come fix what I have. I haven't heard back from them.

I've told my sad story to tons of people, but they all go forward and buy quartzite regardless. If I could fix my counters, I could love them but I haven't found anyone who can fix them yet.

"...a sink that wasn't installed properly (the counter doesn't cover the undermount sink edge)"

Cathy VB:

This is incorrect. A slight positive sink reveal is the best undermount option. A flush reveal creates an elongated silicone joint that frays and becomes contaminated, ugly, and unsanitary. A positive reveal, where the top covers the sink flange, creates a crud ledge that can't be seen or easily cleaned.

You've got a porous quartzite; no changing the nature of that beast with sealers. Test a new material for porosity and when it passes, replace the tops please.

So sorry you have to deal with the counter issue. I think you need to replace it. $7,500 for the countertop or, your sanity, are at stake. Your counters should have minimal care. I know there are the real stone lovers and then there are the engineered quartz lovers. When I had my kitchen renovated a few years ago, i wanted very little maintenance for my countertops. I researched countertops thoroughly and chose Silestone engineered quartz. They look as good today as the day of installation. No chipping, no stainig,no scratches. Easy clean up with soap and water. I had both my bathrooms renovated with quartz countertops too and love them. Please let us know what you are going to do. You spend a lot of time in your kitchen and should have a smile on your face when you walk into it.