We used Silestone quartz and our counter price was negotiated by the salesman that designed our kitchen.

Since it’s popular, it is pricey.

Have you checked out granite? Looks better and is easy to take of...although you will never hear this from a quartz company. They have us duped into believing that something man made is better than a beautiful natural stone. I checked out Cambria and could not get past the plasticky look. In addition, the fabricator recommended sealing all light colored quartz!

Our contractor has a relationship with a specific stone yard and so when we picked what we wanted in person, they gave us per slab quotes, but based on his dealings with them. They wouldn't have quoted us if we walked in on our own without his name. Does your contractor or fabricator have a relationship with a specific stone vendor? That would be the way to go if possible.

It's crazy how different each area of the USA is with how tops are quoted. This topic gets brought up at least once a year here on this forum! It's hard to advise unless someone lives in your area.

Here in the Ohio Valley area, you can buy from a box store, a K+B dealer or a fabricator and sometimes with your builder or interior designer.

You can shop by visiting a few places and giving them a layout to quote. Make a sketch showing number of sink or cooktop cutouts, brand/color, edge profile, backsplashes yes/no and if any countertop supports needed. Old top removal, haul away and plumbing hookup usually is not included but is available if needed by SOME fabricators.

If you know your square footage amount, you can go that route too...but keep in mind the price is ballpark only until they can template. size of slab and number of seams all need to be discussed at the template.

By the way, Calacatta Laza is really pretty.

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@The Kitchen Place Are those photos of the calacatta laza? Is that the same slab as what we would get from MSI surfaces?

Yes! That is Calacatta Laza by MSI.

Why do you have to go through your contractor? Did you ask if you can purchase the top on your own? Some contractors put everything into one price. IF the fabricator sent you to a place to look at slabs, then that is where they have an account to get their supplies. If you went somewhere else that the fabricator does not deal with or selected stone from a company that their supplier does not deal with, it then becomes a special order because they would only be ordering from that place for your job. That's where the price goes way up.

I would suggest walking into a tile/countertop store with dimensions of your top and get a price.

BTW - calacatta laza is beautiful..

Good luck

Photo of my MSI Calacatta Laza sample. Ignore the pendant reflection at the top.

Thank you @Debbi Washburn! I have a contractor who has a fabricator. In DFW I've gone in person to Triton stone, MSI, Variant Surfaces, Dallas Stone, Daltile stone&slab, and several others that we didn't like any enough to get samples of. All said probably around 15 places back to back.

All of the stores gave me the same "we only give pricing to your fabricator" when really all I need to know if the relative price of the top vs another, since fabrication cost will be the same.

Although I am loving the images of the calacatta Laza now, I may be able to skip all of this if my wife feels the same.

@The Kitchen Place Thanks so much for the images and info, very helpful!

That is correct - when you are going to a supply yard - they do not do any pricing - that is always done through the fabricator. SO if there is a specific fabricator you are having to use, then it will be best to stay with his supply source for the best pricing. Otherwise you have to find a different fabricator

That happens here in SoCal. I gave up and for another reason besides lack of price transparency I just got something that works. Love it? No.

Price transparency is difficult in this business. Imagine wanting to buy a dress but you have to go to a big fabric warehouse where they sell to many stores and dressmakers. Do they give you the price of the dress or the fabric cost per yard without knowing specifics of the dress or where you are buying it....and what YOUR end price will be? This fabric supplier has no idea what your end price will be. That is why most suppliers label their stuff group a to z. It helps give you and idea of what is cheap and what is luxury.

Best just to get a quote from 3 places, same material, same top layout, same square footage, same labor extras...etc. Decide WHO you are working with first....then shop around for different colors and they can help you much better than a slab supplier. Go to the store or dressmaker!

In my opinion, the entire counter top purchasing process is purposely intended to be as opaque as possible for the consumer. What they should do IMO is give the consumer a direct price for each slab. Fabrication (unless there is some huge complication due to something like matching veining) costs would be the same no matter which material the consumer purchases.

Which other pricing portions of your kitchen materials/install project are this hidden? None that I can think of.

The only problem with that is for someone with a small kitchen who doesn't need a while slab or 2. They pay for all of that and the rest is wasted. The fabricators I deal with hear ( when selecting from their suppliers ) will sell the top at the sq ft it is . The customer does not need to pay for extra 1/2 slab if they don't need it.

I also agree with others. There is more than slab pricing to a countertop - are there curves, angles, notches, a huge piece that requires extra people, is it up stairs, what sort of edge? This is why only the fabricator prices tops.

Why don't you find out what the allowance is in your agreement for the counter material and then buy it directly.

As posted above, each region seems to have its own way of purchasing stone. I am in Los Angeles and my contract with the GC provided for installation but I was to supply the actual slabs. The GC would then pick it up at the stone yard.

In Los Angeles, you go directly to the stone yard and pick out your slab. The stone yard gives you the price.

I don't know what your budget is but looking back at my own remodel, I don't regret some of the major splurges I did both in terms of function and aesthetics. Obviously it's all a balance but if you are absolutely in love with something that is as key as counters then at least find out the price differential between what you love and what you would have to settle on and determine whether you can afford the difference and whether it is worth it to you.

Appreciate all your responses. We are doing a lot in this remodel in a home we are already a lot of money into. We are more or less capped out on the budget we had planned for this remodel, and are willing to compromise on the quartz because again, there are a lot of beautiful options within the budget we are working with. It just so happens that my wife always likes the most expensive options. Pushing too much more into this budget cuts into the budget we have planned for other areas, and starts pushing the overall investment outside of the 'safe profit' margin of my home. Based on my line-item budget, the quartz we fell in love with was roughly double the material cost of the calacatta laza, which as I understand it is a midrange quartz already.

We are doing (by my rough estimates) about 125sqft of countertop overall. 2 large countertops with full size backsplash, going up to the ceiling where the range hood and kitchen sink are, a center island of decent size, and a smaller coffee bar on the other side of the breakfast nook. We are using most of 3 slabs to make these fabrications.

On the matter of the quartz debate, I'm frustrated because very few of the 15 different warehouses I went to even had 2 designs we were interested in. Having to go through a 3-4 step process to get an idea of pricing for every single one of those different warehouses is frustrating and overly time consuming. I don't think that picking quartz should take longer than designing cabinets with a semi-custom maker, but so far it has. Quartz is quartz, isn't it? My fabricator knows what it will cost him to cut it, why can't we let me deal with the budget on my own while deciding?

Again, appreciate all your responses. I have my fabricator's name and maybe that will open some doors at the places we visit tomorrow, but also both my wife and I are loving the calacatta laza images you've shared and maybe we can go see it in person again and then just stick to that without any budget considerations.

You could save a ton by not doing the quartz on your walls. Reconsider tile?

Whatever you do, make sure you see the whole slab and not just a little sample or go by photos. I purchased a quartz remnant for a powder room last week and I asked to borrow the sample and when I saw the two together, they weren't even close in matching.

I’m doing Laza in my kitchen It’s already been gutted going to put putting cabinets back in next week. We are renovating our house a section at a time. We already gutted/redid the hall bath used a Laza remnant. I just give my installer the measurements tell them what I like they give me a price and the slab places they do business with.

Be very careful with quartz behind the range. It really is not supposed to go there - even though you see it in every picture! make sure to discuss that at length with the fabricator, the contractor and even the quartz company ( send an email so you have it in writing. ) .

I appreciate the responses about getting the manufacturer and fabricator input on the quartz backsplash behind the range. I will definitely be doing that.

@User What do you mean pattern match? The manmade quartz is all the same pattern? I don't see a reason why I would want each countertop to match?

Also, I don't know what really constitutes "middle of the road" since retailers don't share their prices, but the calacatta laza is a 7/8 on MSI's expense scale, and your 12-15k figures definitely aren't accurate for my experience and I've had multiple contractors with their own fabricators give me pricing estimates. Maybe MSI is garbage-tier quartz, or maybe your prices are off?

Also, your metaphor makes very little sense. Because in this case, the restaurant isn't letting me see a menu. They are sending me to the slaughterhouse to look at cows and picking a piece of beef I like and then coming back to me with a price of the finished steaks. I'm not trying to 'save money' by subverting the process, I'm trying to make sure the final product is something I like to look at for the next ten years or more, and this is the only possibility for doing that. Unless I pick using website pictures or turn over the choice to the remodeling contractor or their fabricator, this is the only process for selecting a slab afforded to me, and it is not consumer friendly.

The issue is they aren't going with me, so I have a multi step process for getting quotes that isn't efficient or effective, unless I want to pick a slab based on an 8 inch sample, which is stupid for an almost 10k expense.

Justin:

You're shopping for materials when you should be shopping for a fabricator. A good fabricator should be able to sell his value.

If you haven't yet, search the Houzz discussions quartz behind a range. As a fabricator and contractor aren't going to know how your range will affect the quartz. And if they do, ask them to put it in writing that if you have any problems that they will replace free of charge. Here is one of the many discussions.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5921418/quartz-backsplash-behind-gas-range#n=66

I am sorry but I need to disagree - We sell a ton of MSI Q - it is our most popular vendor. I have had ZERO calls on issues with their product in the 5 years I have been here.

I encourage everyone to do their own research, then decide.

@Debbi Washburn Doing my research now (contacting my vendors, bertazzoni manufacturer, distributor, retailer, MSI, and my contractor and fabricator) but still waiting on answers. Do you know if you've used bertazzoni with quartz? This is my model:

https://us.bertazzoni.com/products/professional-series/ranges/36-inch-6-burnerelectric-self-clean-oven#

First of all, all quartz is definitely NOT the same! Have you done your research? Do you know what the Breton process is? You need to research that. I wouldn't buy quartz in any event if it wasn't manufactured this way.

Second of all, after reading many threads about quartz, you can't use quartz behind a stovetop! That is against the manufacturer's warnings, etc, and it can crack.

Third of all, if you don't have an island, go and check out stoneyards that have prefabs. Those are typical-counter-depth slabs already prepared for easy installation and much, much cheaper than buying full slabs. Call and ask if stoneyards have a good selection of prefabs and choose from those.

Fourth of all, OF COURSE different quartz slabs are different! Even within the same manufacturer, and there are manufacturing lots, and older slabs won't match newer slabs, etc. My goodness, have you researched this? Please type in "quartz doesn't match" and the like in the search bar above. Often, samples appear whiter and the slabs are creamier, or the veining isn't the same, or slabs are delivered and one is more yellow-y than the other.

I would only purchase quartz if I got to choose my slab in the sunshine with my cabinet door right there to compare how it would look, with multiple eyes on it for tone and variation and then I'd write my name in sharpie on the edge of the slabs and take selfies with it, and make sure the stoneyard has a procedure in place for NOT SELLING YOUR SLABS TO SOMEONE ELSE. Because that happens too.

@User

What makes it "junk quartz"? None of the fabricators I've talked to have said anything similar so far, so I'm interested in your take. Can you elaborate about the lot of wrong ideas I have? I'm happy to learn, but coming in and saying "you're wrong" without some suggestions doesn't give me much to go off of.

Here's a whole thread of pros debating it: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4468757/msi-q-quartz

@Mrs. S Again, I did research and didn't find any reasons to distrust MSI Q. See the above list, the fact that multiple fabricators recommended it, or that MSI is on a ton of 'top 10' lists for places to get quartz. Also, I did get to see my quartz in person, all 3 slabs tagged and reserved for me. They match the samples I have and each other. I didn't go looking to research quartz not matching because the sales rep said "if you reserve or place an order, you can see them in person if we have them in stock" so I didn't feel the need to do more research into "what ifs" when my situation had the laza in person.

More generally, I appreciate all of the input I've received here, but would love more guidance or specifics if you can offer it.

OK, Justin. I don't know anything about MSI , I'm just telling you to research this. Does the stoneyard agree that you can adhere that quartz behind a stove? If so, wanna bet they'll put that in writing?

MSI is a aggregate importer/distributor, who buys from varous low cost no name manufacturers. Much like many of the cheap sink retailers, the quality is totally hit and miss. Sometimes it can be fine. Sometimes they bought seconds, that is not compacted, or cured properly. That then shatters on the table getting cut. Or yellows over time. I’ve had 2 claims with them, and there is no support for any claim, because they dont make it. And they fintvdupport what they sell.

They recently teamed up with Spectrum Glass (Chinese company) to serve as their distribution arm for the SC quartz plant that still isn’t fully operational.

@Mrs. S Thanks for the feedback, do you have any specific resources to look at? Again, I'm finding conflicting answers when I started looking into breton process. My fabricator gets to charge what he gets to charge, so he could send me anywhere to look at stone or quartz. The MSI fine print says its safe if the range is installed to "manufacturer specifications" as well, which is the part I'm now questioning. I think that while the "safe thing" is not putting it as a backsplash at all, clearly there are plenty of people who have and have had no problems, but definitely also those who didn't do their research and are paying the price.

To me, it feels pretty similar to people advising not to use wood floors in laundry rooms or kitchens, whereas I've never had an issue with that in either of those places. I would love an easy answer, and I think the easiest answer is someone who has used my very popular quartz choice with my very popular range pick and has some semi-long term review of it. Wishful thinking I'm sure. My fabricator and my contractor don't seem to think it will be an issue, and they come well recommended and are pretty established.

@User Is MSI Q Quartz not manufactured by MSI? I understand they carry other brands as well, but is are you saying that MSI q quartz is random manufacturers aggregated?

As I said, I don't know specifics about MSI, but I just know what I've read in these forums over time.

Here's an example. And this is a DuPont product!

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5539959/miele-gas-range-self-clean-issue-with-dupont-zodiac-quartz-backsplash

That said, the other posts I read through had certain experts saying quartz fine as backsplash, so long as manufacturer's instructions followed for both stove and the quartz installation.

I am not an expert, I just know from reading these forums that you can't set anything hot on quartz, and it isn't heat-safe, can't put a toaster directly on it, etc. I'm sure some people do! Maybe most people do! I'm just saying it may not be covered under the warranty, etc.

I personally wouldn't put it behind the stove.

@Mrs. S Thanks a lot for your input. That's why I came here and while I would've loved to have been given a big pat on the back for a job well done, it's much more helpful to receive the counterpoints and find the issues ahead of time. If I don't get a warranty or guarantee from someone, I probably won't be using it as a backsplash.

@The Kitchen Place Due to the layout of our kitchen, we've got 3 areas that where the backsplash will "end" and transition to drywall similar to this. We opted for the quartz backsplash because those still look 'finished' in those areas whereas a lot of the tile options don't have a great finished look for those areas.

I love mythbusting and has this thread provided a few to stomp.

1. If you have installed your range per the manufacturer's installation instructions, you could hot melt match heads together as a backsplash.

"First of all, all quartz is definitely NOT the same! Have you done your research? Do you know what the Breton process is? You need to research that. I wouldn't buy quartz in any event if it wasn't manufactured this way."

2. Quartz is all the same. It's 66% quartz and 33% plastic. All of it. I'd take an engineered stone slab out of a non-Breton state-of-the-art plant in Vietnam over a 30-year-old north American Breton any day.

The big players make their money peddling their brands because brand is the only thing they have to sell.

As far as I know, Cambria is the only quartz exclusively manufactured in the US and Canada. Cambria will stand behind their product 100% IF you use a fabricator who is currently certified. Phone Cambria's 800 number for info.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC This is my bertazzoni range: https://us.bertazzoni.com/products/professional-series/ranges/36-inch-6-burnerelectric-self-clean-oven

When you say "installed per manufacturer's instructions," you seem to know what you're talking about. I will speak to my contractor to make sure we replace the backing and studs. But looking at the install instructions, p18 says either backguard or vent. They seem mutually exclusive. If that vent is expelling heat from the oven, how does having concrete backing and metal studs change the issues with heat discoloring the quartz backsplash?

Is quartz combustible? It has a flashpoint of 470C, what counts as noncombustible?

Noncumbustible means steel stud wall framing, cement board on those studs, and tile, steel, or stone over that. All those materials can still suffer heat damage

You most likely will need to get the backguard

And not use the flush island trim mentioned above which needs more clearance behind it. This kind of question should be asked of Bertazonni for a definite answer.

"If that vent is expelling heat from the oven, how does having concrete backing and metal studs change the issues with heat discoloring the quartz backsplash?"

We've got to separate fire safety from material performance. The clearances/guarding is what the manufacturer requires to keep you from burning down your home. We've had threads here where posters have had noncombustible natural quartzite discolor from a gas fireplace. Lots of materials will discolor from heat; you must weigh how you cook, how much a full matching backsplash means to you, and how easily, if possible, it is to abate discoloration on any given material.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC Thanks for your input, it's very helpful. I think I want to set my oven up, run it and use a heat gun to check the heat output, or even set it up against an offcut from my fabricator. It seems that different ranges can cause discoloration, but considering the low BTUs on the back burners of my range, it may still be okay to use. The quartz is something my wife really wants, and it seems like there are plenty of people who have not had issues.

I've verified with my contractor that we are using metal studs and concrete backing.

Again, thanks for your input.

@User You haven't been so helpful. A lot of unsubstantiated claims that other pros are disagreeing with. I'm working with pro; they disagree with you. And when I try to get more responses to clarify unsubstantiated statements and gather more info and more sources to see if my contractor and fabricator is right or you are, you're a condescending prick about it. I don't think I know better, which is why I'm here asking the questions. I just don't immediately trust the guy who doesn't have an answer to "Why is MSI junk quartz?", especially when other pros disagree.

I have a question to throw out there - Would using a stainless splatter shield help protect the quartz??

"Would using a stainless splatter shield help protect the quartz??"

Certainly, especially if the bottom was vented in a way to provide an air wash chimney effect up the back.

What's the point of installing a pretty backsplash if you're going to cover it with something ugly but functional?

What about the msi laza quartz for a backsplash on a sink/window wall and something diff behind the range? Thats what im thinking about doing.

@Debbi Washburnbi @User Some of the specific models with quartz discoloration were thermadores, and some responses here on houzz said that newer Thermadors had an angled guard on the vents which directed heat forward away from the backsplash, claiming they didn't have any problems with discoloration.

Others said they solved the issue with discoloration from venting (on their quartz or other decorative/non stainless backsplash) by using a tempered glass insert.

It seems (visually at least) that the heat discoloration is directly from the venting at the back of the range. Changing where that venting is flowing may be enough to stop the discoloration.

I think the only "true" way to prove it is with testing with the specific range, because after several days looking into this in my spare time, I'm seeing more people saying they love their quartz backsplash than I'm seeing people complaining about their damaged backsplash or people warning against it.

I plan on testing it for my situation, and I'd recommend anyone who wants to take this risk do the same. I'll run it on 500+ for a few hours with an offcut set directly behind the vent and see what happens.

Unfortunately that test won't happen for quite a bit--at least a few weeks.

"@Joseph Corlett, LLC - while I was reading the comments on this thread, I kept thinking, ”I hope Joseph reads this thread!” Your comments are an example of why I keep returning to Houzz. Whenever you provide an opinion, you also provide the rationale behind it (personal knowledge/expertise). Plus, when sharing your knowledge, you don’t feel the need to act superior/put someone else down. You truly are a HUGE asset to this forum."

Thanks. Ima remember this when the mods here Sophie Wheeler me some day.

I don't know about MSI, but Cambria is somewhat transparent about how their warranty does not cover damage if their Quartz is installed near a heat source. I would make sure to read the MSI warranty carefully, and see if they have any exclusions related to being anywhere in the vicinity of heat, or if their website gives specific instructions about heat. These are screen shots from the Cambria website - click on them to see them more full-size.