What result will come of the second visit? It sounds like the first visit determined that the company will not be replacing...

I too am considering Cambria Torquay for our kitchen but am hesitant after reading Cambria's response. What came of the second visit?

I would like to know the outcome as well....

Hey guys, sorry for the delay in updating. There was pretty
much no resolution with Cambria – I would stay away!

During the 2nd visit, they re-blamed the
installers and me. There were visible divots
and inclusions near the crack (and at other locations) that I believe caused a
weak point. They took absolutely no responsibility. After roundabout
conversations with many members of their organization, I finally posted
multiple comments on social media (squeaky wheel over here!). After the bad
social media publicity, they started to care and finally agreed to pay for ½
the cost. I refused to have their inferior product in my house. I opted to pay
the difference in material cost and went with Caesarstone’s London Gray. I LOVE
my new countertops and am actually happy with this whole ordeal because the
final product is significantly more beautiful than the Torquay. The Torquay looked more printed on top of a
solid colored slab, whereas the London Gray has more depth. It’s hard to
describe, but almost had a flesh/veiny depth that makes it look like real
stone. Attached are photos that show the difference and pictures of the crack
and divots.

As a side note – I worked for 5 years as a materials
engineer at manufacturing company and specialized in product failures, that is
why I am so certain it was a material defect.

CAMBRIA TORQUAY:

CAESARSTONE LONDON GRAY:

Thanks for the follow up and your recommendation, too.

Thank you for the feedback and dialogue. We very much appreciate the interest in Cambria. All stone, including Cambria, may crack. Cracks usually occur due to heavy force or high temperatures being applied to the surface, and/or improper or uneven support under the countertop. Some cracks can be repaired or minimized, but some cannot.

Some additional background on Cambria:

• Cambria is manufactured in Le Sueur, Minnesota. We are proud of our American heritage and believe this not only helps to serve our customers better, but also helps us stay apprised of North American trends, deliver the broadest and most diverse stone palette in the world, and provide exceptional customer service.

• Cambria has 122 different designs. Feel free to count them and then count those offered by some of our largest foreign competitors. You’ll see ours is by far the largest, and all are offered at one price.

• Cambria is comprised of 93% pure quartz mined from the earth’s crust.

• Cambria is defined by the industry as “quartz” and quartz as noted by Consumer Reports and other reputable publications, is the number one recommended countertop surface, gaining in popularity versus granite and marble.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and learn more about our wonderful product and company. Keep the feedback coming!

Sincerely,
Peter Martin
Executive VP of Sales, Marketing and Business Partner Services
p. 952-944-1676

This concerns me...we are about to put cambria in all of our bathrooms, bar and potentially kitchen. We heard that caeserstone was having some issues too...how have you liked it? Not sure I like Cambria's position on your issue!! We live in MN and have heard great things about it, but still have time to change our mind (and share this with our builder who does a lot of work in our Lk Mtka area).

I am totally kicking myself! We were originally set on Caesarstone. In fact, my order was already placed, but we had a month long construction delay which resulted in our color choice becoming unavailable and placed on a 10-12 week back order. At that point, we had been without a kitchen for 5 months and with 3 young kids, I was pressed to get the ball rolling. I looked at several Quartz samples and a Cambria color was the closest I could find as an alternative to the backordered first choice. I read all of the negative reviews on Houzz several times before deciding to take a chance and go with Cambria as it appeared their costumer service had improved over the past year. I so regret that decision. 10 days after the Cambria installation, we had a hairline crack develop in our island countertop. We had not even used the kitchen yet. The crack began in the corner of our stovetop cutout and spidered out towards our island overhang. All cabinetry was brand new construction and level. We also purposefully purchased the thick 3mm option, as we had heard the thickness would help protect against the cracking risk. Cambria has come to our house 3 times to address the crack, investigate the cause, drill two relief holes (one of which failed and the crack was able to continue growing past the hole), etc. We have wasted several hours discussing the situation with our fabricator/installer and Cambria reps. Even though they cannot conclusive determine the cause of the crack and all SOPs were followed, they insist cracks are not covered under the warranty and therefore our Cambria qualified fabricator/installer is to blame. Cambria will not back their product and has placed 100% of the replacement cost on the fabricator/installer. Shame on me for taking a chance with this company. I should have listened to all the people who have already been through this. Currently, it's a waiting game for us to see if the crack continues to grow past the second relief hole. I swear I can see it beginning to happen. If it does grow again and continues to the point where it reaches the edge of our counter, it will be a huge safety hazard and will have to be removed. At that point, there isn't a chance we'll be using Cambria as our replacement material and possibly not even Quartz either (from another company) unless we're able to find one with a warranty that covers cracks.

Too bad. Cambria Torquay is so pretty. The way this was handled by Cambria reminds me of the 1985 Audi I bought when new. The one that was killing people. I was told (after numerous issues besides sudden accelaration).... that Audi of America does not make defective products, ( Must have been the way I drove it lol ) Time bears out the truth.