BobVila.com

Discussing the Silestone Countertops

Dick Deshant from Counter Intelligence gives Bob the lowdown on the new countertops. They will be made of Silestone, which has the best qualities of granite without the maintenance. Silestone is a maintenance-free material composed of 93% quartz, the first hardest substance in nature. The Italian creators of Silestone have figured out a process to extract the quartz and combine it with polymers and pigment for cohesion and coloration. The end result is a maintenance-free countertop. There are close to 40 color choices, some of them incorporating mica chip for a sparkling effect. Silestone comes with a 10 year warranty and is stain resistant because of its density and lack of pores. It is scratch resistant to the point that you will dull your knives cutting on it, and it is heat resistant enough to withstand a hot pot coming directly off the stove. If there does happen to be a mar or chip in your Silestone it can be repaired using an achimi product that is standard in the industry. The pricepoint of Silestone is a little under that of entry level granite. More information