Don't waste your money
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We don't have kids (counter gets gentle use), rarely drink red wine (stains), always use wooden chopping boards if we are placing something hot on the island and we use the caesarstone cleaning product as advised. The island usually gets 1-2 hours of indirect sunlight per day (seasonal).
In the past 6 months 1 of those pieces has started to change colour (see photos). I contacted caesarstone with multiple phone calls and emails containing pictures and all the other relevant details. Then I waited and waited….and waited. It took them 10 WEEKS for someone to finally respond to me. It was another 2 weeks before someone came to the house to inspect the island.
The end result is that Caesarstone Australia will not do anything about it. WHY? Simply put this product does not come with a warranty. If you are like me you probably just skim over the details of a warranty but don't really read them. I won't go over every point but have a look…
caesarstone dot com dot au dot warranty
Point 3(i) – If anyone other than Caesarstone instals the product the warranty is void. So if you bought it through a kitchen or bathroom shop and they installed it…warranty void. However Point 3(xvi) says the warranty is void if not installed by a qualified licensed stonemason. This contradicts the first point!
Point 3(ii) – If you have a shop or stonemason cut the slab to size and install it for you…warranty void. Also see Point 3(ix)
Point 3(iii) – Warranty void if slab is exposed to 'ultraviolet radiation'. What is ultraviolet radiation? It is light. In emails with Caesarstone this includes sunlight, LED light, fluorescent light. So if your slab starts to change colour they can blame it on light regardless of the source. Your warranty is void due to light, natural or artificial!! What a joke! You would think that they would put some sort of UV protectant in the mix!
Point 3(ix) – Warranty is void if you use paint removers or strippers, which seems pretty common sense. However it is also void if you use any cleaners that 'have high pH cleaners鈥?examples of which contain sodium salt, soaps and surfactants". That is a quote from an email from the warranty department. So basically anything that contains soap or a foaming agent (surfactants) voids your warranty. Pretty much every cleaning product on the market. Except of course their cleaning product ($30+ per litre). However there is no point using their expensive product because your warranty is already void before it is even installed in your home!
I haven't touched on cracks or chipping because they have not affected me.
It looked awesome when we first installed it but knowing what I know now I would probably put in real stone. The product is below par, the after sales service is disgraceful and the warranty is non existent! I would avoid this company and their products at all costs.
(this site doesn't allow photos but search the web for other Caesarstone reviews and you can see them)