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home
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Restore Your Granite & Marble Surfaces To NEW! Floors • Walls Showers • Tubs Clean & Color Seal Ceramic, Porcelain and Other Non-Porous Stone To Look Like New GUARANTEED! Lic. # 13VH08649800 NATURAL STONE FEATURES are the type of accents that can define the look of a home, so keep yours looking new. Aldayna Stone Care offers professional service for all marble, granite, ter- razzo, limestone, travertine, or other stone features. THE GOOD NEWS IS that no matter what your stone has been through, Aldayna Stone Care can quickly restore it to its natural beauty. Restoration starts with deep cleaning extraction to remove absorbed impurities. After that, scratches, dull spots, and etches caused by chemicals or sharp objects are honed and polished back to their original shine. And if a section of a surface is partic- ularly damaged, Aldayna can fix it. Even cracked or chipped areas can be color matched and restored to a perfectly blended pre- damage condition. After a surface has been restored, Aldayna Stone Care can further treat it with sealants that protect from future damage. With Aldayna’s help, marble and granite floors, stone showers, vanities, countertops, and more can all be quickly re- stored and protected for years to come. There’s no reason to be unhappy with your stone features when the professionals of Al- dayna Stone Care, New Jersey’s natural stone cleaning and restoration, are here to help. AFTER GROUT COLOR SEAL BEFORE 973-239-1351 • 866-231-3300 • www.aldayna.com In our experience, engineered quartz counters have been taking over granite as a counter top material when being used in today’s kitchens and bathrooms. It would appear that granite is out and engineered, manmade materials are in. I’m not 100 percent sure why that is but I think homeowners want something new and different, something that has not been installed in everyone else’s interiors. Or is it that customers are under the impression that quartz coun- ters are the perfect material? Most customers tend to only look at the color and pattern on a small sam- ple, and generally never read the fine print that is attached to these man made materials. But believe me, when there is a problem you’ll want to know what the products warranty covers. Fabricators have been engaged with customers, who are expecting a materi- al without flaws or problems; and that couldn’t be any further from the truth. Most believe that they are stain proof, chip proof, and without imperfections. Well that’s not exactly true. The man made materials as made by Caesar Stone, Silestone, Pental Quartz, Quartz Masters, Cambria, Zodiaq, LG Viatera, Compac Okite and MSI Quartz to name a few, all come with warranty papers that stipulate what the buyer should be aware of, and what the customer can expect of the products performance. As you prepare to make your counter material selection, go to the manufac- turer’s sites and read through the prod- uct warranties. Speak to your fabricator about performance and color issues they may have experienced in the past. And I’m not suggesting that quartz counters are a bad choice, in most instances they are a great choice, we just want you to be aware of some of the issues we’ve encountered with its specification. Finally, be sure to activate your warranty with the manufacturer that you decide to use for your counters. Here are some advantages and disad- vantages to consider when thinking about engineered – quartz counters for your home; PROS: large slab sizes which means less seaming, a color range that is pop- ular in interiors today, no sealing required, stain and heat resistant (not PROOF), structurally stronger, reduced potential for bacteria growth. CONS: sun exposure can result in fad- ing, repairs usually void the warranty, difficult to hide seams when needed, chemicals are dangerous to its surface, less glossy than granite, can have minor bowing in the surface, inherent color variance, generally costlier than granites, not recommended for exteri- ors, many patterns look somewhat unnatural, requires certain fabrication techniques to maintain warranty. ENGINEERED STONE – QUARTZ COUNTERS – WHY NOT, IT’S A PERFECT MATERIAL, RIGHT? CAVEAT EMPTOR… LET THE BUYER BEWARE! By: Ed Gronske, Homefront Design Studio