Quartz Countertop ..Expectations & Acceptance Waiver
Your quartz countertop is a big investment to your home. As with most investments there is cautionary information to provide. Product education is very important to us and to you. This document is intended to disclose information on the quarts countertop product you are purchasing.
SEAMS: Hard surface countertops exhibit visible seams. Every effort is made to limit the number of seams. Seam location is designed to be aesthetically pleasing and economically sensitive. Expect large degrees of color variation or pattern at the seam. Final seam placement will be determined during production. Most slabs will not be perfectly flat although all possible measures are taken to ensure tight and smooth seams. Slight variations are to be expected including ledges with the tolerance of the thickness of a business card.
VEINING: Quartz with veining creates a unique challenge at seams, especially with L shapes. At times, the job may fit on one slab which is ideal for color match at the seam, however, this is not optimal for vein flow at the seam. Which one has priority? Will an available partial or even a second slab be a shade off the first? To compound the challenge, the slabs are protected with plastic until after cutting, making it very hard to detect even a very slight color mismatch. A balance between color match, best use, and vein flow may not always occur.
COLOR: It is estimate that humans can distinguish 1 to 100 million color variations. Quartz is often chosen for the whiteness. As you may have experienced with paints, even the slightest difference in mixture composition, hue, shade, reflection lighting or surface properties, can cause a whiteness difference. Being man-made does not exclude variations, slab to slab manufacturer variations within a batch, batch to batch and whiteness variations within a slab can occur. A seam between different parts of the same material does yield color differences, perceived or not perceived. Lighting type, lighting angle, light intensity, variation of color in the viewing field effect the eyes ability to perceive variations in the whiteness color differences. In other words, light color countertops with fewer patterns create more contrast between the stone and the seam, which makes the seam more visible and any color variations more visible. Great effort is made to avoid visible color variations, however it is not a guarantee against one occurring.
STAINING: Quartz countertops are very stain resistant, but NOT stain proof. The quartz resins are vulnerable to stains. All quartz colors can be damaged by chemicals or cleaners. Avoid bleach and disinfectant wipes containing bleach. Keeping the contact time short, by wiping down the countertop, decreases the chance of damage.
HEAT: Quartz surfaces are extremely hard, but heat is of concern. The resins in quartz countertops can only tolerate temperatures of about 150 degrees Celsius (302 degrees Fahrenheit). Higher temperatures can cause discoloring damage. Not recommended for fireplace areas, due to cracking potential. Please always use trivets.
UV: Quartz countertops utilize resins and epoxy to bind them together. Resins are susceptible to ultraviolet rays in sunlight and over time can degrade. Quartz is strongly not recommended in exterior application areas.
CHIPS: As with other hard rigid countertops, corners and edges of quartz countertops can chip or break. You can, however, decrease the risk of damage by taking extra care with other hard objects.
CRACKS: Cracks are unlikely but could occur with mechanically induced stresses, such as movement in cabinets. A solid level and stable base is required.
CARE: Proper countertop care is important. Wipe them down using a soft cloth or sponge and a warm water soap mix as needed. Give your quartz countertop the love it deserves!
By signing hereunder, I acknowledge and accept the information provided to me respecting quartz countertop.
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Homeowner (Date)
