Quartz Countertops : Basic Fabrication Guidelines

Quartz countertops should be fabricated following special guidelines. Unlike granite countertops, the quartz countertops have to be handled according to the quartz manufacturers fabrication guidelines. As quartz is a man made stone, or better engineered stone, it does have a different behavior when doing specific features with diamond tools.
Here are some basic fabrication guidelines that will insure high quality to your quartz countertop:

• Use water cooled diamond tools appropriate for quartz
• Use water cooled tools for polishing, make sure they're appropriate for quartz
• When doing the cut-outs for stove or sink, do not do square corners. The probability of cracking at that point is huge, officially it's considered a stress point, as engineered stone tend to release tensions. To overcome this problem you should drill with a bigger than 5mm core drill, 4 holes, on on each corner, before cutting with a diamond disk.

• When L shape counters are required, avoid making L piece in one part, the same situation as the cut-out may occur, be careful
• Seam positioning: quartz manufacturers advise not to locate them over a dishwasher, if no other option is available re-enforce it underneath
• Adhesives: select the correct polyester paste for your job, don't forget that quartz has very low porosity and therefore requires a special adhesive ... normal paste may unglue with time, especially if the area is humid/wet at times

Size matters

Slab size is part of the cost of granite countertops. Basically granite counters or just any other stone counters have different prices regarding the colour and texture of the material. However the end client doesn't seem to notice but the size of the slab has a lot of importance when dealing with the manufacturers profit.
In Europe most commercial kitchens have a countertop width of 60-65 cm, so a multiple of 70 cm in size for a slab is a guarantee of profit. Obviously most engineered stone or better quartz producers have a 140 cm slab, if you check closely, most of them actually produce several size slabs depending on the end use of the slab.
Size matters, as a warehouse or a manufacturer, if I'm in the kitchen countertop business, I need slabs to guarantee a better profit for myself, and it certainly is an important part of the business. When engineered stone is involved, and with pricing normally close or above 80€/sqm, every cm of unused material is important to account for.
I'm certain that most manufacturers when buying raw material at the local warehouse or even blocks, they tend to take the size matter into account.