The Barley Twist it is still porcelain and the same way neolith is made, just another brand.

Rachele Kanige - any updates on your counters after installation? how do you like them?

Beautiful - thank you for sharing pics! If you don't mind me asking the cost compared to granite or quartz (if you know)?

It's beautiful, Rachele. Congrats! Hope you'll enjoy it for many years to come.

they look great! glad it worked out

Hi Rachele,

We are also looking at Sapien Stone premium white in polished and I wondered about any issues with chipping and discoloration/water marks. I have heard from people that porcelain is the "countertop material to have" and looks most close to marble. I am wanting a whiter with grayish detailed slab and have had trouble finding quartz that delivers on that while still looking natural. (why can't marble be better for counters!). In your search, what did you hear/if any drawbacks to porcelain?

So far the porcelain has held up well. It streaks a bit when I wash the counter with a sponge but sometimes I buff it with a cloth and it looks really nice. No scratches or chips yet.

I am so glad you updated us on your countertops. I am leaning towards this as well. They are so beautiful! Does it bother you that the slab around the sink is so thin? I want to do a 6cm mitered edge but I know the slabs are so thin. I don't it to look weird together. Also, what kind of

sink did you install?

The thickness of the slab hasn't bothered us a bit. The sink is a Kohler Riverby sink, enameled cast iron. I LOVE it! https://www.us.kohler.com/us/Riverby%E2%84%A2-Kitchen-Sinks/content/riverby_productstory.htm

The prep sink is Kohler Iron Tones undermount sink.

Hi Rachel, Having never posted before it's funny to see this thread has been going on for 18 months! Holding up my own kitchen remodel laboring over the countertop material between honed calacutta marble or satin porcelain lookalike. I understand pros and cons of each. Part that concerns me about porcelain is the mitered edges and esp that sink opening with white exposed edge. I would love to see what that edge looks like and hear if any chipping around the sink. thanks, Pia

Hi plucey. Do a TopZero sink to hide the exposed edge and you will have an amazing look. Otherwise, as long as you select a sink that has small radius in the corners and straight lines, you will find good results.

Your fabricator, if actually good, should be able to make the miter edge have a small joint to hide the glue. Polished porcelain will reflect and show every detail that is dirty. But then again, its very easy to clean.

I want porcelain and now understand from above that a layer must be put in between the porcelain and the substrate (plywood). The layer provides uncoupling. Ditra is used between the subfloor and tile when doing floors and prevents any cracking after installation along with waterproofing and other benefits. I wonder if Ditra can be used more effectively than cement board between the porcelain slab and the plywood base? My sister had cracking in her large format marble tiles on her bath floor. I asked if Ditra had been used. Nope! The entire floor had to be ripped up. Ditra was used for the replacement install using more of the same tile. No cracking this time!

Correct, ditra in addition to proper application of soft joints (for expansion) will allow the tile to move as needed. Things like sun exposure, deflection, and other factors must all be taken into account.

I don't think you should put hot pots and pans on any kind of a countertops, quartz, granite, or porcelain. It's easiest to use a wooden cutting board for this purpose. Ask your fabricator many questions: about maintenance, cleaning, use, etc. And do let us know about the results, I would love to see your countertops. Good luck with your project!

We did Sapienstone in our kitchen - pietra gray on the perimeter and premium white on the island. We love it and get lots of compliments. We’ve stained it with red white and it cleans right up with soft scrub. Really happy with it. Have had it a year and a half and looking to buy another slab for our bathroom remodel.

More of the pietra gray

Good to see these happy results, thanks for sharing. Someone mentioned the glare off the highly polished surface. I'm pretty glare-sensitive, so that part concerns me. Thoughts from any of you SapienStone owners? Thanks.

SapienStone has been a nightmare. The kitchen counter top leaves water stain marks which dont come out. I reported the problem to the company who sent people out to look at it and they agree, the stains do not come out. The company said they will not refund my money and sent replacement counters which were also faulty. They are now dragging their feet. I suggest NEVER using sapient stone.

H now - what color amd finish do you have?

I have pietra gray but it is about to be uninstalled and discarded...replacing with dekton. the water staining after a few days of installation, now 8 months later, the company I purchased from is uninstalling and replacing for me.

For those that have polished, is it hard to keep clean? Also does it scratch easily? In a kitchen with a lot of windows, would it be to shiny/blinding?

Does anyone have the Silky finish? We are considering White Calacatta SapienStone with the silky finish for kitchen counters and backsplash. Feedback above looks like outcomes are very good if the fabricator is experienced but would value any additional thoughts. Thanks!

I can’t believe you aren’t cooking on your s. Stone With The induction cooking elements under the Slab.

Hi @Rachele Kanigel,

Your kitchen looks beautiful! Thanks for posting the photos.

We are also looking at Sapien Stone in silk and I was wondering how's your countertop holding so far? Did you have any issues with chipping and discoloration/water marks. Would you still recommend Sapien stone for countertops? Also, is your countertop 12mm thick?

Thanks in advance!

Update: we now have two chips in our sapienstone counters! And struggling to find a fabricator who will come out to fix them. One quoted $800 to fix one of the chips. Another said $250 but is busy for the next few months and can’t squeeze us in. Very unhappy and in hindsight even though the sapienstone looks great we would’ve been better off with quartz or quartzite.

Can anyone tell me how much a calcatta type slab costs? I’d like to compare to a quartz 10’x5.5’ slab that’s $1450.

@jeliebeeen, OH NO! I so feel your pain. Ugh! :(

Ashley:

I am curious as to why you want slab cost information.

I’m curious how much it costs 🤷‍♀️.

Bradzil, apologies for the delay in replying. I had Petra and after a year the company finally agreed to remove it and the design company applied Deckton. The sapienstone was showing water stains almost immediately. Let me tell you its not fun to have a counter removed. I would never use sapienstone. Good luck!

For those on here who have been happy with their porcelain, are any of you by chance in New Jersey? I am looking for an experienced porcelain countertop fabricator

Just curious if anyone else chose sapienstone for their counters and how it’s going?

I had sapienstone installed and water stains started showing about a month after...I had to have them taken out 7 or so months later. I would never use sapienstone.

H now, which finish did you use?

I love the look of porcelain but many threads with folks having issues with chipping and cracking from porcelain. All brands including DekTon. Consumer reports also had cracking with DekTon. Warranty is basically very difficult and manufacturer will point finger at fabricator etc. Chipping is my main concern. Anyone having issues?

🤷‍♀️No issues after 4 years. Dekton

I had sapienstone installed 4 months ago. Absolutely stunning piece of stone HOWEVER we have had chipping issues. My fabricator came out 2 months ago to fill a very small chip free of charge. 2 days ago I hit a bowl on the edge of my countertop and the countertop chipped very very badly. The fabricator came out to correct it today, also free of charge. I’m really concerned as it’s only been 4 months. my next step is to go to Sapien directly. Every article I read stated that porcelain is one of the hardest most durable stones out there. The fabricating process is difficult but once installed, is rock solid. Not my experience so far. I would like to mention I’m not having any issues with watermarks staining the countertops

Although my first choice was porcelain, I did not want to deal with chipping as that was a common complaint. After much back and forth I decided to go with quartzite. I chose cristallo quartzite which is a creamy white color and came out beautifully.
Thank you for posting to warn those considering porcelain.

I'm thinking of doing shower walls in premuim white. Is it a true grey or more of a taupe? I would love to pair it with a really dark grey vanity(similar to the one pictured) but don't know if they will work together. Any advice would be appreciated!

It would look good @andrea. It is white and gray. I can send picture of whole slab I took at warehouse if you need but you can find it in the sapien stone website and it’s true ply representative

We just got porcelain countertops in our kitchen and they were beautiful ...initially. Started seeing small scratches everywhere within a week. Called company we purchased them from and were told that porcelain can scratch them. Dishes and plates are porcelain! Sales person said just don't slide them around on the countertop. Absolutely ridiculous. Was never told that dishes or other porcelain cookware could scratch porcelain slabs when I was researching the product. Should have gone with quartz.

Can anyone give an update on their porcelain countwrtops now that you have been using them?

Lexi Pin weve had porcelain countertops for a year now and very very happy with them. Our fabricator was listed as highly recommended on the slab company's website. We used Arabescato by Antolini Tech. Our kitchen is shown on Houzz under Dream Kitchens Michigan