DEKTON countertops | Is it all it's CRACKED up to be?

This week it is time to focus on ultra compact surfaces, like Dekton countertops. This is a relatively new form of surface meant to improve on what quartz countertops have to offer. While they resist much of the daily abuse we tend to throw at our countertops, Dekton does appear to come with one major downside- Dekton chipping and cracking.
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:58 What are ultra compact surfaces?
3:30 Dekton pros and cons
9:33 Dekton environmental impact
10:49 Is it right for you?
If you feel stuck or want professional help in your next project, please head over to our design studio: www.thehomestud.com/homestud-...
Pinterest: www.pinterest.ca/homestud_stu...
Instagram: / homestud_studios
Even though this isn't a construction video, these are my commonly used tools (Affiliate links):
Router: amzn.to/3aqm7LU
Brad nailer (newer version): amzn.to/3gYjceN
Battery finish nailer: amzn.to/3n9mgr1
Battery Brad nailer: amzn.to/33m5soX
Compressor: amzn.to/2YOpsyK
Air hose: amzn.to/2yH7DGT
Speed square: amzn.to/2A5dwxY
Hammer: amzn.to/3nwqskx
Table saw: amzn.to/2SRn2vn
Track saw: amzn.to/3ra9WZC
Miter saw: amzn.to/3rbI8E4
Impact drill: amzn.to/2KiFbRt
Level: amzn.to/2K81Y2B
Planer: amzn.to/2ZRQHJg

[@magsinhull]

We’ve had Dekton countertops for about 2 years now, and absolutely love them! We can put casseroles, pans etc directly onto the surfaces without worrying, and there is no maintenance to worry about. We are moving house soon, and will definitely have Dekton again in our new kitchen.

[@mattc3929]

My local cafe uses dekton for their service counter top and their main dinning table. The main countertop holds their espresso machine, cake display and register. The cafe is 1 year old and the counter looks brand new. I regularly dine at main table and there's not scratch or stain. The cafe owner loves it.

[@lukemiller8204]

How’s it looking these days?

[@JessicaJLandi]

Our dekton arga countertops are so beautiful. We LOVE the stainless, heatproof, non-porous, antibacterial, maintenance-free attributes. Just gorgeous & practical.

[@edifymytemple]

Thank you for saying this. We are finalizing our design for kitchen remodel, and I've been looking into purchasing Dekton countertops. Your insight was helpful.

[@samsaulavi]

About to get Dekton Arga! So glad to know you love it. Can’t wait.

[@kristycannon7923]

Me too

[@HS-ce6rw]

Any issues with corner chipping? Are the flat surface seams pretty good?

[@JoshuaBurniston]

I’m having Dekton arga installed next week, what does it look like in the sun? Can you use bleach on it?

[@kamranzargar5513]

I have Dekton benchtop for my outdoor kitchen. A contractor dropped a relatively heavy but small piece of metal from 2m, and the benchtops cracked. It was a two m long section. So it does break, given enough force.

[@denisechavoya2813]

Great video! A lot of very helpful information and a concise review of pros & cons to consider before making a large expense. Thank you.

[@mamasticks]

I have a Dekton counter top and love it. I had a shelf fall and glass bottles and jars fell on counter top and never chipped it. I love the way it cleans , looks and is very durable.

[@XsoloXela1989]

Just had a deckton countertop installed today. They look beautiful.

[@heidimonteith323]

I am a designer in Naperville Illinois and I have used Dekton in my own kitchen as well as having specified it in several client applications, including an outdoor kitchen and a 14' high fireplace face. I absolutely love it. Your video did not mention that Dekton is available in many thicknesses down to 1/10 of an inch, making it a great option for facing cabinets, drawer fronts, shower walls, backsplashes, and knee spaces under islands. The colors and patterns available are stunning. I am not overly concerned about cracking or chipping. I have not seen or heard of that happening at all and would be interested to know the details of exactly how this test was done. I'm thinking that the size and weight of the object used for impact must have been enormous. If it were to crack due to thermal stress it would be covered under the 25 year warranty.

[@kimberlydeguglielmo3011]

Once again, another fantastic video! I looked at Neolith countertops, and I liked them much better than Quartz. As for chipping, all countertops will chip if something heavy falls or bangs against them. I had granite countertops before, and I have chips in two places around my sink. We ultimately went with porcelain countertops and couldn't be happier. Keep up the excellent work! 👏🏾

[@hsdesignstudio]

Thanks 👍 it’s good to hear you the right material for you!

[@kobiiluz1769]

צ

[@missligalife177]

Could you share what brands have porcelain countertops?

[@XluiXawesomeX]

Porcelain is a very weak material quartz quartsize and granite are the best cause if you need repair in the future much easier soemtimes porcelain and Delton isn’t fixable

[@YannisFyssas]

I have seen first hand, what chipped and cracked Dekton countertops look like, at my local installer's warehouse. He won't work with Dekton any longer as they are prone to chipping and cracking when cutting (and they work woith 100s of countertops per month. so they are not some home-renno outfit. I actually have a cracked sample as a reference so I think the cracking and chipping is a very real concern. We would only sell me a straight cut piece with no mitering at all. Now a lot of others make and miter Dekton and perhaps this is a moot point, but it's one more data point for you guys (like myself) looking to get dekton countertops. Thank you for the video

[@IamTheJesus69]

As a fabricator, we’ve had porcelain slabs break on us in the past and have learned some techniques to where we haven’t had porcelain or ultra compact material break in a while, even with mitered inside corners. It does take a lot of extra time and effort to cut, grind, and handle while avoided problems… With the thin slabs that get cutouts, we will actually apply fiberglass backing before we even cut the slab. If you do end up with a crack or chip, it’s much more likely to be impossible to perform a good repair than with natural stone.

[@mariakolesnichenko2649]

I took some Dekton samples at home and i put it on the floor, and honestly i dropped some big pots from ,maybe ,110 cm height and nothing happened, no cracks and it didn't break. my samples were 8 mm thick btw. LOL

[@TenshiR]

Doing a whole home renovation and we just had 3 slabs of Dekton installed in the kitchen one with a waterfall. The installers did such a terrible job yesterday.(rushing it seemed). The surface looks amazing, like Onyx, but the totally botched the seams. I'm so annoyed. Their sending someone to access the install today. It's easily the most expensive part of our whole renovation.

[@Melrose4127]

Do you have an update on how it holds up

[@u.mazzeru3327]

I’m interested in a comparison between Denton and Sensa.

[@gilgabro420]

Ok it makes scene from a material science point of view that dekton is more prone to cracking. It's always a trade off when you have a very hard material because any material is basically always less elastic if it is harder. I'm saying basically because the atomic structure might be more uniform especially if it is engineered that way. I am not sure if that's the case here but it is a good rule of thumb.

[@1mezion]

Actually u are right

[@marylynett5107]

I’m getting one now and they don’t seem to be handling it well at all. I’m nervous about this since it’s our second slab because of chipping

[@bedog22]

This is a great video (actually, I have taken a deep dive this morning and watched most of your counter videos!). Do you have any updates on Dekton since making this video? Or, does anyone here have any feedback if they have Dekton in their kitchen? I am considering Dekton Crete, but am now worried about chipping/cracking. Thanks!

[@runejrgensen8114]

We are in the exact same situation, and I'm really keen to understand more. We need to decide this week for a new kitchen, and I'm 70/30 towards Dekton/Neolith over Quartz, which the company recommend, but for me the heat proof and stain/scratch proof is a big selling point and I like the look of it. We were leaning towards Neolith and I'm pleased he mentioned that it might be less prone to chipping/cracking.

[@Card_Crazed]

Mark Tobin got some Dekton samples, and put one of them to the test. This was some months ago, but the dropping of the sledge hammer on the Dekton was fascinating.. although, to be fair, I don't think anyone is going to dropping something that heavy on a corner on purpose :)

[@hsdesignstudio]

Probably not all that real, yes haha. However, drop a serving dish from a wall cabinet and who knows how they will fair..especially at the edges.

[@mygarden4077]

you'd really have to annoy someone if they arrive at the kitchen with a sledge hammer.

[@TsuniNightMMO]

1 word: kids :D

[@JessicaJLandi]

I saw Mark Tobin's video, also, and we decided to go with Dekton because of the heat-proof, stain-proof, cut-proof, maintenance-free quality of Dekton. I've banished all sledgehammers from the kitchen, lol. Also, nothing heavy in the upper cabinets. The lower cabinets have the heavy stuff. It's been months now and I continue to absolutely love my Dekton Arga countertops!

[@samsaulavi]

Jessica, same situation for us!

[@ws8061]

Most fabricators and installers I've met hate it. I'm sure in certain applications it can do well and fab/install issues don't necessarily translate to everyday use issues but IME stick with quartz. Even 2cm quartz is very strong. Cool video though, learned a few things for sure.

[@hsdesignstudio]

Same here, most of the ones I work with don’t touch the stuff unless forced too.

[@finalsnipe8278]

I also work in fabrication. If you ask anybody in my shop they ALL will tell you for countertops, tables, and applications where it is subjuct to regular abuse, dekton is terrible, but its great for shower walls, fireplaces, and other decorative applications specifically for visual appearance.

[@fangfangouyang]

Due to the test mentioned, it may not be appropriate to use in a earthquake zone, like California. Any thoughts?

[@hsdesignstudio]

Honestly I'll have to look that up. None of my clients in California have gone this route. Its all been quartz or natural stone.

[@julianaluque2645]

Great video! What are the names of the alternative brands to Delkton?

[@hsdesignstudio]

Sorry for the late reply- Lapitec and Neolith are two other companies to look out for.

[@Bostonbob3]

Xtone is another. Sold through Porcelanosa.

[@michaelkagan6910]

I am myself looking into Dekton for upcoming renovation. I think what and how the Dekton is installed, what sub surface, has a lot to do with the cracking breaking. If it is installed on an uneven surface, or not a solid surface, it will definitely create an ease of breaking.

[@juliegerdman5063]

We have them for about 5yrs now and do not like them at all. Have a chip in a weird spot that is not from dropping something on it. The seams are all splitting open and I have trouble getting it clean and does leave marks. I had someone come take a look and none of it is covered under the 30 yr. warranty. Very disappointed!

[@alexlisney446]

As a fabricator I hate this stuff

[@marielbird633]

@@alexlisney446 Why?

[@alexlisney446]

@@marielbird633 it's too fragile, you look at it wrong and it breaks

[@loulasousou8052]

@@alexlisney446 pourtant il est proposé par tous les cuisinistes du coin comme une matière très solide et il coute plus cher que le granite. J’hésite entre un granite ou un dekton. Je souhaite un comptoir blanc. A part le dekton en solidité je ne vois rien d’autres. Avez vous des conseils ?

[@missligalife177]

Can you share which colour ( model name )do you have!

[@missligalife177]

It sounds like cars. Some one loves BMW and drive them all life long, while my husband hate BMW and thinks it is not reliable car, since he had bad experience. Looks like everyone has very different experiance with Dekton! I am planning to use Dekton Rem on one side of the kitchen, for back splash and a little bit of counter, since most of the space will be taken by sink and induction stove. But for the big surface, what will be huge island on other side I am using Italstone, what I guess is porcelain. If something will happen with one of them, I just will never use that material again! I am following one Toronto designer and she works for multi million dollar projects. And she really uses a lot the Laminam what is porcelain. She use it for kitchen islands, counterops, bathroom countertops.

[@fangfangouyang]

Is Porcelanosa X Stone similar?

[@hsdesignstudio]

Looks quite similar but not identical. Dekton is a slightly different process.

[@allans7281]

Does DEkton have a 25 year warranty with all replace it for free

[@mygarden4077]

Interesting. Going for trillion here in Scotland. I will keep you posted. We party hard so it will be well tested

[@hsdesignstudio]

Please do. I'm interested to hear about real world examples of the wear and tear on this long term.

[@cassandracoy]

Interested in how this has worn for you?

[@Mcseverythingoutdoors]

Paid $8,000 for our Dekton countertops. 2 weeks in and a huge chip on the edge and the laminate, yes laminate design by the seam is damaged.

[@lizisler9415]

Ive looked at all 3 and hundreds of choices. DEKTON has the most colour / design option.

[@RichMurrayGranite]

This is an outstanding product, if you are a competent enough fabricator to actually work with it. The issue is, very few fabricators are these days. It’s a combination of either cheap equipment (won’t work on dekton) or complete automation and little true stone craftsmanship skills. (dekton requires formal knowledge of how surfaces cut rather than break). In other words, people are trying to do high end surfaces as cheaply as possible these days, and it has drastically reduced the honest quality of the product. Put simply, a cheap toolset can craft quartz with ease as it is softer and more forgiving. A tech only “fabricator” can easily work with quartz for the same reason. All are great products, but you won’t see a fly by night fabricator or a basic volume fabricator touch the stuff, and likely not advanced natural product either for that matter.

[@georgeorwell7291]

Dekton is perfect... no coffee rings, oil rings... but the cracking scares me since its also not cheap - as in f*in expensive

[@hsdesignstudio]

Nothing is completely perfect...hence your comment and cracking.

[@muathmahmoud509]

Ignore those comments who says they love dekton, the brand does sucks and people who have the chips is true. They do suck along with their statement. Neolith probably better. Still dekston looks good but if you want it be ready to pay alot for repairs and replacements each 2-3 years

[@scout-masterklein4750]

neolynth

[@hsdesignstudio]

Neolith - neolithcountertops.com

[@earthcomedy]

Let's see a video of a pot dropping on a Dekton surface with a "proper installation" - let's see what happens.

[@Xingqiwu387]

If only they could come up with actual colors! I feel I've gone colorblind when it comes to countertops. I am so SICK of seeing quartz, granite, and other countertops that have that "marble" look - all in hundreds of boring shades of white, off white, egg white, snow white, paper white, or gray - Scandinavian office gray, tombstone gray, rainy-day gray, midnight gray, December gray, black-and-blue gray. YUCK!! How about brilliant solid colors in yellow, red, blue, green, turquoise?

[@ohger1]

If Quart manufacturers can even get close to the beauty of granite, the game would be over. Too bad quartz is so cheap looking. I think Corian looks better which is sad.

[@JAYEKAZE]

It's just porcelain

[@hsdesignstudio]

It's similar, but not the same as there are some basic raw material differences, and manufacturing differences. Here is a video on porcelain if you are interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3zEg2OjrcqZhLs