Preventing and Repairing Quartz Countertop Crack

Quartz is a kind of artificial stone. It is mainly made of more than 90% quartz sand as the main aggregate, about 8% resin, pigment, additives and other materials. After mixing, it is made through vacuum pressure vibration molding, curing and polishing.

Advantages of quartz countertops:

Due to the high density and hardness of quartz, the Mohs hardness of quartz is 7, which has strong scratch resistance and wear resistance, high density, dense and non-porous surface, not easy to breed bacteria, good antibacterial and stain resistance, acid resistance, corrosion resistance and high temperature resistance, easy to clean. Green and environmentally friendly, can be in direct contact with food, very suitable for kitchen countertops, laboratory countertops and other places.

But from a physical point of view, quartz has slight thermal expansion and contraction, and has certain shrinkage capacity, elongation at crack, impact toughness and other properties. When the quartz countertop/floor/wall cannot withstand the internal stress caused by thermal expansion and contraction and receives severe external impact, it will crack.

Reasons for the break of quartz countertops:

There are mainly several quartz countertopscrack situations:

Crack in the center and periphery of the quartz countertop:

For example, placing a hot pot directly on the countertop, or chopping bones directly on the countertop, the quartz countertop is partially heated or externally impacted, causing break.

Break at the corners of the quartz countertop:

For example, the edge of the quartz countertop is too close to the wall without leaving a gap, the height between the two cabinets is uneven or not leveled, and the countertop shrinks unevenly due to external impact or temperature changes and breaks.

Crack at the joints of the quartz countertop:

When the installers were splicing, the seams were not aligned, the glue was not evenly applied, or excessive curing agent was added to the glue, resulting in the brittle joints between the quartz stones, which broke when slightly impacted during use.

How to prevent quartz stone from breaking?

Choose high-quality quartz slabs

• First of all, the quality of quartz is one of the most critical factors affecting whether it breaks. Therefore, when purchasing quartz stone slabs, please pay attention to whether its quality is qualified. The higher the density and uniformity, the better. The slab’s anti-fracture performance will also be stronger.

Pay attention to the details of quartz stone countertop installation

In order to ensure the installation quality of the countertop, before installation, you need to pay attention to the following points:

• When installing the countertop, there should be a gap of 2-4 mm between the countertop and the wall to effectively ensure that the countertop will not break due to thermal expansion and contraction. The countertop should be kept at a maximum distance of no more than 600 mm from the support frame to reduce deformation and fracture of the countertop.
• When designing the splicing of the countertop plane, you should consider avoiding the consequences of joint fractures caused by thermal expansion and contraction or concentrated force, and avoid placing kitchen utensils at the splicing position of the countertop.
• When designing the corners of the countertop, all corners should be kept with a radius of more than 25 mm during processing. Avoid concentrated force and cause crack at the corners of the
• The space between the quartz slab and the cabinet should be filled with sealant to prevent moisture from penetrating. The quartz countertop will be broken due to moisture absorption for a long time

How to repair the break of quartz countertop

If the break of the quartz countertop is small and not obvious, it can be repaired with stone caulking agent:

1. Clean the break of the countertop: Wipe the fracture with a clean rag to remove dust and gravel.
2. Mix the caulking agent: According to the instructions of the caulking agent, mix the caulking agent and curing agent in proportion.
3. Fill the break area: Fill the caulking agent into the fracture with a caulking knife to ensure that the caulking agent completely fills the fracture gap.
4. Remove excess caulking agent: Use a scraper or wet cloth to scrape or wipe off the excess caulking agent on the surface of the crack.
5. Curing and maintenance: Let the caulking agent cure completely, which usually takes 24-48 hours. After curing, polish the fracture with a polishing agent. You can choose a special quartz polishing pads to polish it to make the surface smooth as before.
6. If the crack is large or obvious, professional repair is required. Professional repair personnel will use appropriate repair methods according to the crack of the quartz plate The broken part can be cut off and the stone can be replaced.

In daily use, it is also necessary to avoid cracking caused by external factors, such as: do not hit the quartz countertop with gravity, do not put extremely hot pots or utensils directly on the countertop, etc., and you can put a layer of insulation at the bottom.

I hope my article can help you learn about the reasons for the quartz countertop crack and how to repair them.To learn more about quartz polishing kit, please click to visit.

Thank you for your reading.