Thread: Silica

Originally Posted by ErrolFlynn

I’m not upset by the govt’s intention to ban engineered stone due to the dangers of breathing silica dust. (I keep breaking cups on its hard edges. I used to have a timber bench top in another house. Loved it and miss it. No broken cups.)

I’ll be getting involved in attempting some exterior weatherboard cladding. I’ve been reading up on the dos and don’ts of installation. A lot of the installation process is still a mystery. Anyway, I came across a James Hardie website on the subject and the following item caught my eye: "Fibre cement products manufactured by James Hardie contain sand, a source of respirable crystalline silica. May cause cancer if dust from product is inhaled."

Perhaps JH products will hit the banned list next.

They are hitting at the "high silica" content with the ban, there are many silica containing products including natural stone which is still perfectly fine for use in benchtops.

Bet the price of natural stone increases with the demand.

Originally Posted by droog

Bet the price of natural stone increases with the demand.

I dare say. There might also be a swing back to timber. Timber bench tops can be beautiful.

There's a park near me, and there's a table setting there. It looks like any one of those tables you see in public parks with two bench seats opposed to one another. It's plastic. A sign on it says it has been made from bottle tops; like the ones you have on milk bottles. It's not the sort of thing I'd want in my kitchen, but the gap provided by the loss of engineered stone may be taken up by new technology.

And in terms of engineered stone, some clever entrepreneur might come up with a solution. If the stuff is made from some kind of combination of resin and powdered rock then it might be possible to make kitchen bench tops to the size specs without cutting. Maybe like some kind of 3D printing process.

I really like the look of new timber bench tops but our experience with timber kitchen bench tops for nearly thirty years has not been positive one and regretted it not long after after we first got them in 1994, and even more so the first time they needed resurfacing some 5 years later as removing the two pack poly finish off was a right PITA. The tops were easily dinged by things like crockery, cookware, knives etc and they eventually cracked and began collecting dirt and food. After the 3rd time of resurfacing them I just let the tops go to pot and worked on SWMBO on getting a new kitchen with stone bench tops although SWMBO was still keen on timber and stuck with this just before she passed away when she finally agreed to get engineered stone.

I managed the kitchen reno last July-August and so far the stone tops have been great - super easy to clean and haven't broken anything yet on them. If engineered stone was no longer available I would have gone for natural stone.
Finished1.JPG

Finished2.JPG

Over the years, I've had 2 kitchens installed with engineered stone benchtops. Original house was built by rather a shonky builder, and I remember the benchtops being cut on-site for fitting. Lots of grinders, dust everywhere, and certainly an unaccceptable hazard these days (it was 20 years ago).

Rebuild after the bushfires was with a MUCH better builder, who used all top quality trades. His preferred local kitchen outfit did all the kitchen design and installation, again with engineered stone benchtops. However, this was done by taking precise measurements of everything after the frame was up, and all components of the engineered stone (including splashbacks) were manufactured at a factory in Sydney, transported to site, and fitted together with no on-site cutting or dust hazard at all. I actually visited the site where the engineered stone was prepared, and it used the latest (expensive) cutting and grinding machines from Europe with all operations conducted in a controlled area with massive water misting and circulation to control dust. No workers allowed anywhere near the machines when operating (they were under CNC control anyway), and absolutely zero work performed on site. It all fitted together beautifully, and very happy with the finished result.

I can't help thinking that the cowboy kitchen installers cutting stuff on-site have killed engineered stone, but even responsible manufacturers have been tarred with the same brush?

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

I can't help thinking that the cowboy kitchen installers cutting stuff on-site have killed engineered stone, but even responsible manufacturers have been tarred with the same brush?

Quite likely correct. With decent equipment, the process should be safe.

Though, there may also be some shonky manufacturers who use sub-standard equipment who have little regard for their workers.

Has engineered stone been banned in Australia or just the cutting of it? What might happen is that those careful measurements that were once sent to some Sydney factory to be cut and shaped are now sent to a New Zealand factory or a workshop in Indonesia. So, instead of waiting a week for the product to front at your house, you wait a month for it to arrive. There are always solutions to problems. People in those countries might start getting sick rather than anyone in Australia, but the engineered stone might continue to be available.

Originally Posted by ErrolFlynn

Has engineered stone been banned in Australia or just the cutting of it?

Use, supply and manufacture. According to this article.
‘Dangerous product’: Australian ban on engineered stone to begin next year | Australia news | The Guardian