| InnerGlow Surfaces |
| InnerGlow Surfaces Gilasi recycled glass counters are a nightmare Chicago, Illinois |
| 19th of Jun, 2011 by User249375 |
We installed Gilasi recycled counters in December 2010, had a major section reinstalled in April, and are now about to pull all of it - which sadly, will send this "green" material directly to the landfill. We initially chose Gilasi because it was a nice looking product, manufacturered locally here in Chicago, and made from recycled oven glass that would otherwise be scrapped. We thought we'd found the perfect countertop. It's the worst choice we could have made. Here are the issues:
1. Slabs are poured unevenly. This makes it almost impossible for fabricators to work with if there's a seam involved. Over the last six months, we've worked with two different fabricators because of the problems described below. The first company couldn't get the seam right at all. The second company had to send out a specialist, who worked on the surfaces for hours before finally creating a flat, smooth seam. 2. The material is impossible to seal. The pieces from the first installation were a problem right from the start. The surface was covered with a gritty film that Gilasi said was bad wax used by the fabricator. The fabricator said they were using what Gilasi recommended. Nonetheless, the fabricator came out, stripped the counters, and resealed and waxed them. Six months later, two pieces from that original installation and resealing process remain in our kitchen. Both absorb any type of moisture immediately. They also pick up normal oil from the skin, creating permanent discolorations. So if you rest your arms on the edge of the counter (we have a breakfast counter/ledge), the surface darkens and begins to look oily and bad. 3. The company keeps changing their instructions to fabricators. Over the last six months, we personally know about four different "approved" sealing and waxing techniques that Gilasi has told fabricators to use. None of them have worked. The main countertop area was reinstalled in April. This was done because a few weeks after the first counters were put in, we discovered a crack running front to back. We contact both the fabricator and Gilasi, and ended up stuck in the middle between them while they pointed fingers at each other. The fabricator said the piece arrived flawed and they reinforced it to prevent any issues (which they did not tell us before installing). Gilasi blamed the fabricator for cracking it during fabrication, which the fabricators vehemently denied. We'll never know the full story because there was a lot of discussion behind the scenes between the two companies. But Gilasi eventually offered to repour that section and also promised to personally take care of the sealing and waxing afterward. We thought it would be all good after this. To ensure the second install would go smoothly, we asked the owner of the company, Garrett Obluck, for his recommendation on another fabricator. He gave us the name of a company that he said had been doing "great work" with his product. They do, in fact, do great work - we've seen it firsthand. But they have struggled with his product even more. The new pieces arrived with several visible flaws - a dark stained semicircle and some odd white splotches on the front edge. We naively assumed these were temporary anomalies and would be cleaned up by the time everything was installed, sealed, and waxed. It turned out that these were permanent flaws. It also turned out that the material wasn't properly sealed - as everything we set on it, prepared on or near it, etc. left marks. Once again, we got stuck in the middle of a blame game between Gilasi and the fabricator. To their credit, the fabricator actually went to the Gilasi facility to be "retrained" on the manufaturer's newest sealing techniques. They sent crews out to our house twice to work on the problems, strip the counters, and reseal them exactly according to instructions. It didn't work. When we talked to Gilasi about it, Garrett Obluck said the fabricator had told him that when they sealed the counters the first time, they left the sealant on for 15 minutes instead of 30. He then blamed every issue we had - from the discolored areas that were there the day the counters were brought in to the little stains that continued to work and the incredible porosity of the material - on this fact. We are not experts and have no way to know if this is possible. But we doubt it. The fabricator triple sealed the counters the second time and there was no change. Every time we set ANYTHING on the counters, there's a risk of leaving a mark. It's frustrating beyond belief. It's like having paper instead of a usable surface. At the end of the day, Garrett refused to refund our money, happily threw his recommended fabricator under the bus, and stopped answering our emails. Both Gilasi recycled glass countertops and Gilasi customer service are substandard. It's a shame. We expected so much more. But as another local company in Oak Park that carries the product told us, Gilasi shouldn't be used in high traffic areas. And not surprisingly, neither fabricator we're worked with will ever install Gilasi countertops again. At $95 a square foot, this is a crime. We're stuck with thousands of dollars worth of wasted materials, manufactured by a company who refused to stand behind what they make. And what's even worse, is that we've posted a few reviews in the last few days to help other consumers avoid the mistake we made...and they've been mysteriously pulled. All the publicity and comments about Gilasi are being closely monitored by Jenna Obluck, a co-owner of the company. She issued a rebuttal to one of our reviews today - even going so far as to blame the fabricator in public. Gilasi recycled glass countertops are a ripoff. Stay way.
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