A customer messaged us last month after the stonemason quoted $11,400 to replace a 2.8 metre Caesarstone island with one chipped corner. The customer was gutted. "I was gutted when I saw it, thought I'd have to redo the whole kitchen." We repaired the chip on-site in 80 minutes for $420. The repair is invisible. The bench is fine.

Stories like this used to be common. They are about to become the norm. From 1 July 2024, engineered stone (Caesarstone, Smartstone, Essastone, Silestone, and anything that contains crystalline silica) cannot be cut, drilled, or installed in Australia. The supply still exists in homes that already have it. The trade that used to rip it out and start again is now severely restricted in what it can do with a replacement. Repair has gone from "nice option" to "the only path forward" for most damage.

This post covers what changed, why repair was the right answer even before the ban, and what the work actually looks like on a Caesarstone bench.

What the silica ban changed

The Australian engineered-stone ban exists because cutting and dry-grinding engineered stone produces respirable crystalline silica dust. Silicosis among stonemasons has been described by SafeWork Australia as the worst occupational lung disease outbreak in Australia in 50 years. The ban applies to:

Cutting, sawing, grinding, polishing, and abrasive working of engineered stone slabs.
Manufacture of new engineered stone products in Australia.
Installation of new engineered stone benchtops, panels, and splashbacks from 1 July 2024.

What is still allowed: repair, modification, and removal of existing engineered stone installations, provided the work is done under strict dust controls (wet methods, on-tool extraction, RPE). Surface Fix follows the SafeWork Victoria controlled-work guidance on every stone job.

Practically, this means three things for a homeowner with a chipped Caesarstone bench:

A like-for-like replacement is no longer available. The stonemason cannot fabricate a new engineered-stone slab to swap your damaged one. The supplier cannot legally cut and install it.
The alternative is a different material entirely (natural stone, porcelain bench, laminate, timber). That means a full kitchen redesign for what was a small chip.
Repair is the only path that keeps the existing benchtop. And under controlled conditions, repair is safe to perform.

If you have been quoted to "replace the Caesarstone" after 1 July 2024, ask the stonemason what they intend to install. Most quotes we have seen since the ban are quietly recommending porcelain or a porcelain-finish reconstituted stone (a different product), at a much higher price than the customer expected, and with the same kitchen-disruption pattern as a full reno.

Why repair was the right answer even before the ban

The silica ban accelerated something that was already true. Engineered-stone benches were over-replaced because the trade default was to swap rather than repair. Three reasons:

Replacement is faster to quote. A stonemason walks in, measures, gives you a square-metre price. Quoting a chip repair means assessing the specific damage, which is harder to scope and easier to under-charge.
Stonemasons do not carry chip-repair kits. They cut and install slabs. They do not colour-match epoxy and polish back to a consistent finish. The tools are different, the technique is different. So when the customer asks about repair, the honest answer is "we don't do that, you'd need a specialist".
Caesarstone (the company) markets replacement, not repair. Their warranty system handles defects via slab replacement, which trains customers and trade to think the same way about post-warranty damage.

The chip itself, in most cases, was always repairable. We have been resurfacing and patching Caesarstone since 2018. The technique is mature. What changed is the volume of customers who suddenly need it because replacement is no longer cheap or simple.

What a Caesarstone chip repair actually involves

Here is what happens in a typical 30 to 90 minute repair on a Caesarstone island corner.

Damage assessment. We confirm the substrate is Caesarstone (vs. other engineered stones, vs. natural stone). Different fillers, different colour-match approach. We also check whether the chip exposes the underlying slab or if it is a surface-level cosmetic chip.
Colour identification. Caesarstone has over 50 colours in current production and many more legacy colours from older installs. We carry a 60-shade colour deck and match on-site by comparing under daylight. For unusual shades (specific veining, micro-fleck patterns), we send a photo to the customer for approval before mixing.
Surface preparation. We mask the surrounding area, sand the chip edges to roughen the bond surface, and clean with isopropyl alcohol. This is the step that determines whether the repair lasts 6 months or 6 years.
Filler placement. Two-part stone epoxy mixed to the matched colour. Built up in layers, slightly proud of the surrounding surface to allow polishing back. Each layer cures for 8 to 12 minutes before the next.
Polish back. Diamond pad work, four grits, hand-polished into the surrounding bench. The result reads consistent with the rest of the slab. Run a finger across it and you cannot feel where the chip was.
Final clean and aftercare. Wipe down, remove masking, leave aftercare instructions (no abrasive cleaners on the repair for 30 days, no hot pans placed directly on the repair area).

Total on-site time: usually 60 to 90 minutes for a single chip on a kitchen island corner. We can repair up to 4 chips on the same visit. Most homes only have one or two.

What is not covered by repair

Repair handles the vast majority of Caesarstone damage. It does not handle:

Cracks through the full thickness of the slab. A 20mm Caesarstone slab cracked end-to-end has a structural issue that surface filler cannot solve. These are usually caused by substrate movement (cabinetry settling, a missing support brace under a heavy section) and need the underlying support corrected first.
Sub-surface delamination. Rare on Caesarstone but possible on lower-grade engineered stones. If the surface is lifting from the substrate, repair does not work.
Heat-damaged sections larger than a saucer. A burn mark from a hot pot is repairable. A 200mm square of heat-discoloured stone usually needs the whole island top resurfaced (not replaced), which is a different scope.

We say so honestly in the quote when these come up. About 1 in 20 of the photos we receive for Caesarstone repair fall outside what repair can do. We tell those customers up front and recommend a specialist.

Cost expectations

Single chip repair on Caesarstone, granite, or similar engineered stone: $350 to $580 in the Melbourne metro, depending on chip size, location (island corner is harder than a flat run), and colour-match complexity (Statuario whites and dark veined colours take longer than mid-tone solids).

Multi-chip jobs (2 to 4 chips, same visit) sit at $480 to $780 total.

Full polish restoration on a dulled or scuffed bench (no specific chip, but a uniform finish refresh): $640 to $1,200 depending on linear metres.

These are real numbers from real jobs across Melbourne in 2025. We will not give you a final price without seeing photos. The variance above reflects the genuine spread we see; once we see your benchtop, the price firms up.

Quote a Caesarstone repair

Send 1 to 2 photos of the chip or crack through the form at surfacefix.com.au/quote. Include a wide shot of the bench and a close-up of the damage. We come back with a written quote within 24 hours.

If your bench is something other than Caesarstone, we still handle it: granite, marble, quartz composite, and porcelain bench. The colour-match process is similar; the underlying chemistry of the filler differs by material.

FAQ

Is repair as durable as replacement? The repair sets hard and stays put: good adhesion, stable colour, no reopening of the repaired chip in normal use. The surrounding bench keeps its original lifespan. We have repairs from 2019 that still look the same as the day we did them.

Will I see the repair? Under good kitchen light, no. The filler is colour-matched and polished back to the surrounding finish. You can feel for where the chip was and not find it. Under a magnifying glass or harsh side-light, a careful eye can sometimes pick the edge of the repair on dark or heavily-veined colours. We tell you what to expect before we start.

Can you repair burnt or heat-marked stone? Most heat marks, yes. Small burn marks from a hot pan or trivet can be polished out or filled and refinished. Large discoloured sections (bigger than a dinner plate) usually need a full top resurface rather than a spot repair. Send a photo and we will tell you which it is.

Can you match every Caesarstone colour? We carry a 60-shade colour deck and mix to match on-site. For unusual Caesarstone colours (specific veining patterns, micro-fleck blends), we send a small test patch photo for your approval before final placement. The match rate across our last 200 jobs is consistent enough that the repaired area reads the same as the surrounding bench in normal light.

What about silica safety during the repair? Repair work generates almost no respirable silica dust because we are not cutting or grinding the slab. The chip-fill technique sands a 2 to 4mm bond zone, which we wet-method with the dust extracted on-tool. The same SafeWork Victoria controls a stonemason uses for legal demolition apply on repair, and we follow them on every job.

Last reviewed 2026-05-26 by Ben, Founder of Surface Fix. We repair surfaces across Melbourne and Victoria.

Most Caesarstone chips don't need replacement (and what to do instead)