How CountertopData works
CountertopData is an independent registry of stone worktop surface materials. Every record holds what a source says, when that source was checked, and where uncertainty remains. This page explains how the registry is built, so anyone relying on it can judge how much weight a given record deserves.
We are not a showroom, a retailer, a comparison site, a regulator or a certification body. We do not test materials, and we do not approve them.
Where the data comes from
Records are compiled from four kinds of source, and every material and every availability record names the one it came from.
Manufacturer documents are price lists, technical data sheets and safety data sheets published by the company that makes the material. These are the strongest source for composition and specification.
Distributor documents are price lists and catalogues published by a company that supplies a brand rather than manufactures it. They are recorded as distributor sources because one step of remove is a real difference in authority.
Manufacturer websites are used for one purpose only: establishing which materials are currently offered in which markets. We do not take silica figures, classifications or images from websites.
Brand submissions are corrections or additions supplied directly by the manufacturer.
Every record shows its source type and the month the source was last checked. Where we hold no evidence, the record says so rather than guessing.
How compliance tiers are defined
CountertopData sorts materials into three tiers by their maximum published crystalline silica content. The boundaries are fixed, published, and applied identically across every brand.
Zero-Silica is a published maximum of 1% or less. This threshold aligns with the 1% figure used in engineered stone regulation internationally.
Low-Silica is a published maximum above 1% and up to 40%.
Traditional is a published maximum above 40%, or a conventional engineered quartz material for which no manufacturer has published a lower figure or made a reduced-silica claim.
Where a manufacturer publishes a percentage range, we record both ends and classify from the maximum. Where a manufacturer states a compliance claim without a figure, we record the tier and leave the percentage empty, because a claim is not a measurement. Where a material's composition is not established by any source we hold, it carries no tier at all and the record says the data is awaited.
Tiers describe composition as published. They are classifications, not safety clearances, and they say nothing about how a material behaves when cut, ground or polished.
Classification only. Fabrication controls still apply.
How availability is recorded
A material's availability is recorded per market, per source, with a date. A record can say a material is available, that it has been discontinued, or nothing at all.
Nothing at all is a real answer. Absence of an availability record means we have no evidence for that market, not that the material is unavailable there. This distinction matters: a registry that treated silence as absence would produce confident wrong answers about products that are perfectly obtainable.
We record a discontinuation only where the evidence supports it: a manufacturer's own current and complete range document that no longer lists the material, or a direct statement. A material missing from a website proposes nothing, because catalogues are reorganised, pages break, and regional sites carry different subsets.
How we handle uncertainty
Registries fail by being confidently wrong more often than by being incomplete. Ours is built to prefer an honest gap.
Where sources disagree, we record the disagreement rather than silently choosing. Where a determination we made earlier turns out to rest on a false premise, we withdraw it and say so, which returns the record to unknown rather than asserting the opposite. Where a material's name varies between markets or documents, we record the variants so searches resolve to one record instead of several.
Our internal rules for these decisions are numbered, dated and applied consistently, and every judgment that departs from a routine reading is written down against the record it affected.
What verification means
Manufacturers can verify their listings. A verified brand has reviewed the records we hold for its materials and maintains them directly, and its records carry that provenance.
Verification is a statement about the currency and accuracy of data. It is not an endorsement, an approval, a safety assessment or a certification of any material, and CountertopData certifies nothing.
Editorial independence
CountertopData is not owned by, funded by or affiliated with any manufacturer, distributor or retailer of stone surfaces.
Manufacturers can pay to verify the records we hold for their materials. Verification determines who maintains a record and how current it is. It does not change a material's classification, its published silica figures, or its recorded availability, and it does not affect how or where a material appears in search results. Verified and unverified records are classified by exactly the same published rules.
Our operator, SAAS LOGIC LTD, also builds software for the stone and kitchen industries, including StoneLogicPro. That software uses the same public API, on the same terms, as any other user, with no privileged access to the registry and no influence over what it records.
If you believe a record is wrong, tell us. We will correct it and record the correction, whoever it concerns.
Using the data
The registry is free to read and free to query through our open API, with no key required. Attribution is appreciated. If you find an error, tell us and we will correct it and record the correction.