GRANITE VS QUARTZ

Granite vs Quartz

As a customer you have a variety of options available when choosing materials for your kitchen, bathroom, or outdoor kitchen remodel. When choosing material it's important to consider your needs and wants, such as durability, maintenance, and cost. In this article we will be going over the pros and cons of both granite and quartz. 

Granite Pros

Typhoon Bordeaux 2cm 

• Granite is offered in a wide variety of different colors to suit any customers design pallet. 
• Since granite is a natural stone you can choose to have your material honed, leathered, or brushed. which pulls it apart from your standard polished kitchen counter-top.
•  Granite is suitable for many different applications, such as kitchen counter-tops, shower walls, fire places, and outdoor kitchens/ BBQ's. 
• Granite counter-tops are scratch resistant and can withstand your normal wear and tear with proper sealing and maintenance. 
• Based of the mohs hardness scale granite is rated at about a 7.5, which means its very durable
• As far as a price point goes for granite, you can find slabs here in our show room for as low as $420, and as high as $2,000, so there definitely is material to suit every customers budget. 
• Can be resurfaced in years to come, making it look just as beautiful as the day it was installed. 

Book matched Sienna Bordeaux

Granite Cons

• To maintain your granite counter-tops you can expect to reseal every 2 1/2-3 years depending on usage of course. A good way to tell if your counter-tops need to be resealed is of you notice water soaking into the stone rather then beading off then that's your sign that it needs to be re-sealed. 
• If your counter-tops are not sealed, or not sealed correctly they more then likely will stain. 

*Granite may not be the right fit if you are looking for something a little more uniformed, as you can typically expect granite to be more on the busier side with lots of unique shading and striations. 

Quartz Pros

• Quartz is offered in a variety of different colors ranging from a bright red, to your typical white with grey veining to mimic that marble look. 
• Quartz is a man made product, which means they are able to control the pattern
• Non-porus
• Doesn't require any sealing or special treatment 
• Wont stain or scratch
• Warm water with a mild ph soap to clean up any spills

Quartz Cons

•  Not heat resistant & can burn if a hot pan is placed directly on top of the surface
• Quartz will discolor when exposed to direct sunlight 
• Price! quartz can be anywhere from 20%-40% more expensive then granite
• Since quartz is a manufactured stone it makes it hard to duplicate the natural look of a granite or a marble.

*Quartz is for the homeowner who is looking for something more on the uniformed side with little to no movement. 

~Counter-tops are a big decision, so hopefully reading this helps you when choosing between granite and quartz material. Stop by Natural Stone Source to see all the different options we have for all your granite and quartz counter-top needs, or to talk with one of our knowledgeable sales people for some more information.