GRAND SHOWDOWN: GRANITE VS QUARTZ
Are you in a dilemma? Finding it hard to decide on which stone to decide on for your home? Granite or Quartz? Granite vs Quartz: Worry not my friend, I got you! We're going to run down some pointers for you to make a good choice between these two heavyweight contenders.
Although Quartz is making some inroads, Granite is still the undisputed champion of the countertop world. It is among the most popular countertop used for the kitchen.
GRANITE
Because Granite is quarried out of the earth and then sliced up into the pieces that we see and use, and familiar with countertops it's really important that you actually go to the warehouse and pick the slab that will get used in your house.
If you try to pick Granite off of a sample, you're going to find the top that shows up at your house probably isn't going to look like the sample that you looked at. Now Granite does require a sealer, as I'm sure you've heard. We recommend for most Granite, that you seal it once per year. There are sealer options that are warranted for 15 years. Granite is priced in levels.
So it starts at level 1, 2, 3 goes up from there. Some Granite warehouses are going to have it as A, B, C. It is the same concept either way, but A or 1 being the lowest cost Granite, and they get more expensive as you go up the line.
Now, quality of Granite doesn't vary based on the price so when you pay more for a Granite, it's not a higher quality more durable Granite. Think of it as a semi-precious stone, where the less of it there is the more it's going to cost.
In some of the exotic Granites that gets a little bit expensive, they actually break a bit easier. They get broken often in fabrication and that drives up the cost a bit as well. Have you heard of Sensa Granite? the Next Generation of granite (find out more here)
QUARTZ
Let's take a look next at Quartz and it's pros and cons. Unlike Granite, Quartz is a man-made product. It's about 90 – 93% Quartz, crushed up and mixed with 7 – 10% resin binders. Because of this, Quartz is very dense and non-porous.
So you don't have to worry about sealing it like you do with Granite. The other advantage of it being man-made is that it's very uniform. So you're able to make your selection off of a little sample. That uniformity also lends itself better to tight seams that are less noticeable.
Because of the randomness of Granite, sometimes its seams can be quite obvious. Quartz is just as heavy but a little bit more flexible than Granite. So it's less likely to break upon the installation. From a cost perspective, the entry-level for Quartz is just a little higher than Granite.
So the lowest level Quartz is maybe a notch above the lowest level Granite. However, the cost of the two materials is so close together that most people make their choice based purely on aesthetics.
A lot of times the Quartz lends itself better to a more contemporary look and design, because of the uniformity of the material. As you can see, there's really not a bad choice to make between these two products, but I hope the information we've provided today aids you in getting off your decision paralysis.
