Countertops

[bobkatfly]

Getting ready to purchase kitchen countertops for a home I'm renovating. Anyone have experience with quartzite vs quartz? The only differences I'm aware of are price and sealing requirements. The quartzite is less $$$ but needs sealing like granite where standard quartz doesn't.

[Susie Cougar]

My daughter just finished renovating her home and she looked at both quartz and quartzite. Quartz is really a much prettier countertop and it is much easier to clean and take care of. How long are you planning to be in the house? If you plan on being in the house for awhile, I would go with the quartz.


I have had quartz in my home for seven years now and I love it! I’ve never had to do a thing to it. It’s just as beautiful as it was on day one.

[TheProfessor]

Here is an excellent product:

LINK

Silestone.

[winni83]

In our former house, we had granite. When we built up here, we went with quartz, specifically Cambria. We think it is far superior to granite and we have had the quartz for 10 years.

[bobkatfly]

So while I was researching this with you folks my wife was out looking at product. Came home and told me she bought quartz. So I guess the research matches the purchase.
Thanks for your input.

[GusMan]

We recently renovated our kitchen and had to make the same decision.

I agree that Quartz is easy to clean and pretty durable (it's not bulletproof) we just could not get past the fact that it's manufactured product that doesn't have the same uniqueness and depth of natural stone.

There are *many* different natural stones out there that have varying degrees of staining/chipping/etching resistance. The problem is that stoneyards are notorious for mislabeling natural stones. So you need to do your homework to see if the slabs you're looking are really granite, marble, dolomite or true quartzite.

We ended up getting Taj Mahal quartzite and could not be happier. Real stone and absolutely bulletproof without resealing. Kinda pricey though!

If you want all the information you can possibly handle about counters (and all things about renovations) look up Houzz.com.

Good Luck!

Gusman

[GusMan]

Ooops! Too late I guess!

Now that you've chosen your material.... make sure you have lots of talks with the fabricator.

Quartz can be notorious hard to match patterns when it comes to seams (particularly heavily veined patterns). Make sure the fabricator shows you exactly where the seams will be and how the patterns will align. I would also suggest you go to the stoneyard and choose the exact slabs you like as they can vary greatly both in color and pattern. Note though, I have heard instances of people having quartz dealers balk at allowing customers to choose their own slabs.

I was able choose my exact slabs and reserve them even though it's the fabricator that purchases the slabs from the stoneyard.

Good Luck!

Gusman

[bobkatfly]

Originally Posted by GusMan

Ooops! Too late I guess!

Now that you've chosen your material.... make sure you have lots of talks with the fabricator.

Quartz can be notorious hard to match patterns when it comes to seams (particularly heavily veined patterns). Make sure the fabricator shows you exactly where the seams will be and how the patterns will align. I would also suggest you go to the stoneyard and choose the exact slabs you like as they can vary greatly both in color and pattern. Note though, I have heard instances of people having quartz dealers balk at allowing customers to choose their own slabs.

I was able choose my exact slabs and reserve them even though it's the fabricator that purchases the slabs from the stoneyard.

Good Luck!

Gusman

Good points. She was able to choose a slab. Expect install next month. Hope I did the cabinets well enough

[beagle]

Be sure not to put hot pans on quartz surfaces, they can scorch. Likewise do not use quartz as a backsplash behind a cooktop or range.

Quartzite, which is real stone, is beautiful but some of it being sold today is mislabeled marble, for instance Fantasy Brown is really a marble and will etch. If you were still interested in going this route, I would advise you to do your homework .

[fatlazyless]

Here's a counter top maker ...... www.coastalcountertopsnh.com ...... in Farmington, NH ..... about 30-minutes south of Alton, NH.

They make and supply counter tops to Middleton Building Supply, Belletete's Building Supply, Hancock Lumber, Lavalley Building Supply, Lowe's, Home Depot, and others.