Granite and Quartz are without a doubt the two hottest countertop materials today. What’s the difference? Which is better?
Granite is a taken straight from the earth. Being a natural product there are several drawbacks to consider. First the colors. There is a huge pallet of colors in granite but without looking at the exact slab you will purchase you can never be sure of the exact hue. The colors change as the quarry digs deeper into the earth, so two pieces of granite taken from the same quarry six months apart can look completely different. Second and most significant are the pits and fissures in granite. All granite have these as part of its natural character. What these mean in a kitchen is there will be places for germs to harbor in your counter top. Of course your granite will be sealed but will need to be resealed periodically and still will not completely fill the pits and fissures.
Quartz is a man made surface. It is made by roughly 92% quartz from the earth and man made polymers. The result is a non porous surface safe for commercial food prep. There are many manufactures now all of roughly equal quality, but some have better colors than others. Cambria is one of our favorites. The down side to quartz is there are not as many colors as granite and it is more expensive than many colors of granite. With that being said, there are many, many colors of granite that are more expensive than quartz. All quartz colors and manufacturers are roughly the same price. Granite colors have many pricing tiers depending on the availability.
Which is better? That is hard to say. They are both equally hard and durable. They both have great colors. Some people like the natural movement of granite. Quartz has a tendency to look more homogenous, which some find to more appealing. If you can find a color that you like in a first level (first tier) granite, this is going to be your best price. However, if price was equal and you find a color you like, quartz is a better product.
Below you can find some of the first tier granite colors, and links to some quartz manufactures.
Granite is a taken straight from the earth. Being a natural product there are several drawbacks to consider. First the colors. There is a huge pallet of colors in granite but without looking at the exact slab you will purchase you can never be sure of the exact hue. The colors change as the quarry digs deeper into the earth, so two pieces of granite taken from the same quarry six months apart can look completely different. Second and most significant are the pits and fissures in granite. All granite have these as part of its natural character. What these mean in a kitchen is there will be places for germs to harbor in your counter top. Of course your granite will be sealed but will need to be resealed periodically and still will not completely fill the pits and fissures.
Quartz is a man made surface. It is made by roughly 92% quartz from the earth and man made polymers. The result is a non porous surface safe for commercial food prep. There are many manufactures now all of roughly equal quality, but some have better colors than others. Cambria is one of our favorites. The down side to quartz is there are not as many colors as granite and it is more expensive than many colors of granite. With that being said, there are many, many colors of granite that are more expensive than quartz. All quartz colors and manufacturers are roughly the same price. Granite colors have many pricing tiers depending on the availability.
Which is better? That is hard to say. They are both equally hard and durable. They both have great colors. Some people like the natural movement of granite. Quartz has a tendency to look more homogenous, which some find to more appealing. If you can find a color that you like in a first level (first tier) granite, this is going to be your best price. However, if price was equal and you find a color you like, quartz is a better product.
Below you can find some of the first tier granite colors, and links to some quartz manufactures.
Cambria – www.cambriausa.com
Vicostone - http://vicostone.com/
Viatera - http://www.lgviaterausa.com/
Hanstone - http://hanwhasurfaces.com/site/hanstone
Silestone - http://www.silestoneusa.com/