quartz vs granite counter tops

[mickeddie]

Other than having to apply a sealer to granite what is the difference between granite and quartz?

Thanks!!

Eddie G

[Roger Taylor]

So-called quartz is, in reality, plastic. With colorant and crushed quartz gravel added to the mix. My neighbor had Dupont Zodiaq installed. Lasted just 2 years, then it faded due to sunlight, and began to decompose on the surface, leaving holes. Looked crappy, even at the start.

[Muvin Gruvin]

surprise to me....when visiting my sisterinlaw in the Chicago area she said she was soooo sorry for choosing Corian.

[dadiOH]

Granite is a natural stone. It consists of numerous minerals including quartz, feldspar, augite, horneblend, etc. Some are hard, others not particularly. It is held together by the interlocking of the crystal structure of the various minerals. Won't burn/scorch.

"Quartz" is a man made material with - IMO - a deceptive name. It consists of grains of various minerals including quartz. Despite the name, many of the minerals must not be quartz as quartz (except for some special types) is transparent. The minerals are held together with some type of binder - acrylic, epoxy...like that. Basically, it is no different from other man made solid surface materials like Corian. Will burn/scorch.

-- dadiOH ____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[Nexus7]

We all can agree on what granite is, but some of the comments in this thread seem to have some fixed definition of what quartz is, which is misleading. Unless you mean a sheet of quartz (glass?), which I don't think you do, you have some brand name in mind. For example, Granite Transformations' Cristallino product is fragments of glass and other hard aggregates held together with binder. This is a veneer product made for retrofits. There are full solid countertops at Home Depot with the brandname Silestone, and some of the patterns contain glass bits. There's also another brandname that I forget. None of these products will burn or scratch. They are functionally superior to natural granite and Corian. They don't require sealing because they are not porous like granite. They do come in some nice patterns, glass chips give a nice depth. However none of them have the natural veins that granite can have.

[Roger Taylor]

Some misinformation above: Quartz is not glass: quartz is crystalline, and twice as hard as, say, window glass. Silestone is over 90 per cent quartz, no glass at all, but a fair amount of plastic. Granite cannot be dismissed as functionally inferior to Silestone, Zodiaq, etc. Sealing granite takes 10-20 minutes to seal - for a whole kitchen - once a year.

[mm]

This might explain something to me. Why tombstones only come from certain quarries. Can I assume that those are the ones where the granite has very little not-hard stuff?

One places is Barre, Vermont, and I think in the East there is another place in Kentucky or Tennessee. I've seen granite tombstones (and buildings) that are more than 100 years old and look good as new.

OTOH marble used to be used much more, but acid rain makes it dissolve. Did it wear away even before the 20th century?

Do they still use as much marble in other parts of the counttry, where there is (afaI have heard) no acid rain?

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let me know if you have posted also.

[Eddie G]

I forgot to mention that I am referring to counter tops, but you figured that out. I thought quartz is safe to put hot pans on without it burning.

So, I should get granite and seal it yearly? Is the sealer easy to apply? Does it smell?

Thanks,

Eddie G

[Rudy]

We have in our last 2 homes.

Yes, just wipe on

Not after it dries

Google for Aqua Mix or 511 Impregnator

[trader4]

"It is held together with some sort of plastic material. Know of any plastics that won't burn? "

At the temps we are talking about for a reasonably hot pan, there are plastics that won't melt or burn. Just look at the plastic trays that some frozen foods come in that can withstand an oven. Or the plastic bags sold to put a turkey inside and then cook it in the oven. _________________

[dadiOH]

It is held together with some sort of plastic material. Know of any plastics that won't burn? _________________

It's your house, get what you want. All I was trying to do was explain the differtence between granite and "Quartz" when the latter referred to a man made product.

To confuse you further :) there is another natural rock which is superior to granite or other granitic stones in some ways; namely, soapstone. It is quite soft (talc) but is impermeable. The softness means it will scratch easily but also means it is easily repaired if the scratches bother one. Most of it is naturally medium to dark grey, some is green. A wipe with mineral oil turns the grey to black. Expensive, runs around $50/sq.ft. Overpriced IMO.

-- dadiOH ____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[Nexus7]

If you going to call anything misinformation, you ned to be able to back it up, when in fact, you've reinforced my statements.

I didn't say it was glass, I asked whether it was. Hence the question mark. If quartz is harder than glass, it wrecks your argument, not mine.

OK, so it contains quartz, not glass. So it is even harder.

So what, it is still inferior in that respect, since Silestone, Cristalinoo need no sealing. If you want veins, you've got to get granite. Otherwise these artificial granites are superior. That ain't misinformation, that's fact.

[trader4]

I saw an episode of This Old House where they used quartz countertops. They were very positive about it being a very tough, durable, heat and scratch resistant man-made product, that was available in many more colors than granite. And TOH has never been known to skimp or cut corners with inferior products.

This sounds to me a lot like the arguments against any engineered products, by those that don't really know much about them. In many cases, the resulting product is superior to a natural product.

[Nexus7]

They're held together with epoxies. Epoxy binders can be engineered to be extremely hard and strong. They may be plastic (as in malleable) when formulated, but once cured (or whatever process the engineered countertop material is put through) they develop their strength.

[UP and Adam]

We have installed Silestone and have had now for about two years. We can and do put hot pans on it. I also sometimes clean it using a razor blade whitout scratching it, in fact I sometimes demonstrate to friends the hardness by trying to scratche it using a knife, can,t do it. We cut bread and other items on it and all we do is dull the knives, easy clean up after.

Our color has chips of mirror glass which gives it a nice effect, you can see a close up of my countertop at

and look at the Luscomb project. The entire counter top can be seen at at the photo 8/22/03.

This stuff is very expensive and is extreemly hard, needs no sealer, will last a lifetime and I wouldn't trade it for any other product.

John

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yes, hundreds of them. Many plastics are oven safe to 500 degrees.

[yellowbirddog]

Go to Home Depot and get some free samples of Silestone. I got some cast iron skillets extremely hot and set them on the Silestone and left them there until they cooled down. No problem. Then again, most people don't do that and it's not a smart thing to do with either granite or a quartz composite countertop as it could cause a stress fracture. Nobody recommends such abuse for either material, but in case of accidents both types would likely come out fine.

Silestone has about 4 times the flexural strength of granite and is less prone to crack. You can have longer unsupported overhangs of Silestone. Silestone has a more predictable pattern, while granite is a natural material, so you have both a more continuous grain flow, but also more risk for unsightly blotches, cracks or other imperfections. If you get granite, you really should personally pick out the slab and look it over carefully.

Silestone is non-porous, while granite can often have deep pits that catches food. Granite stands up better to direct UV radiation better than quartz composites. I think Silestone is now putting an antimicrobial agent in its binder material now, but I'd check with them about that.

The hardness and scratch resistance of each material is about the same. I think Consumer Reports gave Silestone as their top pick.

If you look at Silestone at an angle where it reflects a light source into your eyes, you'll see a characteristic pattern that makes it easy to know that it's not granite in case you come across a pattern where you're not sure.

[dadiOH]

Don't set a cigarette on them...temp is 700+ to 1100+. Not hard to get a skillet to the 700-800+ range either.

-- dadiOH ____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[yellowbirddog]

Andy Hill wrote: ....

I agree. Bring home a granite sample, seal it, give a few month's worth of cleaning with whatever cleaner you'd use, and then leave coffee, cooked blueberries, acids, (etc.) on it overnight to see if a stain is left behind. I've heard that granite sealers may only slow down stain penetration, but don't necessarily prevent it. I suppose it depends on the granite type. I tried to stain Silestone, but was not able to.

[Andy Hill]

I think you've had a pretty good rundown of some of the pros / cons of the engineered stone products. IMHO, a lot of it comes down to esthetics -- the engineered stones have a very different look than the granites. Also, "granites" vary a lot in terms of porosity -- you really need to do the ol' lemon juice test on any granite that you want to use as a countertop (IMHO, sealant or no, a really porous variety of granite is a very bad idea in a kitchen).