Granite, marble, and quartz are entrancing materials for kitchen and bathroom countertops. They are tenacious and reliable while providing a refreshing yet beautiful look to your household. The first two are made entirely out of natural stone, as opposed to quartz, which is man-engineered material with the addition of color and strengthening additives. Each material has its upsides and downsides. Even though all three are strong and sturdy, they are not easy on the pocket to repair.

Granite is the most common of them all. It’s solid, durable, and stain-resistant. A perfect fit for a cooking environment, due to innate heat resistant properties (when exposed to heat for a short time). It’s quite a task to break, crack or scratch with normal wear and tear unless you are really set on doing so. Being a natural stone limits the available color pallet. Decide on granite if you need a low-maintenance countertop that doesn’t fade or discolor over time, and is a perfect support for high heat „blows.” Occasional sealants to ensure longevity might be required.

Quartz countertops mostly offer the same benefits as granite, except it’s not a natural stone. Many a design expert’s favorites, quartz countertops are made from 93 percent crushed quartz and 7 percent resin, with the additional color dyes. Without color enhancement, natural quartz is somewhat dull and unimpressive to the eye. A zero upkeep and never needing topcoat applications are the reasons you would choose quartz. Since it’s artificially processed, the composition of quartz is uniform, by comparison, so not many grains, flecks, or veins as the other two.

Marble countertops are well-made and sound but are on the less forgiving side than their counterparts. As per porousness, marble is ahead of both quartz and granite and is especially sensitive to acidic liquids and potent chemical cleaners. However, applying a high-grade sealant will solve all these problems, and you will be left with a remarkable, most unique, unpredictable veining and natural modeling design—schedule annual resealing with a specialist to get out the most of this extravagant stone.

Many factors come into play when estimating the price of installing a countertop. Size, cuts, transportation, labor costs – are all valid reasons to choose one over the other. If we are talking on the base level, both of them are more expensive than most laminate, wood, tile, or concrete alternatives. However, our reports show marble overshadowing, both Granite and Quartz. Each material is available in a range of quality levels. Make sure to consult us, so that we may advise you on the best bang for your buck.

Almost all inside applications can feature a touch of quartz: kitchen countertops, living room fireplaces, shower walls, windowsills, tabletops. Businesses can choose to equip their food service counters, conference, and reception tabletops. Do note that quartz is unfit to be used for exterior applications as it will discolor due to ultraviolet light exposure.

Quartz enables a lot of variety in its color selection: creams, browns, and blacks, apple-red, orange, concrete-like, and grassy-greens, which can be complemented by an added effect by mixing recycled glass or metallic flecks during manufacturing cycles.

Commercial and residential usage of marble boils down to the same options as the other natural stone appliances: kitchen countertops, bathroom vanity tops, fireplace surrounds, tub and shower surrounds, coffee tables, windowsills. Enterprise offices, more often than not, enjoy taking pride in marble cladding.

There are many factors that come into play when doing financial planning for such a project: raw material, countertop dimensions, edge profile, number of cutouts, to name a few. Roughly speaking costs can range from $50 to $150 per square foot. If you are unsure about the price, please do contact us to get a free estimate of your desired project.
A wide selection of colors finishes as well as different variations of veining are guaranteed to fit your envisioned look in either ¾” or 1 ¼” factory thickness.

It would be a real shame if something happened to the newly installed countertop, say, for example, some lemon juice spill dulling the finish. Note that marble is calcium-based, as such acidic solutions will chemically interact with it and leave spots, called etchings. Other examples include mustard, wine, citrus, vinegar, and ketchup, among others. Also, marble is relatively “fragile” according to the Mohs scale of hardness. Therefore, glass, steel, unglazed porcelain are prone to scratch the surface. However, such small changes do not affect the internal structure, so put your mind at ease.
Considering marble as your choice boils down to the environment it will sit in. For messy kid’s art projects, lousy cooking, frequent lemon, and vinegar spill, it probably isn’t the best pick. In contrast, employing diligence and extra care backed by frequent cleaning after usage will make sure the stone ages slowly.
This is not meant to scare you away from marble-based products, but a simple reality check of the full white marble appliances stock photos you might have come upon while surfing catalogs.

Natural stone is strikingly beautiful, and as all fascinating things, it requires a little bit of extra care. Because of its physical structure, porous materials absorb bacteria and other substances. If left unchecked, there will be some deterioration in the long run. Despite these minor setbacks, engineers have made progress in the field of sealants. Not only does it provide a barrier against foreign elements, but it also maintains the stone’s structural integrity. All of them have a life-span of 25-50 years, depending on the level of care (including resealing) and wear they take.

Granite is a common type of felsic intrusive igneous rock, consisting of feldspar, quartz, mica and amphibole minerals. It starts deep under the earth’s crust, undergoing several transformation processes. Due to innate structural strength, it has found its use as a construction stone throughout human history. It has rather low permeability in the absence of cracks and fractures.

Essentially, this question boils down to the length of the slab. As you may know, quartz is sold in slabs of a certain length, maxing out at 125” by 65”. This means if your cabinets measure more than 125”, the countertop will have to be seamed. Otherwise, you can achieve a smooth experience.

No. Even though quartz boasts extreme durability due to man-engineered structures, it can and will be damaged in extreme uses of outside forces. Small chips are not the end of the world and can be repaired. Moreover, because unique design contributed to its impermeability property, it helps to keep a bacteria-free environment. Some options even employ the use of silver ions for an enhanced repelling of bacteria.

Quartz is a man-engineered product, achieved by amalgamating 95% natural quartz minerals with 5% polymer resins. The result is a natural look-alike while allowing for applied enhances depending on the design plans.

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Its usage as a durable and dazzling construction material dates back to the origins of humankind. Marble undergoes a series of metamorphoses due to constant heat and pressure applied in the earth’s crust. It comes under a fair amount of colors and subtle veining. Multiple factors contribute to deciding the color, but the most important one is the percentage of impurities at the time of transformations of the limestone. In terms of hardness, marble is featured in the lower end of durability scaling, ranging from 2.5 to 5 on the Mohs scale.

Granite and marble are natural stones, which means a high porosity. Unlike natural stone, quartz isn’t as absorptive, so that we can leave it out of the equation. Marble is most sensitive to acidic liquids and cleaning agents; therefore, an extra amount of care will be needed when maintaining your countertop. Granite is perfect for a kitchen countertop because of its heat resistant properties, as for bacteria, worry not. If you reseal the surface yearly, there won’t be any trouble.

Preservation of your countertop comes at the expense of how willing you are to do regular cleaning. Some hot water and a sponge will do the job daily. Weekly dusting off the debris suffices too. And that is as basic as it gets for quartz-based countertops.
Natural stone appliances require a similar approach. Note that the cleaning solution must correspond with what’s recommended by the sealant properties. Moreover, yearly resealing is a must; otherwise, early deterioration will set in.

Yes, you can. Countertops are made from reasonably durable materials, which have endured transformation processes far more dangerous than a dull knife cut. However, we do not recommend doing it every so often. There will be no direct damage done, but it allows for the intrusion of foreign substances into the structure. All countertops are protected by a sealant barrier; with enough cuts, an opening might present itself, which will prove detrimental to the long-term durability. So, in short, use a cutting board and be safe.

Testing your countertop’s permeability is a simple task. Grab a glass of water and pour down a small droplet onto the stone surface. Apply shade if needed to avoid evaporation. After at least 15 minutes, check to see if the spot where you poured water didn’t darken. If it has, then it’s time to either do it yourself or schedule an expert to reapply it for you.

No. Quartz comes with the added benefit of not having to do extra maintenance, such as yearly granite resealing, except cleaning up after using.

Extreme heat may be a potential concern, which is why we recommend using boards, trivets, and hot pads while handling your cooking work. Quartz is durable, but like any other material, it also relies on proper care for long-lasting performance.

Yes. From our experience, edge profiles chip away from tool handling, such as the blunt force of a heavy pan in the kitchen. Worry not, granite is easily repaired in almost all cases. Through the usage of epoxies and pigments, it’s possible to achieve an indiscernible color and pattern even for the equipped eye.

Yes, it’s possible to stain granite. However, it’s not the end of the world. There is a simple trick to rid your top of stains with the help of poultice. It comes in a powder form available online or in any local big box hardware store. Due to inherent absorbent properties, it soaks up foreign substances from the internal structure of your stone. Follow the instructions on the box and repeat the procedure for about 2 to 3 times.
Yet, the best way to stay stain-free is to act proactively when going about your business. Always keep a towel and a sponge handy to wipe possible spills.

Cleaning marble is pretty simple. Before proceeding, arm yourself with a soft sponge and mild dish detergent. Remove spills with a dish or paper towel and finish with a careful rinsing. There is no need for “special” cleaners; just make sure the detergent you use isn’t an acidic solution.
As for sealing marble, every local big box store should have a sealer on their shelves. Most sealers nowadays are spray and wipe without the need for hard buffing. If you are unsure whether your marble stone needs sealing, use this quick trick: spill a few droplets of water onto the surface, and after waiting for around 10 minutes, check if the marble has darkened or not. This dimming of color implies you need to seal your top. There is no set in the stone time interval for checking, so you should do it at your leisure.

We try our best to give an accurate description of our products to customers. Should the pictures presented have any editing, a note will be present below it. However, a depiction of color tones can be altered through different means such as to monitor equipment and image compression, which is why we strongly recommend visiting our warehouses, so there is no misinterpretation of said product.