Clients are always asking us to compare materials so it makes perfect sense to do a three-part series comparing sought-after materials. We want our blog to be a reference for all clients so I hope you all find this helpful.
Marble (Good): Marble is a natural stone that we use quite a bit for flooring and shower walls. It’s a natural stone and known for it’s elegant coloring. I would never recommend marble for kitchen countertops as marble is easy to stain and can be scratched. If you are dieing for a marble countertop, I would suggest installing it in a less-trafficked area like a powder room. Quite a few furniture vanities come with a marble top pre-installed and these usually work great because generally only guests use the powder room. Marble can easily be stained by industrial cleaning products so make sure you’re using a nonabrasive cleaner.
Granite (Better): Granite is also a natural stone and comes in tons of beautiful colorings. We usually suggest that our clients go to the granite yard and take a look at their slab. Some slabs have more mineral deposits while some are more consistent. For instance, a popular granite is Namib Gold. We have a sample in the showroom that shows a large Iron deposit. The Iron deposit causes a large blackish place in the granite. If you choose a more consistent option like Luna Pearl, it’s not all that necessary to go to the granite yard because you can tell by the sample what you’re going to get. A misconception about granite is that it must be sealed every year. Yes, this is true if you are buying cheap sealers from the home improvement store however, we use a product that has a 15 year warranty. Granite is extremely hard and won’t scratch once it’s sealed. It also resists cracking and chipping. If you have a large kitchen and are concerned about seams, you should know that granite seams are hard to hide because of the color variations. I’d like to add that stores like Lowes and Home Depot rename their granite so our granite names won’t match theirs. Taking a quick photo of the granite will help us to determine which one you fell in love with.
Quartz (Best): Quartz is a man-made material this is made up of quartz and binders. It ranks higher than granite on the strength and hardness scale so it won’t scratch or chip. Quartz is nonporous so it won’t stain and it also repels such things as: oil, wine, coffee, vinegar and makeup. People are turned off by Quartz because it’s generally more expensive than granite and marble and it’s not natural. In the defense of quartz, Silestone has come out with beautiful colors that resemble popular marble and granites. Also, if you’re looking for consistency Quartz is the perfect option. I usually suggest this material to those who want a contemporary look. It’s not quite as traditional of a look as Marble and Granite. One thing to keep in mind when concerned about price: we can write you two estimates to show you the price difference for your home. It is the most expensive but it’s also no up-keep and will last a lifetime. It’s also perfect for the Eco or Green family because it’s GreenGuard Certified.
