Countertops - Quartz vs Granite

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mr_boring

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Almost 8 weeks ago to the day, I had a pipe go. It had been leaking for apparently quite some time. Long enough for a nice juicy mold colony (actually several colonies as I had several different colors of mold) to take root under my wood laminate in 2 rooms and underneath and in my lower cabinets. Moisture dictated the removal of laminate in 70% of the house. I went with LVP as I'm not a fan of wood laminate. The adjuster has slow walked me to death on this, but I'm pretty close to choosing new countertops. So I start the old Google machine up and it seems that quartz is all the rage. If I wanted white, I could see going quartz. There's some really sharp whites out there, but I do not want white. I guess I'm just old fashioned, but I prefer more earth tones. I would have to paint my cabinets to go with a white quartz, and change out my backsplash (which also has earth tones) - so I'm not into all of that.
Granite offers some really nice earth tones, and very reasonably. Santa Cecilia, Uba Tuba, and Iberian Sunset are the 3 granites I keep going back too. There is a quartz I like, Sienna Ridge Money isn't a factor, because of those 4, there's only about a $400 difference and I don't mind shelling out a few hundred if quartz is 'really that much better'. I don't see why it is so much better though. The only real benefit I see is that quartz is non-porous and I know that granite isn't. I haven't had granite in quite some time, but the last time I had granite I never had a problem with staining. I know from ye olde Google that quartz isn't quite as heat resistant as granite, so those seem the 2 big trade offs.

What would you go with? I have chipped granite in the past, but a bullnosed edge seems to be pretty good at negating that. Internet is torn on whether or not quartz is really better at not chipping. If you have experience with both, or even just quartz, help a brother out.
 
mr_boring said:
Almost 8 weeks ago to the day, I had a pipe go. It had been leaking for apparently quite some time. Long enough for a nice juicy mold colony (actually several colonies as I had several different colors of mold) to take root under my wood laminate in 2 rooms and underneath and in my lower cabinets. Moisture dictated the removal of laminate in 70% of the house. I went with LVP as I'm not a fan of wood laminate. The adjuster has slow walked me to death on this, but I'm pretty close to choosing new countertops. So I start the old Google machine up and it seems that quartz is all the rage. If I wanted white, I could see going quartz. There's some really sharp whites out there, but I do not want white. I guess I'm just old fashioned, but I prefer more earth tones. I would have to paint my cabinets to go with a white quartz, and change out my backsplash (which also has earth tones) - so I'm not into all of that.
Granite offers some really nice earth tones, and very reasonably. Santa Cecilia, Uba Tuba, and Iberian Sunset are the 3 granites I keep going back too. There is a quartz I like, Sienna Ridge Money isn't a factor, because of those 4, there's only about a $400 difference and I don't mind shelling out a few hundred if quartz is 'really that much better'. I don't see why it is so much better though. The only real benefit I see is that quartz is non-porous and I know that granite isn't. I haven't had granite in quite some time, but the last time I had granite I never had a problem with staining. I know from ye olde Google that quartz isn't quite as heat resistant as granite, so those seem the 2 big trade offs.

What would you go with? I have chipped granite in the past, but a bullnosed edge seems to be pretty good at negating that. Internet is torn on whether or not quartz is really better at not chipping. If you have experience with both, or even just quartz, help a brother out.
Click to expand...
Have you considered polished concrete countertops? They can be made to look like expensive granite at a fraction of the cost.
 
97prizm said:
Have you considered polished concrete countertops? They can be made to look like expensive granite at a fraction of the cost.
Click to expand...
I have (when I bought the house the OG laminate was already showing it's age, and I thought about both that and diy epoxy), but since it's pretty much paid for by insurance I'm going to go with quartz or granite.
 
Pablo said:
Interesting! Granite here costs more, well I mean it did in 2019. How much different?
Click to expand...
Depends on the granite. Options here start at $45/sf for granite, and about $60 for quartz. Some of the real sharp marble looking quartz runs close to $100. One of those $100 quartz is 30% off, Calacatta Classic. It's what I'd go with if I wanted to rip out backsplash and paint.

Both quartz and granite can top $100 - but there are a dozen or so granites @45 and half a dozen quartz @60

EDIT: - all these are installed prices/sf
 
mr_boring said:
Depends on the granite. Options here start at $45/sf for granite, and about $60 for quartz. Some of the real sharp marble looking quartz runs close to $100. One of those $100 quartz is 30% off, Calacatta Classic. It's what I'd go with if I wanted to rip out backsplash and paint.

Both quartz and granite can top $100 - but there are a dozen or so granites @45 and half a dozen quartz @60

EDIT: - all these are installed prices/sf
Click to expand...
Inflation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
We looked at the three majors (granite, quartz and Corian) when refurbishing an inherited house. It had granite, but a poor installation meant it needed replacement (ugly seams and a crack).
Quartz is more practical for the reasons listed in other posts, but it's a man made product and isn't natural like granite. It consists of ground quartz combined with epoxy, polymers and pigment.
I like the looks of granite and the fact it's a natural stone, but for our house the wife would overrule me and go for quartz for the practicality.
 
Granite patterns tend to be a little busier than quartz. We did the same debate a few years ago and went with what the wife liked the looks of better. I don't think there is much difference in durability or resilience. Wife liked the look of granite better so that is what we got. We chose our slab at a local Turkish granite company who installed it and did a terrific job. Takes about 10 minutes to seal it every year. We keep it clean but do have an occasional drip that sits overnight and it clean right up. While it's supposed to be heat safe, we use a trivet. We bought a composite sink and gave the template to the installer who cut the opening and cuts for the clips.
 
97prizm said:
Aren't one or both of those less resilient to heat or chipping?
Click to expand...
Quartz is less prone to chipping. I would not put a red hot pan on it - or granite for that matter - but granite should be more heat resistant, Thing is with quartz, it has a just a tiny amount of give, ie not brittle. I can bang on an edge, not chipping, granite will.

Put meat on quartz, it thaws really fast. Put meat on granite, it thaw kinda fast.
 
97prizm said:
Aren't one or both of those less resilient to heat or chipping?
Click to expand...
Granite is far more heat resistant but quartz resists chipping better. Quartz will also chip if abused. Resin coatings on either quartz or granite will reduce heat resistance. Just avoid placing red hot pans directly on either surface but use a silicone counter mat for protection.
 
Granite requires a special cleaning and sealing twice per year. Many people don't perform this, and it becomes very noticeable.

My wife would say granite is a sign of a aged kitchen or a cheap kitchen. If you are never going to sell, go with what you like. If you might sell the home in the future, without a doubt quartz for the win.
 
It's 100% personal preference. We recently remodeled our kitchen. Couldn't find a quartz that we loved. They all looked too fake to me. I like the natural depth that quartz can't replicate. Ended up with Dolomite. Probably went to 10 different yards/showrooms. Supposedly not as durable but we liked the look, that's all that matters. You are more likely to take care of something you like.
 
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