So, your kitchen has burned to the ground due to a freak grease fire caused by your teenage son who was attempting to make French fries. I use this example because you write what you know. You, like my mother now have the perfect opportunity to start from scratch and design the kitchen you’ve always wanted. And, you may be asking yourself what material you should use for your counter tops. Well, before you jump straight to marble just because it sounds more posh or because you heard that the Jones’ down the street did their counter tops in marble, rather than granite countertops here are some things you should take into consideration.
Marble is a metamorphic rock, and its basic ingredient can be found everywhere from limestone to baking soda. Limestone, which is a sedimentary form of calcium, is found naturally in the earth, and undergoes intense heat and pressure within the earth to be formed into marble. This means that marble, though durable and beautiful, is porous and very easily destroyed by any type of acid, water, or heat. Even when sealed with a coating every year, no types of chemicals may be used to wash the countertops, and it won’t take much abuse from water, acids such as lemon or orange juice, or high heat from pans. Also, since marble is so porous, it is easily stained. A small scratch will allow liquids or oxidation from the air to leak under the seal coating and stain the marble countertops. Quartz or granite on the other hand, though also a metamorphic rock, is a composite of quartz, silicon, feldspar, mica, and other minerals.
It, too, is formed under high pressure and heat, but is not as porous as marble and is resistant to chemicals and acids, which are often spilled or spread on countertops. Quartz within the granite countertops provides it with a durability and hardness unlike that of soft marble, and is also more stain and wear resistant and holds up far better in high traffic uses such as counter tops and flooring.
All that combined with that fact that granite can also be quarried locally means that it is more available and less expensive. When you look at the facts, the choice seems obvious.
