The practicality of granite vs look of quartzite, need advis

33055

Mon, Sep 18 2017, 11:22 am

amother wrote:

We bought the home with parts of the granite unsealed. I tried doing it myself and it's not enough. We need a professional and any first hand recommendations from any of the posters here would be appreciated.

You need to state where you are located.

33055

Mon, Sep 18 2017, 11:55 am

amother wrote:

In Brooklyn.

I can try to locate the name of the granite guy who did mine. He is excellent. I took cards for this purpose because his work is meticulous. I can ask DH when he gets home.

The reason you may have a problem is your granite is not good granite. DH and I did the sealing as a team. It is simple. The granite guy told us what to do.

amother

Burlywood

Mon, Sep 18 2017, 11:27 pm

Finishing up my challahs now, and this got me thinking.
If I kneed and shape my challahs using flour and oil straight on the counter.
Will the quartzite stain?
Now I have very dark granite, so of course stains don't show up.
For those that have quartzite or light granites, where do you kneed and shape your challahs.

amother

Burlywood

Tue, Sep 19 2017, 8:37 am

OOTBubby

Tue, Sep 19 2017, 9:13 am

amother wrote:

If what you get is really quartzite (and not marble or dolomite or something else falsely sold as quartzite) it will not stain. I shape my challahs on my quartzite all of the time.

amother

Burlywood

Tue, Sep 19 2017, 10:08 am

OOTBubby wrote:

If what you get is really quartzite (and not marble or dolomite or something else falsely sold as quartzite) it will not stain. I shape my challahs on my quartzite all of the time.

Is MSI reputable enough that they will sell me real quartzite, no mistakes
Is it suppose to come certified

33055

Tue, Sep 19 2017, 10:19 am

OOTBubby wrote:

If what you get is really quartzite (and not marble or dolomite or something else falsely sold as quartzite) it will not stain. I shape my challahs on my quartzite all of the time.

Me too.

I do a lot of other cooking and baking directly on my quartzite also. It looks pristine.

amother

Chartreuse

Sun, Dec 22 2019, 3:16 pm

amother [ Burlywood ] wrote:

If you got quartzite, do you prefer it to your old dark granite countertop?

I love granite and Im considering granite counters even though its "out".

Rubber Ducky

Sun, Dec 22 2019, 4:16 pm

Quartzite is not the same as engineered quartz.

Engineered quartz is the plasticky stuff you were shown. it is made out of stone mush, fillers (the plastic part), and dyes.

Quartzite is a type of stone. Some quartzites (hard quartzites) are harder than granite and more resistant to stains, etching, and chipping. Other quartzites (soft quartzites or dolomitic quartzites) are softer than granite and are prone to some of the same problems as marble, but to a lesser degree.

If you're looking at stone and don't have a quartzite budget, look at granite.

Amarante

Sun, Dec 22 2019, 4:26 pm

Granite comes in an almost infinite number of patterns and colors. When people say they don’t like granite, it is because they are thinking of the cheapest ones like Ubatuba or Baltic Brown. Go to a stone yard and pick out the slabs you like because even a particular type of granite will hav3 tremendous variance between slabs.

Granite also differs in terms of maintenance issues. Some granite is more porous and stains. Some granites shouldn’t be sealed at all.

As others have posted, true quartzite is a very strong stone and very expensive. That is why often lesser quality and cheaper stones are sold as quartzite. There are tests you can do to make sure you are getting real quartzite.

There are other counter materials which should be considered. There are porcelain slabs like Neolite which are extremely strong and require little maintenance. Many people think they look more natural than quartz and get instead of marble.

All counter materials have pros and cons. Research the pros and cons of each material and determine wjat you can live with balanced against aesthetic factors. If you are selecting a natural stone, you need to go to the stone yard and pick out the slab. You can”t determine what it will look like because some slabs of the same material are more beautiful. Also you should discuss templating with the installer because how the stone is cut will also have a lot to do with what the end result is especially if there are seams and the pattern needs to look okay at he seam.