Countertops are an important design choice to make when building or renovating a kitchen. You are going to look at and work on your counter for a long time to come, so one should carefully consider the options before making a decision. Quartz is one of the most popular solid-surface countertop options, and with good reason: it is durable, stain-resistant, and comes in a giant choice of colours. In today’s blog article, we would like to talk about the mostly pros and a few cons of quartz.
Environmentally Friendly
Quartz counters are similar to granite and marble counters in several ways with one big exception. The quartz countertops are more environmentally friendly. That is because granite and marble counters are actual chunks of stone that are mined from the earth and cut into slabs. In contrast, quarts counters are not solid quartz. They are quartz pieces, or crushed up stone that is engineered into slabs with a resin binder that makes it look and feel and function like stone. There is much less destruction to the environment to gather the quartz—often quartz waste—needed to make quartz countertops.
Colour
Since quartz countertops are manufactured with pulverized quartz in a resin binder, the colour of the slab is determined by pigments added to the binder. That means an enormous selection of colours are available because you are not dependent solely on the colour of the stone.
Durability
Engineered quartz countertops—which are really engineered stone—are extremely durable. In fact, they are harder and less porous than either granite or marble, which means you are less likely to damage them unintentionally while you’re cooking. This is also one the downsides, as this durability also means that the stone is extremely heavy, requiring professionals to install it. Sometimes quartz may even need special support depending on the design of the kitchen. For example, a cantilevered quartz counter would likely need added support underneath.
We are big fans of quartz countertops. If you need help choosing quartz countertops for your kitchen, give us a call in Langley, BC, at (604) 533-4541.
Elite Kitchens and Bathrooms, based in Langley, BC, is your source for everything custom cabinetry related. As the 2019 winner of the Vancouver Consumer Choice Award, they pride themselves on stellar customer service to match the quality of their cabinets.
If you have any questions about this article or would like to talk to us about cabinets, we encourage you to contact us at [email protected].
