Quartz vs Granite Counters

smylei9

Can anyone give me the pros and cons of both?  My sister has Silestone (quartz) counter tops and says that I'm crazy to even consider granite.  She's never had granite counter tops before though so she can't really give an honest comparison. 

We've seen both installed and I'm partial to granite but my husband is partial to quartz.  Your thoughts? 

Julia_JJ

The biggest pro of quartz is that it doesn't require sealing. We had quartz in our previous house, and it was AWESOME. Loved it. We have concrete right now, and at some point when we redo the kitchen, we're going to put in quartz.

jason&robin

My parents got quartz and they love it. Granite will have lots of variation throughout the piece while quartz will be the same throughout.

AugustBrideCO

My mom has quartz and it's beautiful. I agree with Robin - visually, I think the biggest difference is that granite has more variation, though some types of granite have less variation than others. Personally, I like both and would probably choose a granite (but one with less variation) due to cost. I think quartz is quite a bit more expensive - like $60-80/sqft whereas I know people who have gotten granite for under $35/sqft. If cost wasn't an issue, I'd go with quartz or recycled glass.

asilsjf

jason&robin:

My parents got quartz and they love it. Granite will have lots of variation throughout the piece while quartz will be the same throughout.

 

Ours is quartz, and keeping it clean is super easy!

 

Carol*Brady2

Quartz--more uniform in color, no sealing, more expensive. Granite--more organic in look, sealing required, cheaper (generally), requires sealing. The biggest issue according to the guys I talked to is that Quartz is only heat resistant to 350 degrees...so it can scorch if you put a hot pan on it...granite on the other hand is much more heat resistant.

Pesky

carol*brady2:

Quartz--more uniform in color, no sealing, more expensive. Granite--more organic in look, sealing required, cheaper (generally), requires sealing. The biggest issue according to the guys I talked to is that Quartz is only heat resistant to 350 degrees...so it can scorch if you put a hot pan on it...granite on the other hand is much more heat resistant.

This.  Granite, while visually stunning, is a bit more tempermental and requires sealing and greater protection (i.e. I wouldn't be slicing lemons on it or fail to wipe up spilt wine -- the stone is porous and it could leave a stain).  I also thought quartz was heat resistant versus granite so interesting on that point.  I keep saying if we ever redo our kitchen, I'm going with quartz because of the low maintenance factor.

Dragonflyer

I like both but had Quartz in my last house. It was a solid color called Lagos Blue by Caesarstone (which was a taupey grey actually) and I would use it again in a heartbeat. Absolutely loved it. It was so low maintenance and looked great all the time.

mtngirl2007

Quartz---we love it! No sealing, low maintenance, beautiful!!!! Never noticed any scorching due to hot pans and we put them on the counter all the time!