When remodeling your kitchen or building a new one you may be wondering what options you have on the kitchen countertop. It may be hard to decide whether to use granite or quartz or vanity countertops. To make your choice less daunting, we explore quartz kitchen countertops and everything about them that you need to know. Quartz is manmade and relatively new as compared to granite. Its durable and will give your kitchen the aesthetic value that it needs.
Advantages of Using Quartz
Quartz is made of around 95% quartz stones, and the rest of the composition is polymer resin to create a durable stone.
Quartz has no pores in between; the resin polymer fills the gap in the crushed quartz to ensure that there are no spaces, making it more hygienic and easy to clean. The nonporous nature of the stone makes the stone resistant to stains, and food particles have no space to infiltrate making it ideal for a kitchen countertop as this will ensure high hygiene levels. You will find that bacteria, especially in the kitchen, will inhabit such spaces, but with quartz kitchen tops they ensure that there are no spaces for bacteria to latch on.
Quartz stones are made of hard minerals and will take a long time before they yield to scratches making it a durable option for your kitchen. Quartz will not crack easily and therefore durable than natural stones
Quartz is not affected by heat and will take a long time, and any marks due to heat can be cleared if you use sandpaper on it.
Quartz is manmade and therefore comes in many colors as compared to natural stones. Consequently, it gives you a wider selection of colors.
Ensure that the quartz countertop is professionally installed by a quartz installer to achieve a professional look.
Disadvantages of Quartz
- Quartz is humanmade and may not match the beauty of granites, and though its available in many colors, it may not match the regal look that comes with granite. We may not consider this a disadvantage as the beauty of something depends mainly on the buyer
- Since the quartz is human-made, its likely to more expensive than natural stones as the manufacturer controls their availability.
- Quartz is not ideal for outdoor use as exposure to sun, and other environmental factors will make the resin and color pigments to fade.
- A quartz countertop will also have seams but they are less visible with a darker countertop. The quartz seams are easier to hide as color can be applied on the seams
Depending on your kitchen countertop needs, quartz is durable and easy to maintain. It’s ideal for use in high traffic kitchens as they are durable and heat resistant.