Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised you don’t like quartzite. It’s beautiful and a natural stone, yet extremely durable. Is it too expensive? Is there an ethical issue? Ours looks like new 5 years in. No cracks, stains or etching. I’d do it again.

Everything I learned when replacing countertops a few years ago is that quartzite has all the weakness of marble and cant be repaired. It etches and it can't be buffed out. It will crack and shatter. The video above mislabels some of those surfaces as granite when they are quartzite.

If you learned about countertops from anyone in the countertop industry, my experience is that they are mostly very ill-informed and do not even understand how quartzite, granite, and marble were formed. Marble and dolomite are formed from limestone, which is mostly made from the shells of scallops and other creatures, which contain a lot of calcium carbonate. Marble etches because the calcium carbonate dissolves when contacted by a strong acid. Dolomite etches because it is basically the same thing as marble except there was magnesium rich water around when the limestone was compressed, causing a lot of magnesium carbonate, which also dissolved when in contact with with a strong acid. Picture yourself squeezing a lemon slice over a tums tablet.

Quartzite doesn’t etch. It’s made from sandstone that has been compressed over millennia, and consists mostly of quartz. Quartz is another name for silicon dioxide, and unfortunately has the same name as the synthetic resin and ground up quartz product that also goes by Cambria, etc. Silicon dioxide is a very tough material, resistant to chemicals, high melting point, and is resistant to almost all strong acids and bases except HF acid (the one they used in breaking bad). Picture yourself squeezing a lemon slice over some sand.

Some quartzites are problematic because they are closer to the sandstone end of the spectrum, so they are very porous (mont Blanc) and will stain unless sealed assiduously. Some are brittle and will chip along fissures because they are closer to the pure quartz end of the spectrum (crystallo). I have one that is somewhere in the middle. No stains, no fissures, no chipping, and no etching. Red wine, lemon slices, blackberries can be left overnight on the counter with no stains.

Granites are made from magma, which is also made in a large part by quartz, which is why it is so tough. Most granites are not very porous, but the lighter granites can be somewhat porous, requiring sealing. Like quartzite, they contain no calcium carbonate or magnesium carbonate, so they do not etch.

Choose wisely and test. Quartzites are not all the same. The porous ones are more likely to stain, but will not have fissure issues. The crystalline ones won’t stain, but can be brittle.

I'm curious how you would classify the Fantasy series of quartzite. Whenever someone was discussing quartzite online it always seemed to be the Fantasy product. I installed Fantasy Brown in a bathroom and it etched immediately. My installer had installed Fantasy Blue/brown in his own kitchen and experienced a disaster. His cracked and chipped fairly quickly. He warned me against using it in my kitchen so I just put it in one bath. It looked beautiful but I'd never deal with it again.

PP. All the fantasy brown and fantasy blue slabs I have seen have been dolomite - made from limestone that has been compressed in the presence of mg++ rich water. It contains magnesium carbonate, calcium carbonate and magnesium calcium carbonate. Of these, calcium carbonate reacts the most with acids, so that is why dolomite etches less than marble, which is mostly calcium carbonate.

Sometimes fantasy brown/blue is called a “hard marble”. That’s inaccurate because although it is probably denser and less etch prone than marble, it’s not marble. I’ve also seen it mislabeled as granite and “soft quartzite”. Stoneyards call it a granite or quartzite because they rationalize that it’s “tougher” than marble, so it’s ok to call it granite or quartzite. But that’s like selling a pork chop and calling it beef.

Granite - once was magma,
made of quartz, feldspar, other minerals.
Quartzite - once was sandstone, made of quartz (silicone dioxide)
Marble - once was limestone, made of calcium carbonate
Dolomite - once was limestone, made of magnesium and calcium carbonate
Quartz - quartz powder plus plastic resin

Soapstone is the other commonly used stone that hasn’t been discussed much - made mostly of talc, so it’s soft, even softer than marble. It’s also nonporous, so it won’t stain.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised you don’t like quartzite. It’s beautiful and a natural stone, yet extremely durable. Is it too expensive? Is there an ethical issue? Ours looks like new 5 years in. No cracks, stains or etching. I’d do it again.

Everything I learned when replacing countertops a few years ago is that quartzite has all the weakness of marble and cant be repaired. It etches and it can't be buffed out. It will crack and shatter. The video above mislabels some of those surfaces as granite when they are quartzite.

If you learned about countertops from anyone in the countertop industry, my experience is that they are mostly very ill-informed and do not even understand how quartzite, granite, and marble were formed. Marble and dolomite are formed from limestone, which is mostly made from the shells of scallops and other creatures, which contain a lot of calcium carbonate. Marble etches because the calcium carbonate dissolves when contacted by a strong acid. Dolomite etches because it is basically the same thing as marble except there was magnesium rich water around when the limestone was compressed, causing a lot of magnesium carbonate, which also dissolved when in contact with with a strong acid. Picture yourself squeezing a lemon slice over a tums tablet.

Quartzite doesn’t etch. It’s made from sandstone that has been compressed over millennia, and consists mostly of quartz. Quartz is another name for silicon dioxide, and unfortunately has the same name as the synthetic resin and ground up quartz product that also goes by Cambria, etc. Silicon dioxide is a very tough material, resistant to chemicals, high melting point, and is resistant to almost all strong acids and bases except HF acid (the one they used in breaking bad). Picture yourself squeezing a lemon slice over some sand.

Some quartzites are problematic because they are closer to the sandstone end of the spectrum, so they are very porous (mont Blanc) and will stain unless sealed assiduously. Some are brittle and will chip along fissures because they are closer to the pure quartz end of the spectrum (crystallo). I have one that is somewhere in the middle. No stains, no fissures, no chipping, and no etching. Red wine, lemon slices, blackberries can be left overnight on the counter with no stains.

Granites are made from magma, which is also made in a large part by quartz, which is why it is so tough. Most granites are not very porous, but the lighter granites can be somewhat porous, requiring sealing. Like quartzite, they contain no calcium carbonate or magnesium carbonate, so they do not etch.

Choose wisely and test. Quartzites are not all the same. The porous ones are more likely to stain, but will not have fissure issues. The crystalline ones won’t stain, but can be brittle.

I'm curious how you would classify the Fantasy series of quartzite. Whenever someone was discussing quartzite online it always seemed to be the Fantasy product. I installed Fantasy Brown in a bathroom and it etched immediately. My installer had installed Fantasy Blue/brown in his own kitchen and experienced a disaster. His cracked and chipped fairly quickly. He warned me against using it in my kitchen so I just put it in one bath. It looked beautiful but I'd never deal with it again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised you don’t like quartzite. It’s beautiful and a natural stone, yet extremely durable. Is it too expensive? Is there an ethical issue? Ours looks like new 5 years in. No cracks, stains or etching. I’d do it again.

Everything I learned when replacing countertops a few years ago is that quartzite has all the weakness of marble and cant be repaired. It etches and it can't be buffed out. It will crack and shatter. The video above mislabels some of those surfaces as granite when they are quartzite.

If you learned about countertops from anyone in the countertop industry, my experience is that they are mostly very ill-informed and do not even understand how quartzite, granite, and marble were formed. Marble and dolomite are formed from limestone, which is mostly made from the shells of scallops and other creatures, which contain a lot of calcium carbonate. Marble etches because the calcium carbonate dissolves when contacted by a strong acid. Dolomite etches because it is basically the same thing as marble except there was magnesium rich water around when the limestone was compressed, causing a lot of magnesium carbonate, which also dissolved when in contact with with a strong acid. Picture yourself squeezing a lemon slice over a tums tablet.

Quartzite doesn’t etch. It’s made from sandstone that has been compressed over millennia, and consists mostly of quartz. Quartz is another name for silicon dioxide, and unfortunately has the same name as the synthetic resin and ground up quartz product that also goes by Cambria, etc. Silicon dioxide is a very tough material, resistant to chemicals, high melting point, and is resistant to almost all strong acids and bases except HF acid (the one they used in breaking bad). Picture yourself squeezing a lemon slice over some sand.

Some quartzites are problematic because they are closer to the sandstone end of the spectrum, so they are very porous (mont Blanc) and will stain unless sealed assiduously. Some are brittle and will chip along fissures because they are closer to the pure quartz end of the spectrum (crystallo). I have one that is somewhere in the middle. No stains, no fissures, no chipping, and no etching. Red wine, lemon slices, blackberries can be left overnight on the counter with no stains.

Granites are made from magma, which is also made in a large part by quartz, which is why it is so tough. Most granites are not very porous, but the lighter granites can be somewhat porous, requiring sealing. Like quartzite, they contain no calcium carbonate or magnesium carbonate, so they do not etch.

Choose wisely and test. Quartzites are not all the same. The porous ones are more likely to stain, but will not have fissure issues. The crystalline ones won’t stain, but can be brittle.

Anonymous wrote:Those with granite, do you actually cut things on the granite without a cutting board? Or put hot pans down without a trivet?

We have granite but always use a cutting board, to keep the knives from dulling and use trivets to protect the surfaces … but you’re saying this is just unnecessary?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the concern about most marble is overblown. Yes, it etches. But the etches don’t accumulate, because each one wears out pretty quickly. We had marble for years and I learned pretty quickly not to take any one etch too seriously. If you need it picture perfect at every moment, I guess marble’s not the one. But every individual etch disappears, and god it’s so beautiful.

That said, we are redoing kitchen and going with quartz, because marble was nearly 4x the price.

I agree with your note on marble - overblown. It’s so so beautiful and feels nice - not like an epoxied plastic

We just went through the process and after seeing real stones of all types I can’t agree to a quartz and definitely not porcelain - it’s feels imitation after seeing the real thing. I appreciate the practicality and understand the decisions made by others but I know every day I’d be wishing I spent another $k to just have what I wanted

Anonymous wrote:Those with granite, do you actually cut things on the granite without a cutting board? Or put hot pans down without a trivet?

We have granite but always use a cutting board, to keep the knives from dulling and use trivets to protect the surfaces … but you’re saying this is just unnecessary?

Anonymous wrote:I think the concern about most marble is overblown. Yes, it etches. But the etches don’t accumulate, because each one wears out pretty quickly. We had marble for years and I learned pretty quickly not to take any one etch too seriously. If you need it picture perfect at every moment, I guess marble’s not the one. But every individual etch disappears, and god it’s so beautiful.

That said, we are redoing kitchen and going with quartz, because marble was nearly 4x the price.