Choosing a Worktop Material for Your Kitchen

 

Renovating your kitchen usually happens once every ten year or more and can cost you a lot of money. In order for you not to waste time, money, and effort, you should choose carefully the right choices.

 

The usual problem in designing a kitchen is choosing the best material for a countertop which is usually chosen between quartz or granite.

 

This question is usually being debated since it does not have a straightforward answer. Both have pro's and both have con's. Nonetheless, the final choice is still up to the owner, but having some information about the two can be a great help for deciding what to choose.

 

Budget.

 

Since granite and quartz worktops are at top of the range countertops, they are more costly than the common countertops. Comparing both prices results to the quartz being more expensive.

 

What are they?

 

Granite worktop  is a form of natural stone that is directly taken from the ground. It is taken in large slabs and distributed to manufacturers, who have the capabilities of breaking it into smaller slabs and polishing them up. Every slab are different since they are natural stones. Each one will be unique and patterns can change within an individual slab.

 

Quartz is also a raw material that is from the ground. Quartz differ from granite since quartz is nixed with a resin generally with ratio of 9 quartz is to 1 resin. This works to smooth out the "pores" that exist in natural stone to make the finished product less susceptible to stains and to strengthen the material. Another result of mixing resins to quartz is that it can produce a consistent finish and more choice for the final color. Learn more about engineered stone at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineered_stone.

 

Sensible dissimilarities.

 

Both materials are at the top range compared to the other countertops since they provide better properties for this application. Both are best in resisting heat and scratch.

 

The difference between granite and quartz is that granite is more prone to bacteria since it is usually in its natural form that has pores in the surface. If you want choose granite but is scared of making it a home for the bacteria, you can counter in by re-sealing the granite once a year. Although this is not a difficult or particularly time consuming task (usually up to an hour), disregarding it will leave your worktops susceptible to staining. If you are choosing quartz, it will make it easier since it does not need this kind of maintenance.

 

Other considerations.

 

You should get what you pay for is a general rule for a kitchen countertop. Granite surfaces can be found relatively cheap in comparison to quartz worktops. There are available thinner sizes of these variants for a cheaper price. This will make them more likely to chip or scratch.