Countertop Geology, Part 5: Marble, Quartzite and other Favorites
karin_mt
10 years ago
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Countertop Geology: Marble and quartzite and granite, oh my!
Comments (162)I am so confused and frazzled. Every time I think I have a handle on this durability and non porous thing, I choose a stone and after research find so many things potentially wrong with it. I saw a beautiful slab of Macaubus Fantasy, but have since seen mention that it will stain. I need something that is fairly indestructible. I live near the beach and have lots of company, but I am often away for a week at a time and not around to keep wiping the countertops. Even if I am home, I don't want to baby a countertop that will never grow up. Which of these stones should I stay away from and which are definitely good? Macaubus Fantasy "Quartzite" Allure Quartzite (does practicality increase/decrease if it's leathered?) River Blue Granite Or are my only sure choices Taj Mahal or Sea Pearl? I'd appreciate any feedback...See MoreCounter top help please
Comments (29)cailgirl123, it’s a tough decision to make! Our bathroom marble scratched immediately, but it’s a guest bath that isn’t used as often. I lift, not slide glass containers, etc. & wipe down water splatters after my grandkids use it. So, for us, it’s been a little over a year & I love it. Not sure about a heavily used or teenage-girls-with-all-kinds-of-products scenario. Quartz maintenance is a no-brainer, evidently. I couldn’t decide if I liked the light “marble-like” looks & would probably have gone with a solid gray in the kitchen had the price been more budget-friendly. I loved the quartzite (Fantasy Brown first drew me in.) but couldn’t decide about the brown part (depended on the slab) & functionality in a kitchen. So, back to granite I went. When I found a Thunder White that didn’t look like someone had splatter painted it with purple paint, I was in love. There are still small raspberry flecks running through it, but it’s not an overall purple splotch look. Lol! My granite place had no samples so I did no testing. It’s only been five months, but I love my kitchen counters! They do water spot, & I keep a drying mat on both sides of my sink as we often keep out glasses with ice water, etc. So far, no stains. I’m the main cook & our kids are grown. I do have grandkids who cook with me but since that’s supervised, it hasn’t been a problem. Hope that helps! Here are a couple of photos. There’s a semi-circle scratch on the bottom left in the marble close-up if you enlarge it. The marble has light & dark streaks running through it so the darker part is natural....See MoreMarble counter scratches?
Comments (6)normal. marble is very soft. if you look at it wrong it will scratch. I have marble floors in my bathroom and dropped a small jar of moisturizer. when it landed it took a nice chunk out of the marble. I have various scratches and marks and I don't even wear shoes on it. just try to be careful with your knives and dishes. get some cutting boards and leave them out. I'm assuming it was already sealed? remember, a sealer only buys you time to wipe up spills that might stain. doesn't make it stain-proof. and of course a sealer will not prevent etching....See MoreQuartzite not adequately sealed?
Comments (13)Thanks everyone for your advice. There are other issues with the installation, like significant cosmetic defects on the stone surface, edge profiles and fissures. We asked Home Depot for a refund, since the first fabricator was incompetent and the second one they referred to us to told us they can’t help as their company is not licensed to work in NC where we live. Home Depot said they can’t give us a refund until they come extract the countertop from our home. However, they have no one to do this work! You can’t make this stuff up! It’s the worst customer experience we’ve ever had. We’ve experienced extremely poor customer service and follow-up from the contractor and the local Home Depot store in Blairsville, Georgia. We are going to file a claim with our credit card company, the BBB and Home Depot corporate, as we’re not confident Home Depot will follow through with the refund....See Moreannabelle6
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