The durability of quartz and granite can vary widely. How's that? Granite is plutonic rock formed over the course of millions of years under high heat and formidably high pressures. It's not going to dissolve in your kitchen. Engg. quartz is crystals/chunks of stone suspended in resin. Neither is going to decompose in a hurry. What are we doing in our kitchens to impact the longevity of either? Except, that is, changing our fashion aesthetic to change the counters out to a new colour/pattern/material? Monkeypuzzle, you are spinning needlessly on a futile if minor problem. If you are looking for a family of material to come down on the side of, you've got suggestions above: Do you want uniformity and regularity? Default to quartz although there are some subsets of granite that fit here, too, but still, default quartz. Do you want a non-sealing white (or light) counter? Default to quartz since most lighter natural stones will warrant sealing - which, it seems, is a scary step for you. Do you want movement / unique (although this is a loaded word) / drama or whatever? Default to natural stone. All that said, I will tell you that I wanted a no-movement, fairly uniform dark counter and I whittled my leading candidates down to: (a) a couple of granites, (b) a DuPont Zodiac engg. quartz, (c) and a Schist (which was a local MA stone), and (d) also a white marble (which fit none of my wants but it is so pretty!). I went with a granite. It is quiet but with its fluorescent cobalt blue inclusions, it gives me all the bling I may possibly want. Not always visible so in broad daylight, it just appears as a quiet black material with some clear quartz spots here and there. At night, with the halogens on, the cobalt blue inclusions pop up here and there depending on where one stands. And I love it. But the key is to identify what you need from your counter top. You are spinning like a top because you are wanting to conduct this futile academic exercise on what everyone else thinks is the best material. There is no such thing. You need to define what considerations matter to you, what you want, and then search to fit that bill because there is such a diversity of properties when it comes to natural materials that any universal law you pop up with, there will be a natural rock that contravenes that. That said, either quartz or granite will still be standing when any of us here are turning in our graves.

I love my quartz - I went with it because I cook with lots of acidic foods... lemon, lime, tomato, wine etc. I am also good about using trivets anyway - and I also have a large 2 x 2 foot cutting board (1.5 inches thick) near the range. If you live with folks who won't pay attention to where the hot items are set down, go with granite. And not all granite needs re-sealing. Like Amanda says, though, I have never needed to use trivets under plates upon which I've dispensed hot food. This is instead a rule I use for hot cooktop or oven cookware, and I do use my George Forman and my crock pot on either a trivet or the aforementioned cutting board. My rice maker has feet, and so I do leave that item directly on the quartz countertop. Just checked - it is an off-white quartz there (I I keep the rice cooker out and in the same spot all the time), and life is fine.

I am a fabricator. Quartz (i.e. engineered stone) is definitely more susceptible to heat damage than most natural stones. I have had several repair calls over the years where a guest with granite at home scorched a quartz countertop by placing a hot item on quartz counter like they do in their own home. Heat damage to a quartz top is usually damage to the resin component of the material. Unfortunately it takes an unusual level of skill to repair a scorched area if it's even possible. Natural stone can be damaged by heat but is it far less common. I have had only 2 incidents of obvious granite heat damage in 21 years in the business; one was a fireplace hearth that cracked and the other was cracks in a brand new countertop when the homeowner had a "lefsa" party where the lefsa cookers heated spots in the granite over a period of several hours. In the fab shop we sometimes use propane torches right on the stone to dry it out when doing a chip repair so I don't consider heat damage much of a risk for natural stone. I know not everyone will agree with my assessment but I'm going by my experience with many thousands of stone and quartz projects.

I am a fabricator. The following advice will make your interactions with a good fabricator a lot more efficient and enjoyable: Spend some time thinking about the look you want; light or dark, monochrome or busy with a lot of color and movement, Also think about what you want for sink(s). Get a drawing from your cabinet supplier and THEN visit some fabricators (3 or more is recommended) that fabricate both quartz surface and natural stone. A competent fabricator should be able to show you some material options that you may like and give you a firm quote within a day or two. 3 or more quotes is recommended so you can be comfortable your not paying too much as there can be considerable variation in price for the same job. Heres a tip on how to tell if a fabricator is competent: ask them what their lead time is and how good they are keeping to schedule. A poorly run shop will have long lead times and lots of missed dates for measure or install.