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Has anyone used quartzite in their kitchen?

2 years ago

We are remodeling our kitchen and looking at either quartz or quartzite countertops. Our contractor has granite in our quote, but the countertop place he uses did not show us any light/white/gray countertops in granite. Only Stormy night for quartile. And several quartz. Our floor will be very dark LVT and white shaker cabinets so I wanted light countertops with the dark floor. I’ve heard of issues with quartzite so wanted to see if anyone has had issues or if you love them? Thanks!

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Comments (6)

User
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Are you ready to 4x-6x your counter budget from your contractor’s lowball allowance? And do some rigorous testing to be sure you’re not being sold marble labeled as quartzite?
Kat Ie
Original Author
2 years ago
So maybe try to find a light granite, or pay extra for quartz?
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We just got this installed and it’s absolutely beautiful! Definitely recommend. A couple bigger fabricators wanted to charge a lot for the prefab, so just be cautious on who you choose to give your business to. We found a great person to install with his smal team of three and saved over $1000. less expensive material from the supplier and labor cost less too. Hope this helps someone!
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Tanisha, that is gorgeous. I saw something similar that was called Blue lava (MSI). I didn’t think I wanted blue but the slab was just stunning in person. Thinking it would really stand out with bright white matte shaker cabinets and a plain matte subway tile backsplash to really let this be a statement piece. Have you done the quartzite test on it?
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Some stone places rename stone slabs to draw customers in. Quartzite is harder than granite and most fabricators charge more for cutting it usually by the linear foot. In addition, the stone itself is around level 6. That means it is in the “exotic” grouping and expect pricing above $8 k per slab just for the slab. Then add about that for fabrication plus up-charge for cutting. Just went through this with my client and one slab came in at $12k. The other at 10k. Not in our budget. Nor in most budgets.
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Kat Ie
Original Author
2 years ago
And the sample we have scratched very easily with tip of a knife. So we won’t be going with that option :).
Sher H
2 years ago
I have quartzite and searched high and low to find real quartzite. We tested samples of our slabs before committing. If yours scratched from a knife, it’s definitely not quartzite. Likely marble mislabeled as quartzite. Every slab named “xxxx shadow quartzite” failed our testing and ended up being marble.
maire_cate
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
There are lots of posts here on quartzite. I've had mine for 4+ years and it's been perfect - but as Verbo stated - you need to test it. But if you opt for granite you need to test a sample of that too.
Shannon_WI
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
"Our contractor has granite in our quote, but the countertop place he uses did not show us any light/white/gray countertops in granite."

Can you show pics of counters you like that are "light/white/gray"? These granites are commonly sold in most stoneyards, so if your countertop place didn't show you any, I wonder if it's because they see that you are really looking for a more uniform and white counter like a Quartz counter. Alternatively, simply tell your contractor you are going to another stoneyard. You don't have to use his; it's your money paying for the countertop that you want.

The pics below are the granites Alaska White, Piracema White and Viscon (aka Viscount) respectively. They are popular and easily found. But if they are not the look you want, then look at Quartz, or as you mentioned quartzite. As mentioned above, with quartzite it is buyer beware due to the amount of mislabeling of marble as quartzite.

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