Quartz vs granite worktops. Is it really that much better?

[BunnyWilliams]

Why does it seem like every kitchen fitter and showroom is pushing a variation of quartz (Silestone etc.) rather than granite?

We've done two kitchen upgrades in the past 13 years and went for granite for both. Loved it and never had an issue. I like the fact that it's natural and more speckled (We aren't dirty, I just can't stand seeing little bits and crumbs everywhere, even straight after cleaning!)

We're currently getting in quotes and designs for a kitchen upgrade and every single kitchen person I've spoken to (5 in total) has crinkled up their nose at granite and asked me why I'd want it, and then start extolling the virtues of quartz.

To me, it just looks a bit - fake? I don't like the whole Instagrammy white-lined pristine kitchen look. Ours is a country kitchen in a 300 year old house and I want it to look like it belongs.

Do they know something that we don't? What is your preference? What's the difference cost-wise?

Granite is more bombproof and more natural looking - because it is a natural stone whereas quartz is a composite.

The benefit of quartz is that, because it’s man made, it comes in a very wide variety of colours/patterns. Whereas most granite is either dark or beige speckly. Currently these looks are out of fashion.

Depends how much you care! Granite is the better choice from a practical perspective IMO

I’ve had both and granite is an absolute pain due to it being porous. annual sealing mitigates but doesn’t entirely manage the issue.

Having a kitchen work surface that reacts badly to water, tea, coffee, lemon, wine, butter, oil, juice etc is madness.

My only reluctance with quartz was it not being as heatproof but so far I’ve not found anything to hot for it.

I’ve had both granite and quartz. As someone has already said it’s porous and has to be resealed. If you get a light colour and spill your indian takeaway it’s a nightmare. I have a light coloured quartz and it’s great. Tough and nothing stains it. I loved the granite but quartz is great especially if you want to go with a lighter colour.

Gosh never had any such issues with granite, and we never sealed it either. Ours was honed rather than polished (ie matt not shiny) so we didn’t get issues with acids etching it, and it was a dark colour so perhaps that hid any stains, but I don’t think it stained.

That's interesting. We've had quite a light grey granite both times and never had any issues with staining and we didn't get it sealed ever!

We have a new kitchen with quartz and within the 1st month a very small spice jar fell out of cupboard above and chipped the edge of worktop. Not impressed! Had laminate for almost 20 years and was bomb proof.

Hmm!
When we were choosing our solid worktops - at a specialist showroom - we were strongly advised NOT to have marble, as that is hard to maintain, but granite was fine!
I had, initially, fancied a white quartz with sparkles but, in the end, went for crystal rose-blue quartzite. I love it. No problem with stains. If you do get turmeric/lily pollen marks on it, they are easily removed with a bit of bleachy kitchen cleaner.

10 year old granite worktops and brilliant. No need to seal, and I've only ever wiped with a soapy cloth or Method granite spray. Best choice ever and our granite is Via Lactae. We didn't go for quartz as it marks, stains and chips and we ensured we bought from a very respected supplier as not all hard worktops and the way they are finished are equal.

I've had granite worktops for over 20 years and never ever had to reseal them. Perhaps pp is getting mixed up with marble.

I would have liked a light colour worktop in our current shady kitchen but we use solid cast iron pans from time to time and I really couldn't be faffed with putting down trivets etc, so went for granite again. It's been pretty much indestructible in our experience.

I’ve had granite for over 20 years, never had it sealed and it’s never stained or chipped. Bombproof

Granite all the way. We had it for 15 years in our old house and never did anything to it except use soapy water and the odd bit of method granite spray. I adored it, we had star galaxy which I gather is very old fashioned nowadays, but I’d have it again in a heartbeat.

No it’s not. It’s porous and stains. Being natural it also has hidden fault lines that can chip or crack sometime in the future unexpectedly

We went quartz with matching upstand 5 years ago and it is still pristine. Even pushed the boat out and got the utility room done in the same quartz so they matched. We could have saved £800 just putting a standard worktop in the utility but I am so, so glad we didn't.

Any spills like curries or diluting juice all I have ever done is sprinkle a tiny bit a soap powder and lightly scour with a sponge. Comes off every single time.

Our salesman said we could put pots straight down on it and use it as a chopping board but we dare not, well, you know just in case.

Think we went with the thicker one, there was a choice of 18mm or 28mm or something.

I'd go quartz again in a heartbeat.

I’m not saying granite is 100% bombproof but it definitely seems more so than quartz - based on the experiences I have heard about from people with these surfaces.

Even expensive quartz brands seem to get reports of staining and chips, plus the known non-heatproof issue.

I found this video helpful when choosing a worktop for our kitchen last year.

We ended up with white quartz with sparkles in it, and so far, it's been perfect. But I'm still in the princessy stage with the kitchen and make sure any spills are wiped up immediately 😁

We have had a dark Silestone surface in for 13 years and it looks as immaculate as the day it was fitted. Spray cleaned with any old kitchen spray, occasionally use Cif or Method Granite cleaner.
We always use pan stands and chopping boards, but we have always done this no matter the surface.

Quartz doesn’t stain that’s its USP v natural stone.

any marks disappear with pink stuff.

I've got granite and find it pretty indestructible mine might be old fashioned, but I won't be changing it.
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I’ve got granite and love it. No staining but I’m careful to wipe curry/ tomatoe based sauces quickly.

Granite is porous so stuff can leak into it. In it's natural state it will be very heat resistant. However if you put sealant on it to make it more stain resistant, followed by a red hot pan it may well burn the sealant leaving marks.

Quartz is not as hard as granite. The rock itself is, but remember it is quartz embedded in resin. So you can scratch the resin. I have been told it is very heat resistant but the resin, like the sealant will burn at some temperature.

They both chip especially on the edges. I have a couple of chipped edges in quartz. You get them when you bang pans and stuff against the sharp edge of the countertop. I can hardly see mine so I have left them, but you can get epoxy kits to fix the quartz. I don't know about granite.

For both types I would use chopping boards and heat pads for pans. When the countertops cost £££ it's just common sense.

I have never managed to stain my quartz, but I know someone who managed to stain their granite with red wine.

We had granite for 20 years, then redid our kitchen last year.
The current accepted wisdom seems to be that granite is dated, so we thought we might go for quartz, then our fitter (a friend) said he had quartz and regretted it because it stained really easily.
We costed them both up and decided, as there was no difference in price to speak of, that although granite is not 'in' at the moment, it will never date in the way manufactured surfaces may fall out of fashion when the next thing comes along.
We went for nero absolute, which is more or less solid black, so very few swirls and speckles.
Love. Love, love it

3 kitchens in 13 years!

How mad is the world that granite is ‘out of fashion!’

Tell that to Aberdeen!

We are about to redo our kitchen after 16 years and I’m keeping the gray/pink/lots of lovely colour mixed top as it’s completely immaculate and I love it.

We inherited black granite worktops when we brought our previous house; I wasn't keen, but they were fantastic. Nothing stains or scratches that type of granite it seems; they stayed in perfect condition for decades. Black would not be my choice in a kitchen but we decorated the cupboards and walls in white and pale aqua - no other black - and it looked lovely.

Isn't it quartz worktops that is banned in some countries due to the dust being very nasty when it's being cut? I prefer not to use things that put workers at risk, so I'd check that before choosing quartz.
I can't vouch for granite as I prefer formica ( I know, I'm a peasant 😊). It's annoying that light colours are very out of fashion. I found one US one I liked a year or so ago but it wasn't imported here at the time, and now we're getting closer to getting the job done, I'm distinctly 'off' US goods anyway. Maybe by the time we're ready to fit it the fashions will have changed a bit!