# Quartz kitchen worktops Y/N?



## Fab Foodie (15 Jan 2022)

Have the opportunity to have quartz work surfaces in my new kitchen.
What's the experience of the CC massive, pros and cons?


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## figbat (15 Jan 2022)

We were thinking about quartz but ended up with a composite which is similar in nature but offers a lot of choice in terms of colour, pattern etc. Advice we were given, and took, was not to have a plain black (or any plain dark colour) surface - have some fleck in it. That way crumbs and the like don’t cause you to be cleaning the surface incessantly.


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## Ridgeway (15 Jan 2022)

We‘ve got granite which is very similar overall. I have to say it’s timeless in its look and as durable as as a set of PB Allen keys. We love ours,

easy to clean
nice and cool to roll out pastry on
withstands some serious abuse

ours is over 20yrs old now and looks like it was installed yesterday


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## neil_merseyside (15 Jan 2022)

Quartz used to be susceptible to UV in very sunlit kitchens, well the binding resin was, but it's long time since I've been in kitchen business so it might be better now, quartz is ever so slightly less heat stable than granite. 'Corian' is cheaper (usually) that quartz/granite but less scratch resistant, but does have invisible seams usually, decent quartz should have good seams too - granite being natural will have more visible seams. I'd have Quartz any day, then granite, then corian, sadly I can only afford laminate...


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## Andy_R (15 Jan 2022)

You've got to be careful with acidic substances around quartz. Stuff like vinegar or lemon juice has to be cleaned up immediately otherwise it attacks the resin bonding the quartz.


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## Beebo (15 Jan 2022)

We have grey quartz with pieces of mirror embedded. Looks great with matching splash backs and upstands.
It’s very hard wearing, no scratches after 6 years.


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## Sharky (16 Jan 2022)

We had the "corian" worktop. Everything came from Wren kitchens. There is a big display showroom down your way. The units have been good, but we made the mistake of using wren fitters. A nightmare, they made mistakes and we had a lot of hassle, before their area troubleshooter took over and did a fine job.

The tops themselves came via wren, from J Rotherham and their fitters were excellent. They measured up and returned and fitted them prefectly.

Subsequently, we ordered some (supply only) units from wren and choose their hard wood worktop. This time, we used a carpenter that we knew to fit the units and he did an excellent job. The hardwood tops look really nice when oiled, but are not exposed to water.

I can recommend the carpenter we used. He is also a cyclist and lives in the Gillingham/Sheppey Velo area.


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## fossyant (16 Jan 2022)

Ridgeway said:


> We‘ve got granite which is very similar overall. I have to say it’s timeless in its look and as durable as as a set of PB Allen keys. We love ours,
> 
> easy to clean
> nice and cool to roll out pastry on
> ...



My sister's granite top is useless. It leaves stain marks - can't put a drink down on it or anything. Been like that since new. Waste of a kitchen top - something can't be right with it ?


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## Bonefish Blues (16 Jan 2022)

figbat said:


> We were thinking about quartz but ended up with a composite which is similar in nature but offers a lot of choice in terms of colour, pattern etc. Advice we were given, and took, was not to have a plain black (or any plain dark colour) surface - have some fleck in it. That way crumbs and the like don’t cause you to be cleaning the surface incessantly.


This in every respect.

ETA
As it happens on my desk I use a sample of Corian as my coaster - tumbled glass pattern.


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## Venod (16 Jan 2022)

We have granite, we were not sure because of the cost, but glad we did, excellent colour and finish.


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## Ridgeway (16 Jan 2022)

fossyant said:


> My sister's granite top is useless. It leaves stain marks - can't put a drink down on it or anything. Been like that since new. Waste of a kitchen top - something can't be right with it ?



Funny ours seems totally sealed, I wonder if it’s really quartz ? Perhaps we’ve just incorrectly assumed it was granite for all these years. Now I’ll have to get googling to see if I can work it out😀


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## fossyant (16 Jan 2022)

Ridgeway said:


> Funny ours seems totally sealed, I wonder if it’s really quartz ? Perhaps we’ve just incorrectly assumed it was granite for all these years. Now I’ll have to get googling to see if I can work it out😀



Well, it's black and glittery. They paid a fortune for it, and I did query it with them at the time as I thought granite was super tough. Nope. They have fabric pads and covers all over it to put pots and pans down, and my word, don't ever put a glass of wine down on it at a party - we've all been 'told'. 

What ever they have is useless.


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## MontyVeda (16 Jan 2022)

Andy_R said:


> You've got to be careful with acidic substances around quartz. Stuff like vinegar or lemon juice has to be cleaned up immediately otherwise it attacks the resin bonding the quartz.


anything but Melamine/Formica is susceptible to staining from acetic and citric acids, as well as stuff like cooking oil.

If you want an easy life from your kitchen worktops, just get a decent quality Formica... unlike natural materials, it's easy to clean and hard to stain, which is pretty much what you want from a worktop 

I'm actually baffled by this trend of spending a fortune on stone or hardwood worktops that are, by default, easy to stain and hard to clean. It's bonkers!


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## Venod (16 Jan 2022)

fossyant said:


> What ever they have is useless.



I was curios about your sisters granite worktop, as my experience of them is that they are tough and resilient to anything placed on them, I did a search and found this: https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/26370/why-does-our-granite-worktop-mark-so-easily I don't know if this relates to your sisters worktop, but it does shoe all granite based tops are not equal.


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## fossyant (16 Jan 2022)

Venod said:


> I was curios about your sisters granite worktop, as my experience of them is that they are tough and resilient to anything placed on them, I did a search and found this: https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/26370/why-does-our-granite-worktop-mark-so-easily I don't know if this relates to your sisters worktop, but it does shoe all granite based tops are not equal.


Probably the same stuff. Our traditional plastic work surface has done 26 years.


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## MontyVeda (16 Jan 2022)

Venod said:


> I was curios about your sisters granite worktop, as my experience of them is that they are tough and resilient to anything placed on them, I did a search and found this: https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/26370/why-does-our-granite-worktop-mark-so-easily I don't know if this relates to your sisters worktop, but it does shoe all granite based tops are not equal.


granite is stone and therefore porous unless sealed. Porous stuff stains easily, and needs resealing rather regularly... otherwise they become porous again, and susceptible to staining.


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## Venod (16 Jan 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> granite is stone and therefore porous unless sealed. Porous stuff stains easily, and needs resealing rather regularly... otherwise they become porous again, and susceptible to staining.


How regular for resealing ? we have had ours about 5 years, no marks as yet.


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## MontyVeda (16 Jan 2022)

Venod said:


> How regular for resealing ? we have had ours about 5 years, no marks as yet.


if it's natural granite. that's amazing.


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## Venod (16 Jan 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> if it's natural granite. that's amazing.



I found this, maybe not so amazing if you have a 15 year sealant.

https://qualitygraniteandmarble.com/how-often-do-granite-countertops-need-to-be-resealed/


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## MontyVeda (16 Jan 2022)

Venod said:


> I found this, maybe not so amazing if you have a 15 year sealant.
> 
> https://qualitygraniteandmarble.com/how-often-do-granite-countertops-need-to-be-resealed/



also from the same article...


> ...while store bought (DIY) sealers may only be good for 6-12 months.


 Your article also talks about resin sealed granite... which is no longer 'natural', since it's essentially encased in plastic


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## Profpointy (16 Jan 2022)

We've had granite in the last two places; plain black both times as it's one of the cheaper colours. I don't know anything about sealing or whatever but it seems close to indestructible. The only downsides are that crockery and glassware tends not to bounce, and it's obviously rather more costly than formica. Cost can be mitigated somewhat by going via your kitchen fitter or granite supplier rather than via a posh shop. I have little doubt I'd buy it again if I moved. Cheap cupboards (within reason) plus granite tops keeps the price reasonable and it still looks the dog's bollocks


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## Venod (16 Jan 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> granite is stone and therefore porous unless sealed. Porous stuff stains easily, and needs resealing rather regularly





MontyVeda said:


> Your article also talks about resin sealed granite... which is no longer 'natural', since it's essentially encased in plastic



But the article and several others I have found, don't seem to agree with your original statement above, I was concerned that I might not be maintaining our worktops correctly after reading your statement, although the lack of staining after 5 years should have told me there is no need to worry, the discovery of the articles not agreeing with your view has reinforced they are OK without resealing regularly.


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## Profpointy (16 Jan 2022)

Venod said:


> But the article and several others I have found, don't seem to agree with your original statement above, I was concerned that that I might not be maintaining our worktops correctly after reading your statement, although the lack of staining after 5 years should have told me there is no need to worry, the discovery of the articles not agreeing with your view has reinforced they are OK without resealing regularly.



Ours has never been sealed as far as I'm aware


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## Venod (16 Jan 2022)

Profpointy said:


> Ours has never been sealed as far as I'm aware



I don't know if ours has, but it's shiny on the exposed surfaces and very stain resistant, I will worry if it detereates, but all is good so far.


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