Quartz is a man-made product that in recent years has decreased in cost and increased in colors, variety, and availability. So what is Quartz and is the the right choice for your home?
Quartz is man-made from natural minerals including quartz plus resins and pigments. It is very hard and both stain, etch and scratch resistant. It is vulnerable to heat damage as is not recommend for fireplace applications.
What is right for your home is a personal choice, but here I hope to answer a few of the most common questions.
Cost? Retaliative to granite quartz will be in a mid-to-high price point range. While Granite typically starts about about $41 a sq ft, quartz will begin at about $63.
Durability? Quartz is designed to take a beating and to be low maintenance. It is stain, scratch, and heat resistant. While you don’t want to put extremely hot things on it (due to the resins it contains) most kitchen activity is acceptable. You do not seal quartz, as it is engineered to be non-porous.
Brands? The name brand of the quartz will affect the price, it will affect the colors available, outside of those variables the product itself typically is same across the board. The difference is typically nuanced between the warranty or manufacturing process.
Consistency? Typically quartz can be selected from a sample. Newer quartz products are aiming to mimic natural stone so display wider more varied products. For these it is recommended to view a slab photo or take a trip to see the slab in person.