It can be somewhat confusing for Minneapolis homeowners looking for natural stone options in counters for the kitchen or bathroom. Marble and granite are obvious choices as natural stone, but quartz is often a bit more of an unknown.
Marble and granite are true natural stone options. These are slabs of rock quarried from locations around the world. They are usually quarried in large blocks and then cut into slabs. Marble and granite are graded based on the patterning, pitting and quality of the stone.
How Quartz Counters are Made
Quartz is also made of natural stone, but it does have an additional component. As opposed to slabs of stone, quartz is made up of ground quartz. This is a naturally occurring mineral with a crystalline structure. It comes in a wide variety of colors from clear to blue and green as well as black, white, gray, pink, red and earthy colors.
All quartz countertops have a mixture of approximately 5-10% of resins and pigments. This acts like glue to hold the fine to more coarsely ground quartz together and form a non-porous, smooth surface. With different types of quartz and different aggregates, the patterning can be very subtle and slight or much more pronounced.
The Benefits of Quartz
With the addition of the pigments, the manufacturers can provide a wider range of color options in quartz countertops while still maintaining a specific color scheme uniformly through the counters.
Additionally, with the use of resins, there is no need to seal the surface of the quartz countertops as is required with marble and granite. The non-porous surface is highly stain resistant, and it is very easy to clean with just soap and water. The smooth, glossy surface is also durable, lasting for decades in a Minneapolis home with just common sense care.
