Are you thinking about renovating your kitchen? Doing research on countertop materials? If so, then our Countertop Spotlight series will help you. Today we look at quartz countertops, otherwise known as engineered stone countertops.
Material: Quartz
How It's Made: Quartz countertops are man-made engineered stone countertops formed by combining 90% ground quartz (a natural hard mineral) with 8-10% resins, polymers, and pigments. This forms a very hard granite-like surface. The appearance depends on how the quartz is ground: coarsely ground quartz produces a flecked appearance, while finely ground quartz produces a smooth look.
Major Brands: Italian company Breton owns the patent to manufacture solid surfaces from quartz and resins. All other companies use that patent for their own brand of quartz countertops, including Cosentino (Silestone), DuPont (Zodiaq), Cambria, CaesarStone, Avanza, and Technistone.
Environmental Impact: Light-Moderate. Quartz is the second most abundant material in the earth's crust (which is good), but the acrylic resins used in quartz countertops are petroleum by-products, and they often contain alumina trihydrate fillers made from bauxite ore, which is mined primarily under toxic conditions in developing countries. However, the countertops are still extremely durable and non-porous. Additionally, a few major brands including Zodiaq, Formica, Wilsonart and Silestone have been certified by GreenGuard as low emitting. Other brands, like Cambria Quartz, are mined and made entirely in the USA.
Pros: Extremely hard and durable; glossy sheen; non-porous and stain-and-crack resistant; does not require sealing or resealing; wide range of colors; easy to clean with mild soap, water, and a soft cloth.
Cons: Expensive; not heat tolerant; seams are inevitable for large countertop designs.
Installation: Professional installation strongly recommended. Quartz countertops are quite heavy!
Price range: $60 - $100 per square foot
Kitchn Reader Reviews:
I recently upgraded my counters, and after weighing pros and cons of all materials, I settled on quartz. Not only is is durable with almost zero maintenance, you have an array of color options to pick from. - alllebasil
I'm very happy with my Zodiaq Quartz. Colors are good without being too "disco" or "boring" (as opposed to the leading quartz brand). Not a chip in it after 4 years, not a stain or a scratch. Nice and cold for rolling pastry — actually, that's probably the worst aspect: Put your toast down on it for a minute while you get the jam, and you might as well start over. But the heat-distribution quality is also great for defrosting things like a stack of wonton wrappers or a thin steak. - joelfinkle
I'm all about quartz countertops, we've just installed them in our kitchen and they are a wonder to clean. It is true that these days cheap wildly patterned granite (I agree, sometimes they look like straight up barf) are almost universally chosen by developers, this is probably because quartz is more expensive these days. - noelle153
We spent $5K on quartz (I freaking loooove it), where we could have spent about $500 on the same amount of laminate. - angus
Related Kitchn Posts:
• All About: Granite Countertops
• Corian Plus Six Alternatives
• What Kind of Countertops Do You Have?
Readers, do you have quartz countertops? If so, tell us what brand and what your experience has been!
(Images: 1. Peter Murdoch | The Kitchn; 2. Lauren Zerbey | The Kitchn; 3. HomeWerks; 4. Caesarstone; )
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we have silestone (a composite) and love it - we never looked back
Dumb question, but does this entail mountaintop removal?
My house came with Silestone countertops that were installed in 2005. While I'm not a fan of the color and sparkly bits, my counters are easy to clean and pretty durable.
My eye grows tired with too much pattern (i.e. granite) Plus granite is generally cold, as is marble. We went with quartz - it's warm, it's a composite, so as much or little pattern play as you desire, and frankly very sanitary. I hate crooks and nannys where stuff can grow.
Just a heads up! I have Ceasar stone in my kitchen in the honed ( not shiny) Carrera and that finish does stain like crazy and scratch easily, I also did a honed finish in another color in one of my baths ( what can I say..I loved the non shiny look) and it is really hard to keep looking nice..water leaves stain marks on it. I was told it was just as durable as the shiny but it is NOT! ( still looks cool though)
I have CeasarStone's Chocolate Truffle which is very shiny. Love it. The only problem is with this color, I have a hard time telling when I've spilled things.
The first photo is somewhat misleading. Luca de Luna is a Quartzite--a natural stone similar in appearance to marble...not to be confused with the engineered stone slabs being highlighted here.
We have Caesarstone in our kitchen (Blue Sapphire, now discontinued, but you can see an image if you google it) and main bathroom (Pure White). I'd like to protest saying that it's not heat tolerent! We've had our kitchen countertops for eight years now, and they still look brand new - and that's after having heavy pots, extremely hot items, sharp items, et cetera put on them. They're not freezing cold to touch, they're smooth, and they're still shiny. And durable as hell!
I've honestly had absolutely no problems with it, and we have been ROUGH with those countertops. And the colour is still amazingly vivid eight years after the Big Kitchen Renovation - the blue is gorgeous and picks out the colours of the tiles on the splashback and contrasts with the yellow walls gorgeously. We've never chipped it and I can't see how we COULD, they're really quite tough.
My only quibble with the Caesarstone brand is that so many of their colours now are neutrals. *sigh* Bring back the colours, guys!
Love love loved our quartz countertops. They were expensive, yes, but worth every penny. We lived with them for about two and a half years, and never had problems with scratching. I also didn't find that we had water marks or anything.
When we sold our house, my number one regret was leaving those counters behind.
Glad to hear it, ryttu3k, because that was my first thought when I read this post: Hey, I thought it was pretty heat resistant!
I definitely want quartz because the DH won't go for soapstone. The colors of lavastone (French Pyrolave) can't be beat, but as it turns out, lavastone is one of the few materials *more* expensive than quartz!
After reading this, I'm wondering if my rental countertops are actually quartz, not granite? They are very smooth, somewhat cool to the touch, and the pattern is a flecked pink/grey/black (sort of looks like confetti). I doubt if my landlord splurged for such an expensive material, but I'm nevertheless curious.
We just had Cambria countertops put in last week and they are so beautiful! A huge upgrade from the ceramic tile that was there before.
I think these are so close to being perfect, but being the OCD counter person I am, I don't think I could live with them in my own house.. I hate shiny countertops - I think they always look dirty - and love honed surfaces, but the honed quartz seems like it needs way more maintenance than honed marble. I guess I'll save my pennies for a bit longer.
That said, I think they are great in other people's kitchens :)
More input please. We're about to spend a small fortune for Cambria White Cliff... I'm so nervous...
Caeserstone now makes you sign a separate warantee if you buy a honed finish. After much reaserch, I learned that the honed finishes are slightly pours, which is why they get water and metal stains and need to be cleaned daily - which still may not solve the problem.
So...do I love one of the honed finishes? Yes. Will I order it? Nope. Even though I hate the polished finish.
I'm finishing up a reno of a Palm Springs midcentury and actually used 3 different types of white Caesarstone in there. 15 ft Credenza in Blizzard, kitchen countertops in Quartz Reflections and Organic White in baths. I actually used the organic white b/c I got remnants for cheaper. You can't tell the difference too much but it helps to avoid the "cookie cutter" look. I love the matte honed look also but was steered away due to maintenance and have had no issues with chips or stains with my shiny stuff. (I balanced it out w/ low profile matte cabinets.) I'm also super rough on stuff and they hold up to some very crazy orange kitties. (the grasscloth, not so well.) ;} When they first installed the kitchen I saw the shiny flecks and freaked over my disco ball counters. People really seem to like them & 2 years later, I actually love it and wish I'd been bolder!
Just bought a new place (this time a 40s house) and would like to use quartz again but try for a more marbled or at least whimsical look. I've had good luck with CaesarStone but I agree it can be a big bland looking - almost too "tasteful". Haven't seen in person but was checking out the other sites quickly and Zodiac, SileStone and Cambria had some really exciting textures and finishes.
HOWEVER, make sure your installer is good. There are wildly varying levels of skill in beveling, seams, etc.
I got beautiful quartz countertops during my kitchen remodel. I found that there is significant negotiating room in the price. Although the price here is listed at $60-$100/sq ft, I was able to get it at $35/sq.ft. I have the Cesarstone Quartz Reflections with a shiny finish.
Quartz surfacing is taking the industry by storm and with the new colors available you can get a terrific look on these great new counters.
I was included in an article “Countertop Trends” in kitchen & bath design news a few years ago:
In addition to using materials that are earth friendly, it’s also important to think about product longevity, according to Dan Whalen notes: “I think one of the most important things that we can do as designers is to promote products that are not only green but that are going to last. If we create designs that our clients love, then they are going to keep them longer, and that makes good ‘green’ sense.”
Daniel Whalen Cabinet Specialist and Senior Kitchen Designer at Johns Appliance City