The first decision you have to make is the material. There are many materials available for kitchen countertops – wood, concrete, stainless steel, even glass – but stone & quartz are the most popular. Quartz is also known as “engineered stone” or “cultured stone”, since it’s made from real stone but includes additives that make it much more durable and easier to clean. It’s the best of both worlds – the beauty of nature combined with the strength of science.
In most quartz countertops, some quartz is present. But about 10% of the material volume in a quartz countertop isn't stone at all. Rather, it's a polymeric or cement-based binder. And the other 90%? Crushed-up waste stone and natural stone or recycled industrial wastes, such as ceramic, silica, glass, and mirrors.
Yes, there's some actual quartz—sometimes a lot of it. All of this rock material mixed together and held together with binders is what gives a so-called quartz countertop the look and feel of stone.
More accurately, a quartz countertop should probably be called engineered stone or compound stone—terms that more accurately describe the way these products are created. The industry, in fact, is increasingly using the term engineered stone to refer to this type of countertop.
Bottom line: Quartz countertops can include some amount of actual quartz, but they include no solid quartz extracted from quarries and likely have lots of other materials in them, as well.
Quartz is “quartzite evolved”. It’s natural stone that’s been crushed to a fine powder and mixed with tough acrylic resin, to create a material that combines the best of both worlds – the beauty of natural stone and the strength of scientifically-developed materials.
One major benefit of this “stone in resin” production is that the resulting material is “sealed by default” – there are no microscopic cracks or spots where a spilled liquid can seep into the stone. Unlike natural stone, quartz countertops never need to be sealed!
Another advantage of quartz is that it can be manufactured with any color or pattern – from mild to wild. Whether your kitchen design calls for a subdued look similar to concrete or white marble, or a crazy veined pattern with bold contrasting colors, we can easily accommodate it.
As an authorized dealer of the world’s foremost quartz brands – Caesarstone, Compac, Cambria, Stone Italia, and many others.
Because quartz isn’t porous, it resists bacteria. Quartz’s non-porous nature makes it an ideal countertop choice for both the kitchen and the bathroom.
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