Guide
Quartzite, quartz or granite: which countertop suits a Texas kitchen?
Scale Homes Design Center · Updated
The short answer
For a kitchen that gets cooked in hard, quartzite or granite: both are natural stone that takes heat, and both need sealing now and then. For a pattern that repeats across a long run and never needs sealing, quartz, as long as hot pans and strong sun stay off it. If you want white with veining, quartzite gives you the look of marble with far more hardness.
The three side by side
| Quartzite | Quartz | Granite | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Natural stone, quarried | Engineered: crushed quartz bound with resin | Natural stone, quarried |
| A hot pan | Takes it | Resin can scorch; use a trivet | Takes it |
| Sealing | Yes, now and then | Never | Yes, now and then |
| Acid (lemon, vinegar) | Rarely marks; soft quartzite can etch | No effect | Rarely marks |
| Sun and outdoor kitchens | Fine | Resin can yellow over years | Fine |
| Pattern | Every slab different | Repeats; seams can be matched | Every slab different |
| How you choose it | At the yard, by the slab | From the drawing and a full-slab photo | At the yard, by the slab |
Heat, stains and sealing
Quartzite and granite were made by heat and pressure, so a pan off the stove doesn't bother the stone. The sealer on top is what can mark, which is why a trivet is still a good habit under a pan straight from a hot oven.
Quartz is the opposite trade. The resin that binds it means it never needs sealing and a coffee ring wipes off, but that same resin can scorch under a hot pan and slowly yellow in direct sun. Keep it indoors and keep a trivet by the range.
Natural stone is porous to some degree. It gets sealed after install and again when water stops beading on the surface. How often depends on the slab, and a drop of water that soaks in fast tells you it's due.
Looks
If you want white or grey with veining that looks the same from one end of the kitchen to the other, quartz does that best, because the pattern is made. If you want white with natural movement, quartzite is the usual answer. Granite runs from near white to near black, and the busier grounds hide crumbs and water spots between wipes.
Dolomite sits between marble and quartzite: the soft white look of marble, more resistant to scratching, but it can still etch with acid. It's worth a look if marble is what you want and you can live with some patina.
Seams and slab size
Most quartz on our list comes in slabs of about 127" × 64". Natural stone varies by block. Either way, a slab is only so long, so most kitchens have at least one seam. We show where the seams fall on the drawing before you approve it, and the slab count follows from that.
What we'd tell a friend
- You cook a lot, with hot pans and citrus: quartzite or granite.
- You want a clean white with predictable veining and no upkeep: quartz, indoors, with a trivet.
- You want the look of marble and don't mind it ageing: dolomite, honed rather than polished.
- You're doing an outdoor kitchen: natural stone, not quartz.