The Quartzite Quandary

Moving forward from that first major “quartzite” job, the number of calls for etches, stains or scratches on  quartzite were steadily increasing. Many clients of ours stated they were told their countertops would be etch proof, harder/stronger than granite and impervious to staining, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. The conundrum on our end was how to actually polish this material, it was clearly harder than your average marble in it's response to diamond grinding, behaving closer to granite, but there were rings and etches littered across the surface only seen with marble. We tried both marble and granite techniques until we found the right combinations of compounds, weight and speed and have been very successful, often adjusting on a case by case basis. We had perfected the technique but still had questions.

At this point, we figured what we were facing were countertop materials composed of both acid soluble minerals like calcite (found in marble and limestone) folded together with harder, non reactive minerals like quartz (the predominant mineral in quartzite). At the same time, having worked on true quartzite, it was perplexing to witness such a wide gap in durability. The answer? it wasn't quartzite to begin with.

True quartzite is often harder than the hardest granites by a decent margin, extremely dense and often non porous. That isn’t to say granite isn’t still an amazing product, it is also extremely durable and usually non-porous, BUT in most cases granite doesn’t have the same dynamic aesthetic you can find in quartzite. Common granite has very uniform patterns of minerals, whereas quartzite often has veining only seen in softer stone like marble. With quartzite you get the beauty and warmth of marble, but durability exceeding granite, dare I say this is the perfect combination. You can also find quartzite with enough transparency to use in backlit applications (see below). This does all come at a cost of course, the price of high quality quartzite slabs far exceed most slabs of marble or granite. Quartzite requires special considerations during fabrication as well. While slabs are being cut at the fabricator or during installation, even the best diamond blades will wear down quickly, the speed of cutting slabs must be drastically reduced to prevent chipping and extra care must be taken handling the material not to accidentally crack or damage the hard but brittle stone. These factors combined can easily double or triple the total cost when compared to other materials. The reward of such high costs? An etch proof, nearly scratch proof, and often non-porous material that looks like marble and won’t require restoration for years to come. We can confirm this simply by the lack of client inquiries regarding real quartzite. 

If you are unsure whether the material you are buying is true quartzite, and not dolomitic marble, there are a few tests you can do yourself. These simple tests will confirm the hardness of the stone as well as it’s susceptibility to etching (erosion/dullness from contact with acids).  

In addition to our normal maintenance services, we also work alongside installers, completing colour matched epoxy mitres, crack and chip repairs and sealing.