Granite Vs Quartz: Who wins and why?

I used Quartz in my kitchen a few years back and didn't even consider Granite. The bacteria issue was number one in my decision process but all the other downfalls helped in the decision as well. In all the dozens and dozens of Candice Olson episodes I have watched I have never seen one that she uses Granite in a kitchen. And I trust Candice. :)

Carmela - I'd have to go with quartz, less work and besides, everyone has granite and I'd rather be unique.

Great and informative post Carmela! Thanks for sharing.

Carmela I have been thinking about this subject.  It was very much on my mind today at my open house where the Countertops were quartz.

Over 35 years of building homes at Lake Tahoe/Truckee, CA, we installed 100's of granite countertops.  While the look changes with each slab and its variation in color, clients wanted nothing else, for years.  Quartz is the newest trend that clients in high end homes want....and concrete (love the look and low maintainance). A new product Vetrazzo, made from recylced glass is beautiful, durable, and affordable...check it out: vetrazzo.com.  I want to use this product in my next house.

Carmela, great post!  I have honed Black Absolute Granite in my kitchen and love it. I sealed it once ( 3 years ago) and keep forgetting to do it again and it's fine.  Honed Granite is porous but I've found it stands up to everything ( 3 messy kids) and looks classic in my 90 year old house. I chose to go with it because there is not much chance it will go out of style anytime soon since it's not shiny and loud like a lot of Granite.  You are right about trends changing every 10 years and I think that's why you see a lot of Quartz now, but just like Granite it too will wane in popularity once it's around for 10 years.

That is good to know and when we see quarts we will know that the builder is on the cutting edge.

This is a great post.  I work on a lot of kitchens.  Even though I understand the benefits of quartz, by I far, I prefer the look of granite and that's what I see most customers doing, esp when they are working w/ designers.  Usually when I see quartz it's because someone went to a place like kitchen Magic or a big box store.  Further, most home buyers appear to prefer granite because it looks nicer and it's a more "natural" product.

Carmela ~ thanks for the post.  It's been interesting to read the comments.   Some of the LEED homes that I've staged have used Caesarstone (quartz) counters, so we know that's an eco-friendly product (93% natural materials).  I like both products but would likely go with quartz in the future.

I did some research on quartz about six months ago an dit does seem to be a better choice than granite.

I tend to have more liking for quartz as it has a non porous quality as mentioned in this article. Moreover quartz makes luxurious kitchen countertops and bathroom decor and thus makes your home look beautiful.