To bring completeness to what was said and to expose the intentional technobabble obfuscation of those who would refer to cars as quad-pneumatically-suspended personal transporters: A. The difference between granite and quartzite properties involves two areas, how they are formed and their composition. - Granite is molten rock from volcanic activity that has solidified. The technobabble "igneous rock" used to describe granite, is from the word igneous, which simply means related to fire. It is expanded to mean solidification from a molten state over time. It has a high content of quartz/silica and metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies underground. Quartzite started life as sandstone, which is quartz/silica and after being subject to tremendous pressure at the point of tectonic plates colliding, it becomes an interlocking mosaic of quartz crystals and this metamorphosis earns it the name of "metamorphic rock". It is often what you see when you look at the jagged peaks of non-volcanic mountains. - Granite is made up of mainly of quartz/silica and feldspar with minor amounts of mica, e.g. anything that can survive the heat. Quartzite, since it began life as sandstone, is made up of a much higher concentration of quartz/silica. The quartz/silica is where the hardness in both stones come from which is why quartzite registers slightly higher on the Mohs hardness scale. Minor amounts of former cementing materials, iron oxide, silica, carbonate and clay, often migrate during recrystallization, causing streaks to form within the quartzite that may or may not affect strength in those areas. There are other rocks that are metamorphic like quartzite also but they don't have the high quartz content which is why they are softer and may be more vulnerable to chemical reaction. B. The patterns he represents for quartzite are the most typical of quartzite deposits, but not necessarily what is in demand or why people chose quartzite. With quartzite you can get marble look-a-likes to get the look of marble with the durability of quartzite, unique patterns like Taj Mahal, and amazing patterns such as Fusion. These are the real draws that bring quartzite into the countertop mix. Quartzite starts out a little more expensive than granite because there are fewer developed sources for it and it is a little harder to work with. However, unless you are looking for a marble look-a-like, the desirable quartzite that drives people to chose it over granite are much more rare and expensive. This means from a looks or unusual pattern perspective, you get more for less with granite, and for less money. Check out the ever-popular "River Bottom"/"Black Mosaic" where the magma ran into a river and got chilled before it had to chance to completely melt all of the rocks. Streaks are less likely to cause fissures in granite than quartzite but it can affect either. Glass weave glued to the back of a slab is there to prevent breakage in those they are concerned about, but don't know for certain if they will have the problem. They are both natural rock so there is no guarantee like there is with quartz where it is done via a controlled process that uses resin to bond the material. *It is a complete myth that quartzite does not tend to etch with household chemicals, as multiple posters below have attested. A lot of them have calcium carbonate in them making them MORE susceptible to chemical etching than granite and at least as susceptible to staining. The susceptibility to these is based partially on density and partially on composition. They are so close on the hardness scale that it doesn't matter. Both can take the heat because there is no resin in either. One is not more stain resistant than the other so the sealing requirement for both is a given. The proper evaluation when choosing should be based on looks and price because there are no functional advantages of one over the other. *Regarding Quartz (with a capital Q to denote a product name rather than the material.), a man-made product cleverly named the same as the natural stone. Don't be fooled by the intentional obfuscation of its name and makeup. They speak of it being 93% quartz with 7% resins, polymers, and colors.percentages of quartz and resin. That is by weight. By volume It is much closer to 35% resin in the finished product. E.G. it is actually more like solid surface/Corian with ground quartz added for surface durability. They emphasize that you don't need sealer, which is mostly true, because the ground quartz bits are encapsulated in resin. Correspondingly, anything that can stain or scorch the resin is a problem. Fortunately, not much stains the resin. Any bits of stone that become exposed to the surface can be stained but the bits are small, and it cannot wick and travel as it can with unsealed real stone, with unsealed being the operative word. In practice, that doesn't happen because they are almost always installed sealed. There are two different types of sealers, penetrating, and non-penetrating. They both penetrate to some degree, but the penetrating ones are the ones with 5, 10, or 15 year seal guarantees. (if that can be trusted) Some say they never sealed theirs because they didn't know it needed sealing, it has been years, and never had any staining. In either case, sealing is a 10-minute job that can be done by anyone, and many cleaners have sealer in them, so the no-sealing-required sales argument by those promoting Quartz for that reason is a nothing-burger. Another advantage to real stone is that it comes in varying slab sizes which can often avoid seams in the countertop while for all intents and purposes actually available Quartz is 120" X 55". Avoiding seams is also more important with real stone because making it less noticeable from a pattern perspective is not as easy as slabs vary more in color and pattern across the slab than Quartz, and with Quartz, book-ended slabs are even common which enables two different slabs match at seams. One might be led to believe that since Quartz is a man-made product that because it has a controlled and consistent composition that it would be less prone to chipping or breakage compared to granite. In most cases it is exactly the opposite. The melted-rock of granite is generally the stronger and less likely to chip or break.
@@lisag.283 I just purchased a mostly white Quartzite today. The name is White Fantasy. I live in Central California. Its beautiful and came highly recommended over the marble carrara slab I originally wanted.
I need help! We have a quartzite counter top that is NOT polished. It's the natural matte finish. For the first time I sealed it with 511 impregnator and everything went fine except there are a few spots now that are grey in appearance and noticeable. It's almost as if the sealer soaked too far into the stone in just those spots. I have no idea how to remove these discolorations. Does anyone have any advice??
Can you please tell my what that slab is over your right shoulder in the video. My left but your right. Is it fantasy marble or is that a quartzite? Everyone has called it something different. Thank you
Interesting commentary. We have a quartzite countertop that did exhibit a problem with lemon juice. I'm trying to determine if it was because of "etching" or was a sealer applied by our supplier to enhance the look of the top. Is it common to apply sealers for this purpose? If so, it seems that lemon juice could etch the sealer, or?
I have a quartzite countertop and I love it but I do find it stains easily. Is there any way for me to remove acidic or water stains? And what is the best product to seal it with? Mine is named Manhattan (dark grey with white veining)
Stain removing is many times accomplished using general pultice, it is a powder you mix with another product, read the instructions, apply allow it to work 24 hours, scrape it off , it works in many cases.
You do viewers a disservice when you fail to mention the varying porosity of quartzites. Sure it's hard and shiny. That doesn't mean it won't suck up water and/or the adhesives used in its fabrication. Houzz is replete with quartzite horror stories from those who failed to verify porosity. The Natural Stone Institute has no answers either. You have been warned.
Wow! Thank you for actually stating the facts with the physical chemistry background included!! You guys rock. (Get it? )
First time I see somebody finally stating the truth about Quartzite
I'm getting Leblon put in my Kitchen in two weeks, looks just like the grey one here.
@@2008MrsKim leblon ha Grey, Blue and light Brown, it’s beautiful
To bring completeness to what was said and to expose the intentional technobabble obfuscation of those who would refer to cars as quad-pneumatically-suspended personal transporters:
A. The difference between granite and quartzite properties involves two areas, how they are formed and their composition.
- Granite is molten rock from volcanic activity that has solidified. The technobabble "igneous rock" used to describe granite, is from the word igneous, which simply means related to fire. It is expanded to mean solidification from a molten state over time. It has a high content of quartz/silica and metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies underground. Quartzite started life as sandstone, which is quartz/silica and after being subject to tremendous pressure at the point of tectonic plates colliding, it becomes an interlocking mosaic of quartz crystals and this metamorphosis earns it the name of "metamorphic rock". It is often what you see when you look at the jagged peaks of non-volcanic mountains.
- Granite is made up of mainly of quartz/silica and feldspar with minor amounts of mica, e.g. anything that can survive the heat. Quartzite, since it began life as sandstone, is made up of a much higher concentration of quartz/silica. The quartz/silica is where the hardness in both stones come from which is why quartzite registers slightly higher on the Mohs hardness scale. Minor amounts of former cementing materials, iron oxide, silica, carbonate and clay, often migrate during recrystallization, causing streaks to form within the quartzite that may or may not affect strength in those areas. There are other rocks that are metamorphic like quartzite also but they don't have the high quartz content which is why they are softer and may be more vulnerable to chemical reaction.
B. The patterns he represents for quartzite are the most typical of quartzite deposits, but not necessarily what is in demand or why people chose quartzite. With quartzite you can get marble look-a-likes to get the look of marble with the durability of quartzite, unique patterns like Taj Mahal, and amazing patterns such as Fusion. These are the real draws that bring quartzite into the countertop mix. Quartzite starts out a little more expensive than granite because there are fewer developed sources for it and it is a little harder to work with. However, unless you are looking for a marble look-a-like, the desirable quartzite that drives people to chose it over granite are much more rare and expensive. This means from a looks or unusual pattern perspective, you get more for less with granite, and for less money. Check out the ever-popular "River Bottom"/"Black Mosaic" where the magma ran into a river and got chilled before it had to chance to completely melt all of the rocks. Streaks are less likely to cause fissures in granite than quartzite but it can affect either. Glass weave glued to the back of a slab is there to prevent breakage in those they are concerned about, but don't know for certain if they will have the problem. They are both natural rock so there is no guarantee like there is with quartz where it is done via a controlled process that uses resin to bond the material.
*It is a complete myth that quartzite does not tend to etch with household chemicals, as multiple posters below have attested. A lot of them have calcium carbonate in them making them MORE susceptible to chemical etching than granite and at least as susceptible to staining. The susceptibility to these is based partially on density and partially on composition. They are so close on the hardness scale that it doesn't matter. Both can take the heat because there is no resin in either. One is not more stain resistant than the other so the sealing requirement for both is a given. The proper evaluation when choosing should be based on looks and price because there are no functional advantages of one over the other.
*Regarding Quartz (with a capital Q to denote a product name rather than the material.), a man-made product cleverly named the same as the natural stone. Don't be fooled by the intentional obfuscation of its name and makeup. They speak of it being 93% quartz with 7% resins, polymers, and colors.percentages of quartz and resin. That is by weight. By volume It is much closer to 35% resin in the finished product. E.G. it is actually more like solid surface/Corian with ground quartz added for surface durability. They emphasize that you don't need sealer, which is mostly true, because the ground quartz bits are encapsulated in resin. Correspondingly, anything that can stain or scorch the resin is a problem. Fortunately, not much stains the resin. Any bits of stone that become exposed to the surface can be stained but the bits are small, and it cannot wick and travel as it can with unsealed real stone, with unsealed being the operative word. In practice, that doesn't happen because they are almost always installed sealed. There are two different types of sealers, penetrating, and non-penetrating. They both penetrate to some degree, but the penetrating ones are the ones with 5, 10, or 15 year seal guarantees. (if that can be trusted) Some say they never sealed theirs because they didn't know it needed sealing, it has been years, and never had any staining. In either case, sealing is a 10-minute job that can be done by anyone, and many cleaners have sealer in them, so the no-sealing-required sales argument by those promoting Quartz for that reason is a nothing-burger. Another advantage to real stone is that it comes in varying slab sizes which can often avoid seams in the countertop while for all intents and purposes actually available Quartz is 120" X 55". Avoiding seams is also more important with real stone because making it less noticeable from a pattern perspective is not as easy as slabs vary more in color and pattern across the slab than Quartz, and with Quartz, book-ended slabs are even common which enables two different slabs match at seams. One might be led to believe that since Quartz is a man-made product that because it has a controlled and consistent composition that it would be less prone to chipping or breakage compared to granite. In most cases it is exactly the opposite. The melted-rock of granite is generally the stronger and less likely to chip or break.
Thank you @Jack T. Comments like yours are exactly what the Internet is for.
What is the best sealer for quartzite, and do you recommend a good stain poultice; I have a wine stain.
Based on the fitting companys recommendations we used Lithofin MN Stain Stop. Worked well
thank you for debunking the "soft quartzite" myth.
Thanks for the info
Very helpful!!! Is using a waterbase sealer better than a chemical sealer? My quartzite is white.
What is name of your quartzite? I am currently looking for a white. What area of country are you located.
@@lisag.283 I just purchased a mostly white Quartzite today. The name is White Fantasy. I live in Central California. Its beautiful and came highly recommended over the marble carrara slab I originally wanted.
I have quarries of quartzites in india like cristalo and Patagonia and different types of marbles
How do you cut this stuff I try cutting this like marble and granite and ate away all my tools
You need to use the thin continuous diamond blade watered down and for best results use incremental cutting
I need help! We have a quartzite counter top that is NOT polished. It's the natural matte finish. For the first time I sealed it with 511 impregnator and everything went fine except there are a few spots now that are grey in appearance and noticeable. It's almost as if the sealer soaked too far into the stone in just those spots. I have no idea how to remove these discolorations. Does anyone have any advice??
Every sealer has a solvent, usually paint thinner works, try it in a very small area first, see what happens.
Can you please tell my what that slab is over your right shoulder in the video. My left but your right. Is it fantasy marble or is that a quartzite? Everyone has called it something different. Thank you
Thank you
Interesting commentary. We have a quartzite countertop that did exhibit a problem with lemon juice. I'm trying to determine if it was because of "etching" or was a sealer applied by our supplier to enhance the look of the top. Is it common to apply sealers for this purpose? If so, it seems that lemon juice could etch the sealer, or?
Probably was mislabeled as quartzite when it was marble. Quartzite leather finish is unique & beautiful.
How to remove stains from quartzite?
I have a quartzite countertop and I love it but I do find it stains easily. Is there any way for me to remove acidic or water stains? And what is the best product to seal it with? Mine is named Manhattan (dark grey with white veining)
I have the same question
ua-cam.com/video/0MOBI_GbPUk/v-deo.html try the product the lady uses in this 24hr test
@@sb86116 ua-cam.com/video/0MOBI_GbPUk/v-deo.html
I have the same question! The sealer I used created a few grayish discoloration spots on it and I have no idea how to remove them.
Stain removing is many times accomplished using general pultice, it is a powder you mix with another product, read the instructions, apply allow it to work 24 hours, scrape it off , it works in many cases.
Hi Nick!!
Sea pearl color?
light greeny gray
Just to correct you taj mahal is made of Makrana marble from Rajasthan
False. Taj Mahal Quartzite used in countertops is from Brazil.
You do viewers a disservice when you fail to mention the varying porosity of quartzites. Sure it's hard and shiny. That doesn't mean it won't suck up water and/or the adhesives used in its fabrication. Houzz is replete with quartzite horror stories from those who failed to verify porosity. The Natural Stone Institute has no answers either. You have been warned.