Quartz Countertops

[Madehn]

I looked really hard at putting in corian and granite- did a lot of research and ended up having a custom piece of stainless steel made that fitted over the entire countertop with cutouts for sink etc-- had fiddles included as well as an integral backsplash-- looks great and is sturdy-- i made a wood cutting board to go over the freezer top load door figuring the extra insulation would not hurt- it is held in place by the SS lips below that allow one to hose off the kitchen counter with the sprayer and not get water down into the freezer.

[keepondancin]

I am more of a granite person rather than quartz, I am in awe how the earth can create such beautiful materials. Quartz certainly would be a good choice, stable, and colors are uniform. Some years ago I was aboard an Alden, about 46', the owner was an architect. He had marble, was there for quite awhile, maybe from the build, it had a nice patina from use. We discussed the weight issue, and he didn't think the weight was a problem. Today's cruisers seem to have all the creature comforts they want, micro waves, washer and dryers, lots of amenities, and soe are quite heavy, and their boats do OK. I wouldn't hesitate. I did some Corian, because I could fabricate it myself, and it is nice, but If i had the opportunity, I would use a product like granite or quartz. There is a vanity top in my girl friends house that is quartz, and it does water stain, but it dries again. Maybe test what you are thinking about using before you place the order, they always have samples.

[UFO]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Modern kitchens? You mean posh show kitchens! Show me one single quartz countertop manufacturer who writes that it is okay to put hot pots straight on their countertop. They don’t, they all explicitly exclude that from warranty.

Errrr..... I have one in my home kitchen - Been there for over 10 years - Sold explicitly on the basis that it Does Not permanently stain and you can put hot pans on it.


I have put many hot pans on it and spilt many things that can stain on it and its still good.

[psk125]

We put slate on our kitchen counters. It comes thinner than granite, so can be lighter. Tight pored (There ARE different types.) it doesn’t stain. As a natural stone, hot pots are of no consequence. The matte finish is less work because shiny surfaces (like granite) show every fingerprint, and have to be cleaned constantly. Perhaps worth checking out.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Modern kitchens? You mean posh show kitchens! Show me one single quartz countertop manufacturer who writes that it is okay to put hot pots straight on their countertop. They don’t, they all explicitly exclude that from warranty.

If you want the professional’s choice then you go for stainless steel. There is not a single professional galley aboard ship nor airplane that uses quartz.

Quartz as natural mineral is all that you describe, but quartz countertops are a man made material, namely ground natural quartz suspended in epoxy resin. The actual quartz material inside is okay and super duty durable but the binder is the weak spot. It is also the binder that wears off, just like solid surface does and this is when it starts staining.

Granite can crack when you bend it. The stories about spontaneous cracks are unlikely but cases do exists where a slab has internal stress. Doesn’t happen with good quality though. Yes it needs to be sealed but it is not like marble or travertine which is porous.

Well, quartz is about 95% stone.

Here is a decent video on setting heat on granite vs quartz. I think you have to watch part 2 for quartz. Bottom line, it doesn't Crack or discolor until they take a bot of oil and heat it to 550 degrees then set it on the counter. Granite didn't fare well either.

Look, you like stainless. Good for you. Nice product but way too institutional for my tastes so would be at the bottom of my list. I just don't care for it and I don't see the benefits. But that's me. Doesn't make quartz a bad product. Just means you prefer SS. OP asked about quartz and if there was a reason not to install it. There's not. Wouldn't be my choice for a boat as I prefer Corian (I remodeled my boat galley 20 years ago with it and it's held up very well even as a live aboard and occasionally using it as a work bench). But quartz is definitely my choice for a house. I've remodeled four kitchens in 15 years with it and it's held up well, even with renters. It's an incredible product.

[mvweebles]

The video.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uIo1QAJmtEU

[Wood]

I like stainless. It takes heat, is easy to clean and looks great. I just redid my galley using 16 gauge 304..

[svbravo]

We're putting stainless steel galley tops in the new boat. I like how it ties together the other SS elements, is totally seamless, inc. sinks, and can take hot pots. Can be fabbed by any commercial kitchen fabricator, including integral fiddles.

[s/v Jedi]

Some tests I see what they call granite but I think it looks more like marble. Here you can see a test granite vs quartz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYfi9f-gOEQ

[s/v Jedi]

Here’s another one showing granite the winner. Quartz doesn’t even allow a Sharpie marker to be removed!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0PMLa53RK0

[s/v Jedi]

And another one warning against hot pans on quartz and confirming this is not a problem for granite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBElB0g8rIs

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by keepondancin

I am more of a granite person rather than quartz, I am in awe how the earth can create such beautiful materials. Quartz certainly would be a good choice, stable, and colors are uniform. Some years ago I was aboard an Alden, about 46', the owner was an architect. He had marble, was there for quite awhile, maybe from the build, it had a nice patina from use. We discussed the weight issue, and he didn't think the weight was a problem. Today's cruisers seem to have all the creature comforts they want, micro waves, washer and dryers, lots of amenities, and soe are quite heavy, and their boats do OK. I wouldn't hesitate. I did some Corian, because I could fabricate it myself, and it is nice, but If i had the opportunity, I would use a product like granite or quartz. There is a vanity top in my girl friends house that is quartz, and it does water stain, but it dries again. Maybe test what you are thinking about using before you place the order, they always have samples.

I have a similar experience. Quartz is a little more practical than granite, but for a boat Corian is a better compromise. Granite generally looks the best, but is the least practical since it will inevitably get chipped. I had both quartz and granite in residential kitchens. Setting a Pyrex dish straight from the oven on quartz is not a problem, as well as a metal pan from a burner that was set to a high heat. However, I went with a Corian on my current semi-custom boat build. Love the fiddles and the lid for the sink.

[pawhitman]

Greetings!
I am also looking at quartz. What did you end up doing? What thickness did you end up with? My fabricator is suggesting 3 cm, about 1 1/4". I would prefer 2 cm. Thoughts/Suggestions?
Thanks!

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

. . . Quartz is a dynamite product and is displacing granite in modern kitchens for good reasons. I just prefer Corian solid-surface products in boats.

Ditto here.

I used quartz in a house renovation I did recently. It's fantastic on land, cheaper than Corian, very good looking.

But I wouldn't use it on a boat. For that, give me Corian any day.

Some people like granite -- and I have granite counters in one of my land homes. I personally find it cold and super hard and not pleasant to work on. YMMV. And it would be terrible on a boat (in my opinion) where you have stuff moving around and getting knocked on it. You would shatter a lot of glass.