Quartz Vs Granite – Which is better for your kitchen?

Do you have a burning desire for new countertops but can’t decide between granite and quartz for your new BTO or HDB flat?

The kitchen countertop is certainly the centrepiece of your brand new kitchen. Finding the perfect kitchen countertop for your new home means balancing durability, aesthetics, and cost. But is one really better than the other or is it merely a matter of aesthetics? Let us weigh them out in this article.

Made of pure, solid stone, granite is one of the most common and preferred countertop materials because it’s solid, durable, and long-lasting.

As it’s made of natural stone, you can be sure that no two pieces of granite will look the same—so you’ll definitely own a one-of-a-kind centrepiece in your kitchen. Expect granite to be very heat-resistant, up to temperatures hotter than your stove. However, that doesn’t mean you should place hot pans straight from the stove and onto the countertop without a trivet. It’s also quite the hardy material—it’s difficult to unintentionally break, scratch, or crack.

Quartz, on the other hand, isn’t nearly as heat resistant. Even Silestone, the best selling engineered stone manufacturer in the world tells you to never place hot objects on their product.

Of the two materials, quartz is more waterproof, being manufactured under more controlled conditions in a factory.

On the other hand, granite is naturally porous. It may be relatively hard and dense, but unlike quartz, it cannot be made under controlled conditions. As such, it often has small pores and capillaries that may allow foreign substances to leak in. This could eventually result in bacterial growth and staining.

Quartz does have two weaknesses compared to granite, though. For one, it is susceptible to discolouration, particularly under sunlight. If you intend to use it as a countertop next to a window, the constant exposure to UV light will cause the epoxy inside to break down, thus causing it to change colour.