Oct
What Is The Best Quartz For Kitchen Countertops?
When you are looking to install quartz kitchen countertops, it’s common to be confused by the many options in the market. With so many quartz manufacturers, it’s common to wonder, what is the best quartz for kitchen countertops? To answer this question, we need to look at the different countertops and how they compare with each other.
Cambria
Cambria quartz is manufactured by Cambria, a privately held company based in Minnesota. Cambria Quartz is characterized by hundreds of styles, edges, slab sizes, and colors to choose from.
The unique thing is that unlike other types of quartz, you can’t buy Cambria quartz from the big box home improvement stores—you can only buy it through the architects, builders, and designers.
Caesarstone
Caesarstone is a publicly traded company headquartered in Israel, and it makes a wide range of colors to choose from. Caesarstone quartz comes in various styles, from the traditional looks such as marble to more contemporary and daring textures.
Caesarstone is known for pushing the design envelope, so it’s not uncommon to find quartz incorporating semi-precious stones such as tiger’s eye, agate, dumortierite, and petrified wood.
Silestone quartz
Based in Almeria, Spain, Silestone makes quartz countertops with vibrant solid colors such as green, blue, red, bright orange, and plenty of others that you won’t find in other quartz brands.
The cool thing is that quartz isn’t only limited to countertops—it also makes matching Silestone designs in vanities, sinks, and shower pans. This means you can buy everything you need for your house from the same brand, which comes in handy at maintaining uniformity in the house.
LG Viatera
This quartz is made by LG Electronics, a popular manufacturer of consumer electronics and appliances. Viatera quartz is available in over 50 earthy colors that range from “Snow Storm” to “Absolute Night.”
Hanstone
Hanstone is manufactured in North America, and it’s known for its tough quartz countertops. The resulting quartz is six times as durable as granite, making it the ideal choice for chefs and those who spend a lot of time in the kitchen.
MSI Q Quartz
MS International (MSI) was founded in 1975, and it makes top-notch quartz countertops that are scratch, heat, and stain-resistant.
Polarstone
Since it released its first accurate Calacatta marble design, Polarstone has been a leading Quartz manufacturer.
What should you look out for when buying quartz countertops?
To buy the right quartz, you need to look out for plenty of things that include:
Design and edges
The design and edges are the main differentiators among the different quartz brands. Design is basically the different qualities of the various slabs. They include: the size, color, shape of minerals, striations, and streaks.
You should take your time and find the ideal quartz for your needs.
Slab size
The other thing you should consider is the size of the slab that you need for your kitchen. As you can tell, this will be heavily influenced by the size of your kitchen. Work with your contractor and measure the size of your kitchen bench.
Seams are weak points, so work at minimizing them as much as possible. If you can use one slab instead of two, you are better off as you won’t have weak points in your kitchen. You also won’t spend much on contractors as they will quickly install the countertops.
Price
Of course, this is an important factor to consider. As you can guess, the price will significantly vary among the different brands. Although, high-quality slabs go at higher prices, it’s not always the case. Sometimes the slab will be expensive simply because of the brand.
You need to research and take your time to determine whether the price you are paying is justifiable. As a rule of thumb, don’t buy a slab simply because of the brand—buy it because it’s quality enough to serve you.
Warranty
Almost all quartz brands come with a warranty, although they differ in length, limitations, and transferability among the different brands.
Work with your quartz countertop dealer Potomac and compare the warranties among the different brands. Obviously, you should go with a brand that gives you the longest warranty at least cost.