Quartzite Vs Quartz Countertops
If you’re researching countertops for an upcoming kitchen remodel, quartz probably keeps popping up on sites like Pinterest and Houzz, or in the pages of your favorite design magazine. It’s become a design favorite in recent years and it’s also a top-rated material given its ability to shrug off stains. You might also be seeing more references to quartzite, which sounds a lot like quartz and can look similar. But these are actually two separate materials with some very key distinctions.
Quartz used to be known as engineered stone because it’s just that—a synthetic material that’s made in a factory out of stone chips, resins, and pigments. Quartzite, by comparison, is a metamorphic rock that originated as sandstone. It’s extracted from a quarry and formed into finished slabs that become kitchen countertops, as well as tiles for floors, walls, and backsplashes.
Quartzite is often compared to granite in terms of hardness and durability. It combines that toughness with the variegated patterning of marble, which makes for an alluring combination.
As for price, quartz and quartzite are in the same higher-end category of countertop materials but due to the extreme hardness of quartzite, the labor cost adds considerable additional expense to the final installed price.
How to Maintain a White Quartzite Countertop
Quartzite is a metamorphic rock that has been formed from sandstone, making it a very hard rock that is not water or acid soluble. Quartzite’s hardness protects it from scratching and etching—but it should be sealed twice a year to help it resist stains. For regular cleaning, wipe with a damp cloth and use mild soaps or stone cleaners.
Quartzite Features
Like all natural stones, each slab of quartzite has unique veining with various shades of dark and light grey. The crystallized appearance of quartzite is simply beautiful making it a standout feature for any kitchen countertop or island. The stone can be polished, honed, or brushed and fabricated with a number of different edges.
About Calacatta Super White
Super White is gaining in popularity because it provides the elegant and classic look of Marble but it is a more durable and easy-to-maintain natural stone. Super White is also known as Calacatta Quartzite. Although a lot of people love the look of Super White, they aren’t quite sure what kind of a stone it is.
Some call it a Quartzite or a dolomite. Because “it looks like marble but wears like granite,” it often falls into one of these two stone categories. The truth is, Super White is neither. Calacatta Super White is a light-colored compact, coarse metamorphic rock, just like marble, but it’s much harder than marble.
This light-colored stone possesses small to intense veins in light, medium, or dark colors. Shades may vary from white to really light tones of beige or gray. In its purest form, Super White is as white as marble, however, the impurities give this stone some amazing patterns and swirls.