Marble countertops in the kitchen?

[DisneyPeanut]

HI there! We are renovating our kitchen in our new to us house and I really want marble for the kitchen countertops. Would love to get some feedback form anyone who has it. I have gotten such mixed messages about it. Some love it, fabricators hate it.
Do you love it? Would you do it again? Thanks in advance!

 

[cabanafrau]

We don't have it and I wouldn't want it. Too much maintenance and upkeep. I don't like granite either. I love quartz and would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[jrmasm]

Based on what I've heard, you need to be really careful with marble to prevent staining. The pigs I live with would ruin it in a week.

I'd go with granite.

 

[NewRVLady]

Cabana- tell me difference between quartz and granite- esp cost
We are redoing our kitchen also

 

[wiigirl]

Based on what I've heard, you need to be really careful with marble to prevent staining. The pigs I live with would ruin it in a week.

I'd go with granite.

 

[JanaDee]

Marble isn't suitable for a kitchen countertop.

We have quartz and I love it.

 

[cabanafrau]

Cabana- tell me difference between quartz and granite- esp cost
We are redoing our kitchen also

Quartz is much more durable. When we were looking it didn't have as many choice options as granite. At the time it was 20 to 30 percent higher in cost than the granite. I found granite I was considering that was about $60 to 65-ish per foot installed. I think my quartz was just about $90 a foot installed.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Marble is significantly more susceptible to staining than granite. I don't have it in my kitchen but a good friend put it in (she loved the look) and now regrets it. She has teens and younger children and the food and beverage stains, particularly around her cooktop and sink are awful. Her kitchen is less than 2 years old and my nearly 7 year old granite countertops look the same as the day they were installed.

Whatever your decision, good luck!

Karen

 

[minnie mum]

I love the look of marble, and I have it in my master bathroom, but I'd never put it in the kitchen. It's porous, relatively soft for a stone (chips easily), stains at the drop of a hat and requires a lot of upkeep. It wouldn't survive long in our house.

A side note about our bathroom marble vanity- It took them 3 tries to install it. The first 2 times they broke the slab (9 ft. long) while drilling for the faucet holes. The installer told me that they hate working with marble because of it's fragility. It's only 3 years old and I already have several surface scratches on it and water marks are a constant problem. Needs resealing badly. And that's with only 2 adults using the bathroom, so it sees very light use.

 

[barkley]

Based on what I've heard, you need to be really careful with marble to prevent staining. The pigs I live with would ruin it in a week.

I'd go with granite.

i'll echo that. I had a marble cutting board (used it for making pastry dough primarily with other gentle uses), and based on that experience I found marble difficult to deal with stain wise.

we did granite, and it's been great-I love that I no longer have to stress over stains (heavy duty dark coffee drinkers and fans of balsamic vinegar here).

one thing I will caution on-if you are even remotely considering the route of something like 'granite transformations' check with the building codes where you live. one of the issues that has come up in our neck of the woods (and has made a good amount of $$$ for traditional counter top installers) is the code on the height of countertops. since the transformation companies put the new stuff on top of the existing it can raise the height such that the counters no longer meet code (and it might not be an issue initially but down the line in the case of a home sale an inspection may reveal it-know some installers who are making some good money to rip these out and put in whole new counters).


good luck on what you decide-new kitchens are wonderful!

 

[TinCup]

I have a marble topped vanity in my bathroom and granite counter tops in my kitchen. In my opinion marble is not a good choice for a kitchen. It is too soft and porious. It will most likely stain if used in a kitchen and it could break or chip if you drop something on it. I have had no problem with the granite in the kitchen. Its durable and still looks great. The marble in the bathroom needs a lot more attention to keep looking good. I clean and seal it regularly and there is still some minor staining around the sink. The bathroom gets l alot less use/abuse then the kitchen does and the marble isn't holding up as well as the granite.

 

[ilovepcot]

Marble was already in our kitchen when we moved in and it looked *perfect* for a "20's Period" kitchen. BUT...never again. We had to always cover areas when working to prevent staining. You could never quickly throw out items on the counter and go to work. Too much time wasted being "cautious". I ended up with a "film" of something clear and rough feeling about the size of a saltine cracker that can't be removed.

 

["Cinder" Ella's Mom]

Love our quartz too. Little maintenance and looks great.

 

[pryncess527]

We don't have it and I wouldn't want it. Too much maintenance and upkeep. I don't like granite either. I love quartz and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Ditto, I love my quartz. I researched marble, but it seemed like a huge pain. Especially since most of the marbles I love the most are light colored so any stains that developed would be obvious.

 

[clh2]

We have a quartz countertop - I LOVE IT! And, as we will potentially be building a new home in the next year, will do quartz again. I love the uniformity of the slabs, compared to how the color on granite can change drastically from slab to slab.

DH was dead set against doing granite, although I wouldn't have minded that. Not sure what his issue was - He would have rather had formica (ICK) countertops instead.

I would never do marble. Or Corian for that matter.

 

[bcla]

Quartz is much more durable. When we were looking it didn't have as many choice options as granite. At the time it was 20 to 30 percent higher in cost than the granite. I found granite I was considering that was about $60 to 65-ish per foot installed. I think my quartz was just about $90 a foot installed.

Granite is mostly quartz. A "quartz countertop" is a man-made composite of mostly quartz as compared to a cut piece of natural granite.

As an aside, I heard that there were proposals to mine Yosemite into building materials. Someone was especially eying El Capitan.

 

[cabanafrau]

Granite is mostly quartz. A "quartz countertop" is a man-made composite of mostly quartz as compared to a cut piece of natural granite.

As an aside, I heard that there were proposals to mine Yosemite into building materials. Someone was especially eying El Capitan.

And your point is? Are you quibbling with my durability statement? Are you waiting for a certificate of provenance for my countertops?

I'm aware of what I've purchased and how it has performed.

 

[jrmasm]

And your point is? Are you quibbling with my durability statement? Are you waiting for a certificate of provenance for my countertops?

I'm aware of what I've purchased and how it has performed.

It's great when we're pleased with a major purchase!

My granite has been top notch! 10 years, two kids, a messy husband and it looks exactly like the day it was installed. I have done nothing to it other than clean it as needed with soap and water or ammonia free windex. I would buy it again without hesitation.

eta: We looked at quartz when we were deciding what to put in our kitchen and decided against it because of the uniformity and a scaliness when you looked at it from the side. It was newish product at the time so I don't know if it has changed. And it was more expensive.

 

[bcla]

And your point is? Are you quibbling with my durability statement? Are you waiting for a certificate of provenance for my countertops?

I'm aware of what I've purchased and how it has performed.

Personally I think the statements that a composite quartz surface is more durable should be taken as marketing. Natural granite is plenty durable. I see granite grave markers that have been out in the elements for decades that look new. My parents remodeled their bathrooms with granite tile about 20 years ago, and they all look new. They've had granite kitchen countertops for about the same length of time, and you'd be hard pressed to determine that they weren't new. However, they paid a premium for extremely uniform natural granite.

There are some advantages depending on the particular product, including antimicrobial compounds mixed into the resin. There's also the ability of precisely create a particular color.

 

[pryncess527]

Personally I think the statements that a composite quartz surface is more durable should be taken as marketing. Natural granite is plenty durable.

Natural granite is "plenty" durable, but the Mohs hardness scale is more than marketing, it's science Granite is a 5-7 on the scale. Quartz is a 7. Quartz is harder, because as you mentioned, granite is only "mostly" quartz. It is that "mostly" that can make granite a bit softer than quartz, depending on its exact makeup and where it was found. That is why quartz is considered to be slightly more durable to heat, cracking, and chipping. They can both look new for decades.

They are both much more durable than marble which is closer to a 3-4.