· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Countertops
Every material looks good installed. The differences appear over years of a specific kind of use, which makes how you cook a better starting point than what you like the look of.
Heavy cooking with hot pans
Granite handles heat far better than quartz, whose resin binder scorches permanently. If pans regularly come off the hob onto the worktop, granite or a dedicated stone landing area matters.
Trivets solve it on quartz, and they only work if they are actually used.
Baking
Marble stays cool and is the traditional pastry surface, and it also etches from anything acidic and stains readily. A marble section for baking with a more forgiving material elsewhere is a common and sensible compromise.
Quartz is a reasonable all-round alternative that is easier to live with.
- Hot pans off the hob: granite over quartz
- Baking: marble section, or quartz throughout
- Low maintenance above all: quartz
- Heavy chopping and repairability: wood
- Budget-led with light use: laminate is better than its reputation
Low maintenance above all
Quartz, without qualification. No sealing, excellent stain resistance, consistent appearance and no surprises. Its two weaknesses — heat and prolonged direct sun — are manageable.
It is the right answer for most households that want to think about the worktop as little as possible.
Mixing materials
Using different materials in different zones is increasingly common and entirely practical — quartz on the main run, wood on an island, marble on a baking section.
It costs more in fabrication and it lets each area do what it is best at.