Is Marble Harder Than Quartz

Marble and limestone lie at the opposite end of the hardness scale from granite.

Is marble harder than quartz.

Plus quartz doesn t hold viruses or bacteria so you know that your countertops will be clean when you wipe it down. Quartz comes in different colors like white opaque rose smoky yellow violet and brown. Homeowners often turn to quartz as an alternative to not only granite and marble but materials such as solid surface as well. It may be hard to believe but quartz is heftier than granite and that s saying a lot.

Etching is the colorless watermark left on marble with everyday use in the kitchen or bath especially around a sink or tub. Marble for instance is also a rock of this type but it has been formed from limestone. These marks can be removed with warm water and a soft cloth or with a cleanser recommended for marble. Quartz has a hardness of 7 on moh s scale whereas marble comes with a hardness of 3 to 4 on the scale.

Honing the marble or giving it a matte surface can reduce the appearance of etch marks but it won t eliminate them altogether. Marble is a degree or two less and though it is still a very hard stone it s rating on the mohs scale is about a 5. Here are quartzite s best qualities. While quartz can closely compare with granite and marble it is of better quality than solid surface countertops.

A hard sudden impact on the stone such as a cast iron skillet getting dropped can cause a white mark to appear. These two stones have a mohs hardness rating of 6 or 7. The table below displays the positive and negative qualities of quartz. So we strive for the hardest most attainable and attractive option in stones which happens to be granite and quartz.

However with certain polishing sealants modern marble can be made to look much glossier than it did in the past. While definitely not a cheap countertop option the look and endurance of stone make it well worth the cost. Marble comes in white yellow purple uniform pure white red cedar red blue ray and black. Quartz with its very hard surface will not show etching or.

Granite is less expensive than marble starting at roughly 75 square foot installed and 100 more than that for higher end stone. Limestone generally ranks at around a 3 on the scale while marble falls between 3 and 4. Granite on the other hand is an igneous rock which means that it has crystallized and solidified from molten lava. Quartz countertops can handle oil tomato wine coffee juice and many other stainable products.

Finally marble is more susceptible to stunning than quartz is. Quartzite is an extremely hard rock that is not. Marble is also softer than quartz and etches with use. While marble is slightly harder and denser than limestone both rate very low on the mohs scale a rating used to measure the hardness of stones.