One of our customer from Fairfax Station chose QUARTZ in white color for her kitchen countertop. She prefer to work with Discover Granite & Marble for Quartz countertop's fabrication and installation. Now She is having special time with her dream kitchen countertop.

What is Quartzite?

Quartzite is a metamorphic rock made almost entirely of the mineral quartz. Quartzite begins its geologic life as sand grains, perhaps on a beach, desert dune, or riverbed. Over time, the sand grains become compressed and stuck together to form sandstone. If the sandstone gets buried ever more deeply underneath layers of rocks, it gets hotter and more compressed. With enough heat and pressure, the sand grains lose their original shape and fuse to their neighbors, forming a dense, durable rock. The process is similar to individual snowflakes merging into solid, glacial ice. Quartzite is usually white or light-colored because quartz sand is light colored. Additional minerals carried by groundwater can impart hues of green, blue, or ion-red. Van Gogh and Azul Macaubas quartzites are examples of vivid coloring.

Regardless of color, quartzite is made primarily of one thing: quartz. That’s helpful because the hardness and acid resistance of quartz set it apart from the minerals in marble. (Note – The mineral quartz should not be confused with the brands of manufactured countertop materials commonly referred to as “quartz surfacing” which contain crushed quartz with a resin binder.)

Properties of Quartzite

Hardness:

One of the appeals of quartzite is its hardness and durability. Not only does this make for a tough stone, but it also makes it easy to tell quartzite from the imposters. Quartz is 7 on Mohs hardness scale. It’s nearly twice as hard as glass and harder than a knife blade. These things are easy to test with a sample of stone.

Resistance to Acids

Etching is caused by acids dissolving small areas on the surface of a slab of stone. While this process does not harm a stone, it does blemish the surface. One of the appeals of quartzite is that it does not etch from acids like lemon juice or vinegar. If a rock labeled as quartzite becomes etched from acid, then it is mislabeled. Marble and dolomitic marble, on the other hand, will etch from these acids. Dolomitic marble etches slightly more slowly than regular marble. But quartzite will not etch at all from normal kitchen acids.

Porosity

Quartzite has a range of porosities. Some, like Taj Mahal or Sea Pearl, have been highly metamorphosed and the minerals are bonded together tightly. White Macaubas and Calacatta Macaubas have been exposed to less intense pressure, so these stones are more porous and will benefit from sealing.

Discover Granite & Marble invites all our customers to come right into our showroom and warehouse in Manassas and Charlottesville VA to select the perfect quartz slab. You can see up close the dozens of quartz colors available among the hundreds we have in stock.

Discover Granite is the one stop destination providing quality material and a many of options regarding color and patterns of granite and quartz countertops. Its excellent services have made it the best granite and quartz countertops fabricator in Virginia over 40 years