Real Quartzite Countertops, Tested Before You Buy

Quartzite or soft marble: why the label is not enough

Real quartzite is a hard, dense stone that scratches glass and does not etch from lemon juice, but some slabs sold as quartzite are marble or dolomitic marble, which are softer and do etch. The Natural Stone Institute says it directly: quartzite is commonly mislabeled, and sometimes marble or dolomitic marble carries the quartzite name. The trade name on the rack is a sales label, not a geological test.

The difference is in what the stone is made of:

• Quartzite forms when sandstone is heated and compressed deep in a mountain belt until its quartz grains fuse. The British Geological Survey classifies a metamorphic rock as quartzite only when it is at least 80 percent quartz by volume.
• Quartz rates 7 on the Mohs hardness scale. Window glass rates about 5.5, so real quartzite is harder than the glass you test it on.
• Marble is calcite or dolomite that has recrystallized. Calcite rates 3 on the Mohs scale, and the mineral dolomite 4 or less.
• Acids attack the carbonate in marble, which is why vinegar and lemon cleaners are ruled out for it. Dolomite reacts more slowly than calcite, bubbling feebly in dilute acid where limestone reacts vigorously, so a dolomitic stone can look tougher than it is at a quick glance.

Why it matters for your kitchen: you may pay a quartzite price for a stone that behaves like marble, and find out when the first lemon wedge leaves a dull ring. Wikipedia's quartzite entry puts real quartzite as harder and more resistant to stains than granite. A mislabeled slab is neither.

Why quartzite costs more to fabricate

Quartzite costs more to cut than granite because it is harder, so every saw pass, edge and sink cutout takes longer and wears the tooling faster. Hard stone is cut with diamond blades, which work better wet because water carries away heat and dust. On a CNC router, machining stone is closer to grinding than cutting, and a harder stone grinds more slowly. Mitered edges, where two pieces meet at 45 degrees to look like a thick slab, add precise work on top of that.

Quartzite is also a form of silica. Cutting, grinding and polishing natural and manufactured stone can release fine crystalline silica dust, and OSHA's construction standard notes that water applied to the blade substantially reduces the dust stone cutting creates. That is a strong reason all shaping happens on a shop floor, not in your kitchen, with only small adjustments made on site.

The price is also the market's. Quartzite sits at the top of the natural stone ladder, and named stones such as Taj Mahal or Mont Blanc carry premium slab prices before any fabrication starts.

Quartzite countertop cost in Asheville

Quartzite countertops in Asheville are typically estimated at roughly $80 to $250 per square foot installed, the widest range of any stone we cut, because slab prices vary so much between named quartzites. A large kitchen with an island in quartzite is usually estimated at roughly $8,000 to $20,000 before unusual features.

What moves a quartzite price:

• The slab itself, which is often the largest part of the cost.
• Square footage and the number of slabs, plus any book-matching that needs two consecutive slabs.
• Edge work, especially mitered edges that make the stone look thicker.
• Seams and their placement on a strongly veined stone.
• Cutouts for an undermount sink, a cooktop or a prep sink.
• Overhang support at an island.
• Tear-out and disposal of the old top, and cabinet leveling.
• Access: long mountain drives, steps to a raised house and tight turns inside add labor to a heavy, costly slab.

The faucet and drain are disconnected and reconnected by a licensed plumber, which appears as its own item on the quote. All of these figures are estimates, subject to change with slab availability and the details of your kitchen, and the final price is set in the written quote after the free in-home measure.