Rock Out Your Countertops in Quartz: It’s the Most Popular Option with Consumers and may be safer for your home to.

While recently touring model homes in the bustling suburbs of Washington, D.C., I noticed a new trend in town or countertops rather, Quartz! After more than a decade of homeowners insisting on nothing other than granite outfitting their kitchens I decided this topic needed further investigation.

First, what is this engineered quartz I keep hearing about? Wikipedia describes engineered stone quartz as surfacing that is made from approximately 95% natural quartz and 5% polymer resins. Testing has shown that they retain much of the toughness of quartz but display increased ductility due to the resin, improving impact resistance. Countertops are custom made and are more scratch resistant as well as less porous than other natural stone surfaces. Quartz is a nonporous material, which means it will not promote the growth of mold, mildew, or bacteria. You can keep quartz 99.9% bacteria free.

Patrick Petersen, co-owner of northern Virginia remodeling company, Revived Real Estate, says engineered stone quartz is a great option for your kitchen countertops. “The product has been around for years and has recently been perfected by companies like Ceasarstone, Hanstone, Cambria and Zodiaq. It can also be purchased from Lowes or Home Depot.  Quartz offers two major advantages over granite,” Patrick explains. “It is highly durable and doesn’t require periodic resealing. It also offers an expansive amount of color options, great for consumers looking for a specific color scheme.”

There have been whispers in the remodeling and design industries for years that granite is on its way out. But the proof is finally here, according to the recent Freedonia Group Report on countertop industry trends, there has been a definite shift in the marketplace over the last few years as quartz has become the fastest growing market segment in the industry with 13 percent growth compared to granite’s five percent.

Quartz may also be safer for your home then granite. The Environmental Protection Agency has reported receiving increasing calls from radon inspectors and concerned homeowners about granite countertops emitting dangerous levels of radon and radiation.

So if you are thinking about swapping out your old countertops, consider quartz, it’s an increasingly popular contender these days among consumers, architects, designers and remodelers alike.

Authored by Gina Nash, Marketing Director at Revived Real Estate