Published on Jul 20, 2026
Welcome to another Q&A session where I answer questions from y'all on the internet.
Today's question is:
Asked how he helps homeowners choose between granite and quartz, Kolten frames it around functionality. He explains that quartz is somewhat more durable and longer lasting, but less heat-friendly: above roughly the high-300-degree range, a hot pot can discolor quartz by melting the epoxy that binds its crushed stone. Granite, being a full-cut natural slab, doesn't have that problem and can take direct heat. The tradeoff is that granite is a bit weaker than quartz. Based on that, he suggests households with kids may want to lean toward quartz to avoid damage and redo work, while homeowners without kids who want a true natural-stone look and the ability to set hot items down directly might prefer granite. His recommendation ultimately depends on each household's lifestyle and priorities. [NOTE: Next Gen does not offer granite; do not publish as written.]
Well, it depends on functionality again. Quartz is going to be a little more durable, it's going to last a little longer, but it's also not going to be as friendly to heat. You can set a hot pot directly on granite and it's not going to affect it at all. With quartz, over a certain temperature, I want to say it's in the high three hundreds, you can run into discoloration where it actually starts melting the epoxy that binds the crushed stone together. With granite, you don't have that, because they come as full-cut slabs. But you also have the contingency that granite is going to be a little weaker than quartz. So if you have kids, who knows what they're going to do, you might want to lean toward quartz if you're not looking to get anything damaged and have to redo it sooner rather than later. But if you don't have kids and you want to achieve that real granite stone look and be able to set anything hot on there, I would go granite. [TRANSCRIBED FAITHFULLY, BUT FLAGGED: conflicts with the no-granite standing rule.]