How to Choose Granite Countertops

The key issue is one of personal taste. There is a vast array of colors and visual textures available, including stone with “movement” – large scale variations in color and pattern. The popularity of colors shifts with the times. Reliable favorites which seem to defy trends are black, dark green, browns, subtle reds, silvers and yellow/golds. Blue is becoming popular (and expensive) as are stones with more movement. (Note that stones with lots of veins are quite dramatic but usually more fragile and may be less forgiving). Time will tell if they are just a fad. When choosing a granite, ask about its physical properties, hardness, strength, abrasion resistance etc. Any reputable supplier should be familiar with the stone's properties and refer to ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) ratings, if available. The various countries of origin all give their stones their own names. Importers will often re-name their slabs, then fabricators, installers and retail outlets will often do the same. This not only makes it very confusing for the purchaser but also makes it difficult to shop and compare prices, especially when you go to get a second quote and ask for the color “Princess Silver” and no-one else has heard of it. (I just made that name up by the way) Fortunately the internet can de-mystify the “name-game” with a bit of dogged persistence and a reputable supplier can also help. Some of the larger chain stores are the worst culprits here - trying to hide their 30% to 50% markup of fabricators prices by pretending that they have unique stones..... tsk tsk.

A lot of manufacturers of man-made countertop materials and natural stone imitations have try to mislead the public about the porosity of natural stone leading to problems with bacteria buildup. Shame on them - Granite is one of the most cleanable countertop materials available - over 1000 times more cleanable than plastic laminate.