Artificial stone countertop: what the buyer needs to know?

Artificial material in the manufacture of kitchen countertops is used much more often than natural marble or granite. And it’s not just about the price. It is also important that a qualitatively manufactured composite in some technical characteristics even surpasses its natural counterparts.

The countertop made of artificial stone is, as they say, the golden mean in choosing both a beautiful and practical working surface of the kitchen.

Strength and durability

The main competition for the buyer takes place between kitchen surfaces made of quartz stone, marble and granite. Indeed, these materials are among the most popular among stone countertops. And if we consider their characteristics of strength and durability, the artificial Caesarstone is head and shoulders above its competitors.

The fact is that the unique technology of vibropressing, which is used for the production of Caesarstone, made it possible to obtain a very durable material. Thus, the bending strength of this artificial stone is more than eight times higher than marble and three times that of granite. And in terms of impact strength, quartz stone exceeds marble by more than four times, and granite — by two.

And that’s very important. Especially for kitchen countertops, where strength, resistance to temperature changes and moisture resistance are the necessary minimum characteristics that are needed to ensure that the countertop serves for many years. This is especially true of glass, which we do not recommend using where it is planned to cut products and cook. After all, glass surfaces are very fragile and do not withstand heavy loads.

What is the advantage of quartz agglomerate countertops?

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Quartz agglomerate is a wonderful material in all respects. It can not be called 100% natural, but this is an advantage! Thanks to the production technology, the agglomerate comes out much stronger than any fossil rock: there is not a single air bubble in it, not a single crack that can significantly affect the resistance of the array to impact.

Also, the agglomerate does not have pores, which means that the liquid spilled on it simply will not be able to be absorbed, even such an aggressive one as green, iodine and food dye. Its water absorption is only 0.02%, and that of marble and granite is much higher and it is much more difficult, if not impossible, to wash them. For example, red wine for marble is enemy number one: it is instantly absorbed and does not rub off at all.

Scratches quartz agglomerate is also not afraid. Moreover, not only scratches, but also blows with an axe on the surface! Sooner the axe will break than you split the slab of the countertop. Why is it so hard? From the fact that 95% consists of quartz, which is one of the hardest stones on the Mohs scale and only a diamond can scratch it.

You can read more about the properties of the material in this article: “Artificial quartz stone — what is it?”. Everything is set out there in the most detailed way and you just need to familiarize yourself with this information if you are looking at products made of artificial stone.

Also, agglomerate is not afraid of hot. You can fearlessly put hot on such a countertop, absolutely nothing will happen.

And quartz agglomerate is just perfect for equipping outdoor kitchens. There are simply no analogues to it in this, because neither wooden countertops, nor stone, nor plastic can withstand such temperature changes. But the agglomerate — everything is useless! It is not saturated with water, from this, in the frost it will not burst, but the marble is calm. In the cold, the water that is inside the stone expands, which entails microscopic breaks, which eventually lead to the fact that the stone product begins to crumble and chip.

Well, another plus that matters for those who are afraid of the radiation emitted by all natural stones: there is no radiation at all in the agglomerate. Although, in fairness, marble and granite “phonate” negligibly little and there is no harm to health from this. If you are interested, you can read about the myths that ukrainian granites have acquired and find out where the legs of these gossip grow, which not so long ago flooded all information spaces: “The myth of the radioactivity of Ukrainian granites!”