Marble's movement, granite's muscle. Everything you need to know before choosing quartzite for your kitchen, bath, or vanity project.
Quartzite starts as sandstone, then undergoes intense heat and pressure deep in the earth — the same kind of metamorphic process that turns limestone into marble. But because sandstone is mostly quartz grains to begin with, the result is fundamentally different: the individual quartz grains fuse together into an interlocking crystalline mass, so dense that a break runs straight through the crystals rather than around them (this is actually how geologists tell true quartzite from sandstone).
That fused structure gives quartzite a Mohs hardness around 7 to 8 — on par with or harder than granite, and among the hardest natural stones used for countertops anywhere. It resists scratching exceptionally well and, being almost entirely silica, doesn't react to acids the way marble's calcite does, so it resists etching too. It's worth noting the material sold as "quartzite" varies by quarry — some slabs marketed that way are closer to a dolomitic marble. Ask to see the actual slab and, if durability is the priority, ask directly about its hardness.
Comparing quartzite against Granite, Quartz, Marble, Soapstone, Remnants, Solid Surface, Porcelain, Recycled Glass, Slate, Butcher Block? See the full side-by-side on our materials page, or explore each below.
We fabricate and install quartzite countertops and vanity tops throughout the Keene area.
Tell us about your project and we'll respond within one business day with an honest, itemized estimate.
