Quartzite countertops for Chapin homes: your questions answered

Chapin's grown a lot over the last decade, lake houses, new builds off 76, renovations on older homes near the village. We see a good number of Chapin folks come through our Cayce shop, usually because a neighbor had quartzite put in or they saw it in a builder's model home. Here's what they usually want to know.

Is quartzite the same as granite?

No, and this trips people up because both are natural stone and both come in big mineral-flecked patterns. Granite forms from cooled magma. Quartzite starts as sandstone and gets compressed and heated underground until it turns into something much harder. In practice, quartzite often looks more like marble, with soft veining, but it holds up more like granite. That's part of why it's popular for folks who want a marble look without babying the counter as much.

Will it hold up in a lake house with a lot of traffic?

Quartzite is one of the harder stones we work with, and it resists scratching better than marble. Still, no stone is scratch-proof, so we still tell people to use a cutting board, lake house or not. Sand and grit tracked in on bare feet can be rougher on a surface than you'd think, so a broom by the door does more good than people expect.

What about the heat from a crockpot or a hot pan?

Quartzite handles brief contact with heat better than most surfaces we sell. We still recommend a trivet or hot pad under a crockpot or a pan straight off the stove, every time. It's a habit worth keeping no matter how tough the stone is, since a trivet costs a lot less than a repair.

Does it need to be sealed?

Yes. Quartzite is a natural stone, so it's porous to some degree even though it feels dense. We seal every quartzite countertop we install with a good sealer, and we recommend resealing it about once a year to keep it resisting stains the way it should. It's a quick job, usually just wiping on a product and letting it sit.

Can a spill still stain it?

Even sealed, a spill that sits overnight, wine, oil, coffee, can leave a mark. Sealing buys you time to wipe it up, it doesn't make the stone spill-proof. Most Chapin kitchens we've done are fine as long as folks clean up messes at a normal pace, not the next morning.

Is every slab labeled "quartzite" actually quartzite?

This one's important. Some slabs sold under the quartzite name are actually a softer, calcite-based stone that etches like marble. The trade name on a slab doesn't always tell you what you're really getting. We go by how a stone performs, not just what it's called, and we're glad to walk through that with anyone shopping for a lake house or a renovation.

If you're weighing quartzite for a Chapin project, come by our shop at 2015 Charleston Hwy in Cayce. Seeing a few slabs in person, and running a hand over them, tells you more than any spec sheet.