Home

[Zsazsa]

@IamMrsG

We did a big addition and remodel on our former home in 2003, including creating a whole new kitchen space. We chose a chocolate brown granite ...it was a beautiful, hue with some sparkle to it.

A nurse who was helping to care for my Mom, dropped a large milk bottle on the edge of the granite surrounding the sink. It was an accident, but it took a big chunk...not a chip, but a chunk, our of the granite. It also slivered near the seams. 

That granite also chipped...chips that looked like slivers... along the seams.

In our current home we have a yellow and cream granite with cholate brown flecks...I like it, but I probably wouldn't have chosen it.  It looks like chocolate chip cookie dough! though I still like the look of the one I chose myself, this one doesn't have a single chip or flaw. 

[Katluver925]

I would highly recommend quartz.  It's very durable and many styles look like granite without the upkeep. I have it in my kitchen and bathrooms. Many times they have left over pieces from large slabs that you can get at a discount for bathroom countertops.

[Bri36]

Go with what you love.

It's a small bathroom that isn't going to get a lot of wear and tear.

If this was going in a busy kitchen, I might hesitate. 

[ScrapHappy]

I'm in the process of remodeling a third bathroom, starting with the Master in May.  This process began because very shortly after moving into our new home, our tub had a major leak (thank goodness master bath is located over garage).  Since we had to remove the garage ceiling due to that leak, we also found out the shower was leaking too.  With the start of that project to now, I'm all about doing it right and using materials that will last.  If someone told me if one of the vanities I picked out were soft/ more easily to chip...that would be it.  I would be done with that and find something.  I don't want to worry about it or worse, have to fix it after it was just put in.  I don't think 45" is that small.  It's just under 4 feet.  I'm doing two 4 feet vanities in a bathroom right now.  I went with quartz.  I put marble in my master (very creamy/light beige) and in my 2nd bathroom (classic grey/white carrera).  From what I've seen and heard, people think granite is dated.  But I'm all for "get what you want/love."  But, for me, if it breaks easily, that's a deal breaker.

[novamc1]

I don't know much about granite, because I've never shopped for or owned it.  I chose quartz over granite for the kitchen in our new home, thinking the maintenance would be easier with no routine resealing or treatments needed and the availability of many beautiful styles in quartz.

Also, my son and DIL live near us in a five-year-old home, and she had shown me some chipping around her granite countertop/sink area.  Probably in a bathroom, you might not run much of this risk. 

I know I could tear up a kitchen sink area in a heartbeat, just trying to wash a big bowl or pan.

[ID2]

I'm a granite girl. I love that is a real product from the earth. Not a fan of quartz. It is manufactured to make it look the way it does. I don't know what cost is in anyone elses area but when building my home (3 years ago) I thought I'd give quartz a chance and priced out a small slab for the counter in my laundry room. Yikes! It was outrageous! I took that quartz sample and found a piece of granite that looks pretty much the same for a fraction of the price! It always makes me laugh when I read here why women don't like granite because "you have to seal it". Huh? Sealing granite is exactly like wiping your counters. I hope you all wipe your counters, right? Oh and I guess I have "soft granite" because mine has the netting on the reverse side. I've never, ever had a problem with anything chipping or breaking. Never. 

[Lipstickdiva]

I've never heard of soft granite either. 

When we re-did our kitchen counters, we went with granite.  Everyplace we looked at told us that the more "movement" a piece has, the more likely it will be to crack or get fissures.  The less movement, less chance of problems.

One thing we were told was to run our hands all over the granite slab.  If you can feel a lot of "scratches" or rough patches, those are more areas that you may have to be careful with as far as chipping or cracking.

As @Bri36said, it's only going in a bathroom so the piece isn't going to be that big and it's not a room that gets heavy use like the kitchen so I wouldn't worry about it. 

[Regal Bee]

If your vanity will require lots of wear....I suggest Quartz.

[persiflage]

It would mean that specific slab has more of the softer minerals in it.  It should easily be durable enough for a guest bath.

[IamMrsG]

@persiflage  Our contractor just said the same thing, i.e., would not be suitable for a kitchen, but is fine for a bath.   That is good news for us, 'cause the slab is beautiful.  To the point I think I would have changed our floor and cabinet choices to make it 'go' if it had not worked well with them.  Fortunately, it looks good with everything else, so I guess we got lucky.  I asked for the name of it, but was just told, "it's exotic."

Contrastly, the fabricator for our kitchen granite told me it's the most dense granite he had ever tried to cut, that I might not ever have to seal it.  It's only two years old, time will tell. 

Edited to fix a typo. It would be so nice if I could see them before clicking "Post."