In the US, most countertop stone comes from Brazil. Even "Vermont" soapstone, which hasn't existed in Vermont for a very long time, comes from Brazil.
You know how much the original 7 x 10' slab must have weighed, right? How did it get to your house? Do you know how HUGE the carbon footprint is on stone transport; truck to truck to truck to ship to truck to truck to truck?
Also, no one ever tests stone counter top material for radon. Some of it emits it at higher than allowed "living space" levels.
Chess! You're not gonna tell me that climate change is a myth, are "ye?"
So, your LEED choices are--- local, or manmade, or both.
The entire future of the planet hangs on the balance of your decision.
Last edited by BobKay; 01/27/1510:06 PM.
Always call the place you live a house. When you're old, everyone else will call it a home.
Nope. I would have to ask each and every company i might consider. I do suspect we have local granite quarries along the edge of the Cambrian Shield at the east end of the province though. Some companies are located in that area. Limestone is also big in the province so this goes back to my potential concern about calcium content.
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You know how much the original 7 x 10' slab must have weighed, right? How did it get to your house? Do you know how HUGE the carbon footprint is on stone transport; truck to truck to truck to ship to truck to truck to truck?
We have cheap melamine counters at the moment (great use of hydrocarbons but admittedly they are thin and last forever). I'm not concerned about carbon footprint as we won't be buying anything we can't get in this country. This is Canada after all. We have plenty of good rock.
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Also, no one ever tests stone counter top material for radon. Some of it emits it at higher than allowed "living space" levels.
This is highly improbable unless the rock had higher than average trace uranium to start. Oddly enough, radon is a somewhat unknown problem here in Manitoba. They do mine uranium in Saskatchewan so we're in the general territory to have above average U concentrations in the soil.
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Chess! You're not gonna tell me that climate change is a myth, are "ye?"
I thought a wrote a paper on that already. Maybe i just read one.
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So, your LEED choices are--- local, or manmade, or both. The entire future of the planet hangs on the balance of your decision.
Don't get me started on carbon footprint and the hydrocarbon based resins they use in manufactured quartz. And for the love of Pete take away my soapbox before i get started on how many publishers use popular keywords like "LEED" now as a way to sell printed magazines. Save the trees Bob, save the trees!
"Those who preach the myths of audio are ignorant of truth."
Of course they use a product that they sell and then later on their own website talk about how today's modern sealers last 10-15 YEARS with just one application. (The "they" that I am talking about is: these guys )
Then again, they have this chart on their website too (keep in mind that they promote granite as THE best material).
So it looks like the people that are promoting granite like quartz just as much.
Have I helped you at all yet? No? Darn....
I like the look of granite, but at the same time the uniform surface (smooth) is nice with the quartz. The granite, like all natural stone IS porous, and porous areas will be more difficult to truly disinfect. Not saying that they can't be, but heck, I can't hardly get my wife or kids to take 10 seconds to clean a surface, let alone disinfect it. That is where quartz is nice. It is ground up bits of rock (including granite) that is mixed with a resin type material to make a sealed, and usually perfectly smooth surface without pores. That means less for the nasty germs to penetrate in to. But sometimes I find that the quartz looks TOO uniform in color... Perfectly blended and mixed by a machine that it loses the character that granite offers.
Both are great products. My parents have granite, my in-laws have granite, heck, we would probably go granite if given the choice, but we would have to be a little more diligent with letting the cleaner soak in long enough to disinfect better, but that should be teachable.
My advice, which you can toss out with today's trash and I wouldn't be upset, would be to get what you think LOOKS good. If it looks the way you want, then you will adjust to whatever you need to in order to have the look. If you go with the one that you find more "functional" or "cheapest" but not your first choice by looks, you will be reminded of that every time to look at the kitchen, or have to use the counters for something.
Both are great products. My parents have granite, my in-laws have granite, heck, we would probably go granite if given the choice, but we would have to be a little more diligent with letting the cleaner soak in long enough to disinfect better, but that should be teachable.
All good points and things i've considered but they continue to roll around in my head and will continue to do so until the very day we finally make a decision (probably in a few weeks).
Honestly, bacteria harbouring is not a concern unless you have a more heavily porous stone (like limestone) and prep some bloody chicken before making yourself a sandwich without thoroughly cleaning the surface. The body can actually take on small quantities of bacteria without harm. A certain dose is required for a person to get sick. If you haven't been sick by using say a wood cutting board in the past, you won't get sick from prepping food on a granite surface cleaned normally with a bit of soapy water. The odds are very low. However, the odds of having a coloured liquid (e.g. wine) or a viscous liquid (e.g. cooking oil) seep into the pores and dry in place leaving that 'under the surface' residue providing discolouration is my only real concern. I can so see us buying the granite and within a month after having done all this research and maybe even sealing the counter, that we would still end up with a damn stain.
Considering all your relatives who have granite, have they ever had any staining issues? Do they 'seal' their granite? Frequency if at all?
"Those who preach the myths of audio are ignorant of truth."
Incidentally, i have been looking at the stone sealants and some are based on alkylalkoxysilanes (carbon-silicon compounds). This type of research actually supports the concept of sealants as beneficial in reducing liquid penetration on a stone surface:
A good torture test of staining is 'pickled beet juice' or any berry juice. We've had both on the quartz for some period & they have never left a mark. One day I saw a sizeable dry blue mark & determined that it came from the dye of a blue document folder that had been put on some water on the island top. Came off no problem. Often coffee or tea spills sit overnight. There is just no penetrating that I've ever seen.
Our installers left us a bottle of 'Supreme Surface - Granite & Quartz Cleaner & Conditioner' that 'Cleans, Polishes & Protects'.
My wife uses it very occasionally. The 8.5 Oz spray bottle looks to be about 90% full after 2+ years...
I know! Why not a nicely cut and polished chunk of the Burgess Shale?
The brag factor would be huge. (I'll bet it'd look pretty cool, too!)
All kidding aside, Chess, if you've written on climate change, is it published somewhere we can access it? I would very much like to read it, and I'll bet I'm not alone here. You go!
Last edited by BobKay; 01/28/1503:52 PM.
Always call the place you live a house. When you're old, everyone else will call it a home.
