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Durability of Granite

Granite is one of the most prevalent natural stones found around the world making it an ideal choice for building materials, countertops, and shower surrounds. In addition to its abundance, granite has proven itself to be popular choice for aesthetic reasons. Granite consists of mainly quartz, feldspar, and mica crystallized together to form the colors and patterns that make it popular.

Author: jhonwilliamsd
Date: Apr 19, 2013 - 8:19:39 AM

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Beauty of Granite
Granite is one of the most prevalent natural stones found around the world making it an ideal choice for building materials, countertops, and shower surrounds. In addition to its abundance, granite has proven itself to be popular choice for aesthetic reasons. Granite consists of mainly quartz, feldspar, and mica crystallized together to form the colors and patterns that make it popular. The beauty and recognizable quality of granite is found in the compact nature of the minerals.

Most granite has a fairly consistent speckled patterning in light colored minerals with contrasting black chips and the occasional veining. The consistent and tightly patterned granites are more affordable and therefore are more prevalent. Many people do not realize that granite has the largest range of pattern over any other natural stone. It is found in certain areas of the world with large-scale veining and swirl type movement. These types are considered to more unique, exotic, and more valuable.

Durability of Granite
The nature of how granite was formed in the earth makes it one of the hardest stones available. According to the Mohs Scale of Hardness, the top five hardest minerals, listed in order starting at the hardest, are diamond, ruby, topaz, quartz, and feldspar. Since granite is made up of primarily quartz and feldspar it is better at resisting scratches and daily wear and tear than any other natural stone including marble and travertine.

Granite naturally resists staining, etching, and heat, which make it even more appropriate for countertops and other surfaces in the home. The high durability and resistance allow for easy maintenance and long-lasting enjoyment for the life of the stone. In most cases, granite surfaces will out-last the home since the finish can be restored if it gets etched and chips can be filled if it gets damaged. Some additional perks of granite countertops in the kitchen is that hot pans will not cause any damage and food can be cut directly on the surface, but be aware that knives will dull faster on granite than a wooden or plastic cutting board.

Practicality of Granite
The unique beauty combined with the durability of natural granite makes it a practical choice for any application in the home. Granite countertops are selected for the kitchen over any other material since they out-perform other products on the market today. They also make superior bathroom vanities and tub decks for the same reasons to use granite in the kitchen. In addition to the horizontal surfaces in the bathroom, an excellent solution for the shower walls is granite slab surrounds.

Granite cut into large sheets or slabs is an ideal material for the shower walls since it naturally holds up to a high amounts of water, moisture, and humidity. It also reduces cleaning and maintenance in comparison to tiled showers since it does not have grout lines. Although it is not required, granite slabs can also be easily sealed to increase protection from mold and mildew. Granite not only is an excellent choice for residential applications, but it can also be used in some commercial settings. Large hotel chains have learned about the benefits of granite slab shower walls and begun to remodel the bathrooms to improve the guest experience, increase the value of the building, and ease cleaning and maintenance efforts.

Alliedstoneinc.com specializes in unique and customized kitchen countertops and bathroom vanities. We take pride in crafting our exceptional designs as we do offer granite, marble, onyx, soapstone at the highest quality. Kitchen countertops at Allied Stone have the highest quality stone and best level of workmanship. Our streamlined production process, combined with our stunning inventory of natural stone, allows us to offer our customers elegance and efficiency.

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