To see some examples of our granite worktop offer please click here (Granite Worktops)
About Granite
Granite is an extremely hard, coarse grained rock that makes up a large part of the earth’s crust and occurs on every continent. Granite contains three main minerals; these are quartz, alkali feldspar and plagioclase feldspar, which give granite its lighter grey, white and pink colouring. Granite also contains dark brown, dark-green, and black minerals; and it is this mixture of minerals that form the many beautiful natural colours, veining and textures that make each piece of granite unique.
Geologists classify granite as an igneous rock, it is the slow cooling and crystallization of molten magma that forms most granite deposits. Magma is formed from rocks that melt many miles below the surface of the earth, and it rises it cools forming the granite. Most granite magma cools slowly enough to form coarse crystals that can be clearly seen in many polished granite worktops.
The word granite comes from the Latin granum, a grain, in reference to the coarse-grained structure of such a crystalline rock. The minerals in granite are interlocked like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Consequently, granite is a strong and durable material which makes it ideal for the construction industry as a building material. It is particularly suited to use for kitchen countertops, kitchen worktops, breakfast bars and island units. Granite has grown in popularity on account of its hardness, resistance to wear, capability to take mirror polish, variety of colours and textural patterns.
Domestic Uses for Granite
- Kitchen Granite Worktops
- Granite Island Tops
- Granite Countertops
- Granite Window sills
- Granite Splashbacks
- Granite Upstands
Granite Availabilty
Granite is common across the world, however, most of the commercial granite quarries are located in the Spain, Italy, Scandinavia, Brazil, India, Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Granite is second only to diamond in terms of its hardness, which is why diamond saws are required to cut granite. However, that is exactly what makes granite ideal as a kitchen worktop, it will not easily break or crack, and granite is virtually scratch resistant.(except diamond rings)
Granite is available in a wide variety of colours, with the mixture of minerals present making each granite deposit unique. The colour spectrum extends from a black granite such as African Black, Angola Black, Nero Impala, Bon Accord through to the almost white of Bethel White. In between there are the Gold and yellow granites such as Giallo Venezianno, the greens and browns such as Verde Ubatuba and Baltic Brown.
Granite Kitchen Worktops
For granite kitchen worktops, the blocks are cut down to a thickness of 20mm/30mm.Historically, this would have been another laborious and expensive stage in the granite process, however, the introduction of diamond tipped circular saws to cut the granite has speeded this up. It is at this stage for the first time that they can finally see what the true colour, veining and overall quality of the granite actually is.
This produces the granite slabs at approximately 2.8m x 2m x 30mm , each one weighing over 4 metric tons.
Granite QualityGranite is a natural stone, each one is unique in appearance and cannot be replicated like other man made kitchen worktops. In general terms, many of the black granite types e.g. Angola Black, Bon Accord and Star Galaxy are more stable from slab to slab, and therefore make it easier to match where there is a number of adjacent granite worktops to be joined. The lighter coloured granite types, where the variation in colour, veining and characteristics of the granite can be more apparent, require more care and attention when matching and joining the kitchen granite worktops.In recent years there has been a growth in the import of cheap blank worktops in limited sizes on the market from China and India. Please ensure that your worktops are fabricated from full granite slabs, and are installed by professional stonemasons.
New Granite
Exclusive Granites - Crema Antartida, Golden Queen, Black Cosmic, Persa Avoria
Marinus, Giallo Mascarello, Colonial Cream, Golden Nebula, Blue Reef, Nakardo
About Quartz Worktops
Silestone Quartz Worktops and Caesarstone Quartz Worktops
Quartz worktops are a man made engineered stone worksurface offering many of the benefits of natural granite.
Quartz is made using the latest technology combining 94% of crushed stone and 6% bonding resin, colour pigment and also mirror flecks.
Quartz worktops are ideal for the kitchen environment because they offer many of the benefits of granite worktops plus ;
- Non porous
- Colour range - flat tones
- Colour consistency
- Worktops lengths - 3m
- Resitance to chipping and scratching
We supply Black Mirror chip quartz such as Caesarstone Ebony Reflections and Silestone Stellar Negro.
We also supply the full Silestone Quartz worktops range including - Negro Tebas Negro Aunubis Rojo Eros Blanco Zeus Azul Marina and the New ZEN Series
We also supply the full Caesarstone Range including - Ebony Reflections Ruby Reflections Quartz Reflections Jet Black Titanium and Pacific Reflection
How do you choose - Granite Worktops or Quartz Worktops?
Well it is a very personal choice but the following may help you to decide:
Both are extremely hard, tough, heat resistant, water resistant and offer stunning looks.
Granite worktops look unbelievable and each one is completely natural and unique with a wide choice of materials to suit any kitchen style. It is always makes a real quality statement to see granite worktops that have been fitted professionally in a kitchen.
Quartz worktops are very much up and coming, and are being used extensively now in kitchens to provide an ultra modern look. As a man made material the colour spectrum is different, including bolder, flatter and more consistent colours with the option of mirror sparkle too.
Care & Maintenance
Your granite worksurfaces and quartz worksurfaces will be extremely tough and durable throughout their lifetime, making them ideal for a hardworking kitchen environment. They will retain their polish for many years and the only regular maintenance required is to wash with hot, soapy water to remove surface dirt.
Please note that you must not use household or commercial cleaning agents containing acidic, abrasive or alkaline constituents as these will break down the sealers.
Stains
- All natural materials are porous, and so prior to leaving our factory all granite work surfaces will be treated with one application of a protective sealer, with a further application upon completion of the installation.
- At GDY Granite we use the latest technology sealant to protect our granite worktops and quartz worktops. Most companies use traditional sealants which coat the surface and will protect them for a period of time. We use a sealant that is absorbed into the granite surface and uses surface tension technology to protect your granite worktops.; this is much more effective and longer lasting.
- However, extreme care must be taken to avoid contamination by substances such as oils, and in particular acids e.g. wine, citrus fruits/juices, tomatoes/ketchup, pickles, vinegar, many cleaning products, cosmetics including perfumes, nail polish/remover, facial preparations and toiletries.
- Should a spillage occur, it must be removed immediately otherwise staining or, in some cases, etching of the surface may appear. Even when surfaces have been treated with a sealing solution, this action still applies as acids penetrate the sealers.
Heat Resistance
- We do not recommend that you place your hot pans directly onto the work surface; you should use a pan trivet or some other barrier to protect your work surfaces.
Scratching
- Granite is a very hard and durable material but the surface can be scratched. We recommend the use of a chopping board to protect your work surface from knives and other utensils. Diamond is the only harder stone, so diamond rings can scratch the surface.
Granite Worktops and Quartz Worktops for your home
We supply Silestone Quartz Worktops and Caesarstone Quartz worktops, please feel free to contact us to arrange free quartz worktop quote now!
