Granite vs quartz vs limestone: choosing the right stone

Granite forms when molten rock cools and crystallizes deep underground. The minerals locked inside give it the familiar salt-and-pepper speckle, and some slabs carry long veins that look closer to marble.

It is dense, grainy and hard. It can be polished to a high gloss or given a honed or leathered finish, and the color range is wider than any other stone we stock.

Quartz is the seventh hardest mineral on earth, behind gemstones like topaz, sapphire and diamond. Engineered quartz is made from crushed natural quartz bound with resin, so you get the depth and shine of stone without the natural variation some people want to avoid.

Colors range from soft and quiet to bold. Because it is nonporous it never needs sealing, and it holds up to scratches and stains. Ask us for current supplier samples when you visit.

Limestone is a sedimentary stone, built up in layers from the shells and skeletons of sea life in warm seas millions of years ago. It has been a building stone for centuries because it is plentiful and easy to work.

Domestic limestone runs gray to buff, with some soft yellows and pinks. Imported stone ranges from light beige to dark brown, red and black. Limestone with dolomite in it is harder and takes a polish much like marble.