Granite is an igneous rock composed mainly of minerals such as quartzite and feldspar. Minor amounts of other minerals such as mica will give it a sparkly appearance.
Other stones, such as gneiss or schist, are confused with granite but are not as hard. In geological terms, they are categorized as a metamorphic stone.
All granite countertops fabricated by American Marble & Granite are sealed prior to installation. Once installed, clean-up is simple with mild soap and water. For a specific granite cleaner, we recommend using Stonetech Revitalizer by DuPont. This will cut through grease and dirt while adding sealer back into your counters.
Granite is quarried in countries all over the world, including Canada, Brazil, India, Africa, and even the United States.
Engineered Quartz slabs are manufactured using a process developed by Breton, an Italian company. This patented process combines approximately 93% ground quartz with polymer resins, colors, and sometimes recycled materials. Numerous companies use this process for their own quartz slabs. The result is a super-hard, low maintenance countertop available in an array of colors.
Our seams are some of the tightest in the business due to the care we take to color match seams, machine the seams to remove imperfections, and blend the seams during fabrication. At the installation, our install team uses the best glues in the industry while taking great care to get the seams as flat as possible and create excellent glue colors.
Our showroom is open Monday – Friday from 9:00 to 4:30 and Saturday from 10:00 – 1:00. An appointment is not necessary during these hours, but feel free to call ahead, especially if you want to view particular slabs.
We purchase slabs from all the wholesalers in the Portland metro and Seattle area. When you go to a warehouse to select a slab, let them know you are working with American Marble & Granite on your project, so the proper holds are applied to your selections.
We highly recommend the use of remnants for smaller projects such as vanities, fireplace surrounds, or tables, and desks. You are able to choose from our wide variety of granite and quartz materials.
American Marble & Granite offers a Cash ‘N Carry option, which saves you the cost of measurement and installation. Simply bring us a template or an exact drawing, and we will fabricate to your specifications. Once it is ready for pick-up, we will give you a call!
Whether to use granite or quartz on your counters is mainly an ascetic choice since both products are highly durable countertop materials. Two main differences exist:
Sealing: We seal all Granite counters prior to installation, which makes on-going maintenance relatively easy. Quartz counters never require any sealing due to the engineering process.
Heat Resistance: Granite counters will withstand extreme heat encountered in the kitchen. Hot dishes, crock pots, and cookie sheets are not a problem for granite. Quartz counters are heat resistant but cannot withstand direct heat from cookware, griddles, or ovenware.
