Granite is a natural stone and one of the preferred materials for countertops. The stone looks elegant, graceful and very attractive. In addition, it has commendable strength and resistance against extreme variations in temperature. This means that the countertop does not develop cracks if you place a steaming utensil on it. It also doesn’t take any damage if you put an ice pack on it.

Good quality granite is very strong and durable. However, not all granites are the same. There is a big difference in their quality that arises from the process by which they are cut and polished into the finished product. For example, a long crack might develop in a block of stone when it is pulled from the mountain. As a result, most of the slabs that are cut from this damaged stone block have cracks. Since the extraction of stone blocks from the mountain is an expensive process, the quarry owners do not dispose of the damaged blocks, but sell them at a lower cost to the factory owners, who then use different techniques to camouflage the defects. . Furthermore, granite slabs can also be damaged during transportation or storage.

So while choosing granite for your countertop is a great idea, you could end up making a bad deal if you don’t pay attention to the quality of the stone. The problem here is that it is very difficult to identify flaws in polished stone because manufacturers use various tricks, such as applying epoxy adhesives to cover cracks. For a layman, it is almost impossible to find out if the stone is of the best quality, unless you know exactly what to look for. Read below for certain parameters that will tell you the stone could be faulty.

cracks

During the polishing process, the cracks present in the stone are covered. Therefore, it is difficult to identify cracks on the polished side. To identify cracks, the trick is to check the unpolished back of the stone slab. If you look closely, you can make out cracks on the reverse side. This is one of the basic checks you need to make when purchasing granite countertops.

pattern defects

Good quality granite has uniform colors and patterns. However, the colors and patterns are not always uniform. This happens due to the uneven concentration of certain minerals in the stone. For example, the presence of excess quartz content shows up as white spots on the slab. Such stones are of poor quality because the quartz makes the stone brittle and breaks easily. Therefore, these stones are rejected by manufacturers of good quality slabs. The polishing process does not completely cover this flaw. So when shopping for granite countertops, study the surface to make sure the color and patterns are consistent.

thickness uniformity

You can easily identify irregularities in the thickness of the slab. Study the side of the slab and look closely around the edge to see if the thickness is uniform. You should not buy an irregular slab because the thinnest parts become the weak links in the slab and break easily.

Be a smart customer and make the right decision.