The Pros & Cons of Marble Countertops
- When comparing the costs of kitchen and bathroom countertops, marble usually comes out as the most expensive material you can use. Marble is a natural stone and its origin, availability on the market and size of the quarry contribute to the cost of the product. Some marbles are less expensive than granite but that is an exception. If you choose to use marble for a countertop, your kitchen or bathroom will immediately be seen as luxurious -- and costly.
- No matter how beautiful your marble kitchen or bathroom countertops are, they need daily care. You must wipe anything acidic away immediately. Wine is a stain-villan. Tomatoes leave a mark. Pooling around a bathroom faucet or marble sink drain leaves a brown or green stain. Marble is a pouous material and regardless of the sealant used, it will pick up stains.
You can be vigilant and keep baking soda at hand to sprinkle immediately over stains which are difficult to prevent. Use marble on a center island that doesn't experience a great deal of food preparation or you use used for pastry making. - The constant wearing away of the surface of marble deterioriates is chemical composition. This leads to weakness that in turn can cause cracking. Marble floors frequently have cracks. Marble statues that are only looked at don't have cracks. This is one of the drawbacks to using the stone as a countertop.
A way to help prevent cracks is to bullnose the edges of your counter in a semi-circle, preventing a vulnerable sharp edge. Keep items that may fall onto the counter well away. Treat your marble as a piece of art and it will last almost as long. - The older and more used a slab of marble is the more character it develops. Just as people develop character lines, so does marble. This is one of the beauties of using a natural stone for a countertop. It creates its own history. White marble may be the most delicate of the marble colors but it is also the most elegant. Determine the function of your countertop and before deciding on something other than marble, consider how long you plan to say in your home and whether making your own history is important.