The Way to Choose Granite for Your Kitchen or Bathroom

　　In recent years, natural stone has become a popular tiling design choice for bathrooms and kitchens. Once limited to high-end houses, natural stone has become much more affordable for even ordinary houses.

　　In fact, it is easy to go to your local Home Depot or Lowe’s and find a big slab of granite and out front as an inducement to purchase granite countertops in your kitchen.

　　Granite Not Always Resilient

　　Most people, when they think of granite, believe that it is the ideal surface material. It is true that granite does a fairly good job of resisting staining, but still it is porous and does require frequent sealing. Granite is as dense as vitreous tile, so both have the same properties with respect to heat and water.

　　Surface Appearance of Granite

　　Because granite is a natural material, it does have a variegated surface appearance. It can be speckled or mottled, and even different granite tiles from the same box can differ substantially. Even though tile packers do try to maintain consistency, it is still smart for you to inspect each granite tile individually to ensure that consistency.

　　Granite Strength Ratings

　　One thing to note about purchasing granite for kitchen or bathroom is that natural stone does not receive strength ratings like manufactured ceramic tiles do. So granite does vary in strength. That is why you will typically find thicker granite tiles then you will find with ceramic tiles—usually 3/8 inch thick or even thicker.

　　Granite and Grout Choices

　　One other difference between granite and ceramic tile is that ceramic tile can employ a grout as a design tool. Wider or thinner grout with ceramic tiles can emphasize or deemphasize the appearance of the ceramic. But with granite typically you want to emphasize the beauty of the stone, so that is why grout lines are very thin—1/8 inch—and the color of the grout typically attempts to mimic the color of the granite.

　　Granite Installation

　　One nice thing about granite installation is that’s possible to install a granite countertop using 12 inch square tiles, rather than single slabs of granite. It does not look as good as the continuous slab, at least in this writer’s opinion, but you save tremendous sums of money on the professional installation.

　　Another positive about granite countertop installation is that you don’t have to use thinset mortar or grout. Simply lay the tile close together on clear silicone caulk. When finished, apply sealer across the entire surface (you may need to apply several coats to fill all cracks).