The Top Four Choices for Your Outdoor countertops

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It’s never too soon to start preparing for the summer of your dreams—and for many, the perfect summer consists of nights in the backyard spent with family and friends. What can turn a good backyard great is the perfect outdoor lounge space, and no lounge space is complete without the perfect outdoor countertop.

Your outdoor countertop material should be something that can withstand the effects of weather—because if it can, it won’t just heighten your backyard experience. It will also increase the resale value of your home as a whole.

At Marble Unlimited, countertops are what we do best. We know what works best inside and what works best outside—and we want to share our knowledge with you.

To learn more about the best four options for outdoor countertops, keep reading.

Granite outdoor countertops

Granite is a top choice for both indoor and outdoor countertops. It’s the most popular natural stone for a reason. It comes in a variety of different colors, patterns, and styles, which makes it incredibly versatile. It can be incorporated into almost any style of outdoor area. It’s also extremely durable—it will stand the test of time and look great while doing it.

As long as granite is stained correctly, it will be resistant to heat, staining, and liquid damage. This makes it perfect for an granite outdoor countertop, along with the fact that it isn’t susceptible to chips, mold, or mildew. The reason for this is that it doesn’t capture moisture—and moisture allows bacteria to thrive. No one wants to serve food on a countertop running rampant with germs.

You also won’t have to worry about the sun fading the color or quality of your granite slab, nor does it run the risk of being damaged by rain or snow.

Quartzite outdoor countertops

Quartzite is one of the toughest, if not the toughest, natural stone out there. It’s resistant to heat damage and liquid damage, and as long as you make sure to keep up with sealing this material, there’s not much that can damage it.

Quartzite is a very low-maintenance material, which is why so many people love this stone. You don’t need any fancy chemicals to make sure it stays clean—all you need is soap and water. Those two basic tools will ensure that your countertop stays looking brand new for years.

But while quartzite outdoor countertops is known for its durability, you should still exercise some care and caution if you want it to last. We recommend using potholders for pots and pans and cutting boards instead of cutting directly on the countertop. Doing this can help your countertop look its best for a much longer period of time.

Quartz outdoor countertops

Unlike granite, quartzite, and marble, quartz is inherently nonporous. This is because it’s an engineered stone—a man-made product that’s composed of 95 percent natural quartz and 5 percent polymers and resins. This means that it doesn’t call for resealing in the way that natural stones do. So if you’re looking for something durable with even less maintenance involved, quartz might be perfect for you.

Quartz can withstand the elements; it won’t sustain damage from heat, stains, scratches, or liquid. People also love quartz’s many variations and its streamlined, seamless patterns, rather than the unpredictability of natural stone.

Marble outdoor countertops

Marble has a reputation of being somewhat of a fussy stone, and many people think that it’s impossible to install marble outside. That’s just not true. While marble outdoor countertops may be a bit more delicate than the three other stones we’ve discussed, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its own strengths.

As long as you know how to make it work, marble is a great choice for an outdoor lounge area. If you choose the right finish (honed rather than polished), it will toughen up the stone a bit. Polished marble tends to be more vulnerable than honed, so this is a useful way to protect your marble from the elements.

And if you’re someone who loves the authentic look of natural stone, marble might be right up your alley. Some people choose to let marble’s personality come out when rain washes out stains and blends in etch marks, which ages the stone naturally and gives it a unique look.

Your outdoor countertop lounge space

The outside of your home is just as important as the inside, and a unique outdoor countertops is just what you need to tie your outdoor lounge space together. At Marble Unlimited, we can bring your backyard vision to life with our countertop materials. If you have any questions or would like to schedule a consultation, give us a call at (919) 596-2325.

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What our customers say

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4.8

192 reviews

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G.C. S.

4 months ago

Marble Unlimited did a beautiful job on our countertops. We are so pleased with the finished product. Highly recommend.

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Margaret McGuinn

3 weeks ago

3 years ago we chose Marble Unlimited to install our Quartzite countertops. We were thrilled with the beauty of the stone and the professional quality of the installation. When some problems with a slight stain emerged this year, Jennifer, Daniel and their crew promised to take care of it--- despite the fact that we were outside warranty. They have cleaned, dried, and resealed all the tops, and we could not be more grateful. This is a top notch business!!

Tria Metzler

I hate posting bad reviews, but we had an awful experience at Marble Unlimited. I'm leaving 2 stars because they did offer a full refund for material removal, which was the ultimate resolution. Unfortunately the experience cost us about 4 weeks' additional time without a functional kitchen, and was a nightmare for us all. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt here that this was an honest mistake, but my husband and I were told during our walkthrough that we were purchasing quartzite counters: that these were the natural stone version of the quartz we came to shop for, and would be more durable. We were specifically told we would be able to cut on the counters, set hot pots and pans on the material, and would only have to seal them every 5-10+ years. We therefore spent a little more money on these discounted slabs (they were the last 2 in stock.) Unfortunately these slabs were actually marble, and therefore did not have the properties advertised. We found this out during install, and confirmed it shortly thereafter. To her benefit, Jennifer was as helpful as possible, and I cannot fault her customer service. The reason for my review was my experience with Daniel: after determining we had been misled on what we were buying, he was argumentative, belittling, and just downright rude on the phone. He claimed I was screaming at him on the phone (I have never in my life screamed at a vendor), that no one would have ever told us the material was quartzite, that these counters have been installed in million dollar homes and he couldn't understand why we were unhappy, etc... I was shaking with anger and adrenaline after being spoken to that way over the phone. Based on our experience, I obviously cannot recommend Marble Unlimited for your countertop needs, and would urge you to take your business elsewhere.

Tyler Ledford

2 months ago

Great team and staff here at Marble Unlimited. Andrew helped me with all my questions and inquires and we overall had a great experience working with them. Will definitely be working with them for future projects!

Deborah Brown

3 months ago

Many choices in stone—good advice from Andrew—quick responses to questions from Jennifer—punctual and professional, hard working installers. I had my beautiful countertops within two weeks. Invisible seam. Highly recommend.