Outdoor Kitchen countertop: Bluestone vs. granite

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UNCMo96

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we're pricing out doing a U shaped outdoor kitchen. We have two contractors who we are debating on to do it. One prefers bluestone for the countertop and the other prefers granite.

The bluestone guy says: 1. looks good 2. more durable. 3. lower maintenance if stains use muratic acid to clean. 4. granite needs maintenance or it will crack.

The granite guy says: 1. just like indoors. 2. bluestone can rust.

We're in the northeast so worried about the elements.
 
Having just installed a bluestone floor in my outdoor kitchen/porch, I wouldn’t use it for a countertop. Bluestone is porous and it flakes. It will stain and I don’t understand why it would be considered lower maintenance than granite, which will require zero maintenance. I am about to install granite countertops when I get my cabinets finished.

Granite seems to be the perfect outdoor countertop material in my eyes. Won’t stain, extremely heat resistant, doesn’t need to be resealed etc. that’s my pick
 
I'd go granite. Going on 12 years on my outdoor kitchen that sits directly under the sun. I've never covered it rain or shine but I do live in SoCal. A little bit of wear in some spots but due to being exposed to elements but still looks very excellent. Haven't treated it ever since day 1.



20120822_185511.jpg
 
I would go quartz or porcelain slab. I’ve been told granite can get really hot in the sun, but sako would know more about that than me.
 
CivilTrojan said:
I would go quartz or porcelain slab. I’ve been told granite can get really hot in the sun, but sako would know more about that than me.
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I'd totally go quartz but from what been told sunlight causes discoloration. I've got quartz in the kitchen and love it. Was told by the installer too that quartz may discolor in my kitchen where it's exposed to sunlight through the kitchen window. Still fairly new but no issues yet inside the house.

As far as granite, it gets hot but mine is light colored as you can see above and it's a non issue for me. Probably true on darker colors.
 
Quartz needs to be protected if used outdoors. I just had some granite installed for an outdoor set-up. The installer put a sealer on it that will last 15 years. Granite is the preferred choice for outdoor kitchens just ask the people that sell these materials.
 
Granite, always. Imagine trying to wipe pollen, grease, rat poop off porous stone or concrete counters. Smooth polished granite is hands down your most durable and maintenance free material for outdoor counters.
 
There is now outdoor quartz. Ceasarstone just released an outdoor series last year. Supposedly doesn't discolor and is a bullet proof as the indoor stuff.

My issue with my granite is that even sealed it can get oil stains. There is a 3M paste product that does a really good job pulling out oil spots through
 
I'm still trying to think what maintenance I haven't done on my granite countertops that I'm supposed to be doing. I asked our installer and he said that if there is anything wrong, just to rub it down with some 4/0 steel wool, but we haven't had to do that in the last 20 years. Yes, I suppose it will crack, if you drop a cast-iron frying pan on it just right ... from about three feet. Best investment we ever made.
 
Soapstone is what is used on chemistry lab tables because it is impervious to chemicals, staining, and heat. However, it comes in a limited amount of colors usually dark grey, black, or very dark green.
 
If you seal granite the sealer can crack and it may look like the granite is cracked. Maybe that is what your first guy is talking about. Granite actually has fissures throughout and you may notice an irregularity in places. You can avoid that by picking the right slab of granite and working with the installer to make sure any irregularities are in less visible areas. To avoid cracking after install don’t stand on it or put very hot things on it (like cast iron pans that have been in your grill for an hour).

At my old house we had an L-shaped granite outdoor kitchen. It was in the sun all day and we never had an issue for 10 years before we moved. Never did anything more than blow it off or hose it down.This is in Virginia so plenty of very hot days with high humidity, and maybe a decent snowfall once a year.

When building my new outdoor kitchen soon I will be using granite again.
 
Pig_Farmer said:
Not to throw a wrench in to the mix, but have you thought about concrete?
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That was going to be my suggestion as well. But I'd go with granite if not. Both concrete and granite are materials time tested outdoors.

Will it be under cover? If you are in the northeast I'd highly recommend that.
 
BigDSmoking said:
To avoid cracking after install don’t stand on it or put very hot things on it (like cast iron pans that have been in your grill for an hour).
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Definitely be cautious with heat on granite, we were always told you can put hot things on granite, but our granite cracked after using a crockpot on it (and yes, the crock pot had feet on it so it was elevated above the counter.) We now put things that are hot on wood cutting boards to be safe.

Some other advice would be to use a honed, NOT polished finish if you pick a dark color. We have polished black granite countertops in our kitchen and they reflect any sunlight that hits them like a mirror, almost blinding you. Also, they show every speck of dust that lands on them, similar to a shiny black car.

P.s. I still recommend looking into porcelain slabs. They are as strong and easy to take care of as the tile but without grout lines, and depending on color and pattern (marbling) can save you money compared to granite.

Hope this helps!
 
Porcelain needs maintenance just like granite and other natural slabs like the ones on this site. With that note, I'd like to suggest quartz. Specifically from Caesarstone - the one JAKs was talking about. We currently have Caesarstone quartz in the kitchen and we really love it. We have numerous windows in our kitchen and we haven't seen any discoloration from the sun.

I've heard stories that when it gets too hot, concrete cracks. Soapstone is fine I guess but the amount of maintenance would be doubled and maybe even tripled because oil dries.
 
ssv3 said:
I'd totally go quartz but from what been told sunlight causes discoloration. I've got quartz in the kitchen and love it. Was told by the installer too that quartz may discolor in my kitchen where it's exposed to sunlight through the kitchen window. Still fairly new but no issues yet inside the house.
Click to expand...

Just got quarts indoors as well. We really like it as a countertop material. Hadn't hear what you mentioned about UV induced fading. Looked it up. That guy wasn't wrong. though they do go as far as to mention what pigments were used in the process(including base color) & how much sun exposure are important factors in fading. I wonder if you started out with a white base if that would just bleach more white.
 
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