Absolutely. It’ll eat up a blade in no time. And it takes long need to do anything, including any polishing details.

Yes. :(

Quartz is a man-made engineered countertop and Quartzite is a natural stone. It being a natural stone increases the cost of everything: mining, material, fabrication, etc.

Make sure you are really getting a quartzite and not a mislabeled marble. Search for the Geology threads by karin_mt for some tests you can do at the stone yards and other tests you can do at home if they let you have a small piece of the slab.

Thanks, yes I am a bit concerned after reading the threads!

They sent me home with a sample of a similar slab, but will actually see the slab at the end of the week, and can try testing then?

Yes, expect to pay more for both the slab and it’s fabrication.

I have Taj Mahal quartzite and it’s gorgeous...last minute upgrade from quartz. No regrets. Mine isn’t sealed but seems bulletproof so far.

I was also thinking about Taj Mahal, so popular now! What color countertops?

Quartzite is more difficult to fabricate than engineered stone which is 33% resin.

Here’s a pic of my Taj, which blends tan and pale grays. Lets it work with warm and cool colors. It has a gorgeous depth that quartz couldn’t match and to me was worth the extra $, but to each his own.

I was just about to post the same question. I soooo love quartzite but the added costs, yikes. Can anyone here give a reasonable estimate of the difference between fabrication of a quartz counter vs quartzite counter? I mean, is fabrication of quartzite typically double (or, gulp, triple) the cost of fabricating quartz, or ? FWIW, I'm in the Greater LA area. Thanks

Yes its more expensive to fabricate. And it takes longer. They have to cut it very slowly because its so hard. In SoCal the slabs are about $2400 and the fabrication and install on mine for three slabs was around $5000. I'd say about 30 percent more than quartz depending on which brand you buy.

@suzyq53, I'm liking your comment but not liking the facts! LOL :) $5K for fabrication, ouch. (Will ANYthing in this remodel process be shockingly affordable?? Even just once?)

I'm thinking white quartz on our counters and a quartzite (or white granite?) slab on our 9'x4' island. Hoping this might bring the fabrication cost down somewhat!

Also in LA. My fabrication for 3 Taj Mahal slabs for the kitchen was $9K. The fabricator does excellent work, but is not cheap.

"(Will ANYthing in this remodel process be shockingly affordable?? Even just once?)"

I have seen your posts on various parts of this reno and don't mean to come across as an ass, but did you price the materials out to help you set a budget before you started?

LOL, no worries. I was just having fun. Of course I knew there would no relief to the relentless $$$$ issue, which is one reason I dragged my feet on the remodel idea for 20 yrs! :-D And to answer your question, no, we did not price out materials per se, but we've kept close watch on about a half dozen remodels in our family over the past 20 years, so we weren't entirely clueless. Our budget priority focused on spending $$ on enlarging the house's footprint (by 50%) and less so on the finishes especially since we are thinking of selling in the next 4-5 years. But I get your drift, trust me! :)

Remarkably similar. 3 slabs, fabrication about $9k. 3 slabs is a big kitchen. Fabrication costs will vary according to complexity as well- edge type, sink cutouts, etc.

Selling in 4-5 years isn’t a big remodel with expensive finishes. That is a money loser. A big money loser. Put in basic and serviceable, in a good design. That’s less of a money loser.

We've had four realtor friends weigh in and all feel confident nearly any upgrade will pay off in our neighborhood. Plus, the house's value has tripled since we bought it 20 years ago. But hey, we're doing IKEA vanities in all four bathrooms, reinstalling our original wood floors and will be renting out at least one room just to be sure!

@Susan Murin, thanks for the input. I think we can get away with one slab...fingers crossed!

Thanks oldryder! Good to know. So if someone claims to charge the same price to fabricate/install natural stone and quartz, I should be leery or ?

Natural stone and quartz, not necessarily. Either of those material and quartzite? Then yes, be leery. Granite and marble are MUCH easier for a fabricator than quartzite (if it is a true quartzite and not a marble or dolomite misnomered as "soft quartzite").

Wait. Granite is MUCH easier for fabrication than quartzite? I thought granite and quartzite were generally comparable in hardness. Curious to hear @oldryder's and other fabricators' take on this?

Also wondering if it makes sense to hire an experienced fabricator BEFORE choosing a countertop so as to get local guidance prior to purchase. I was hoping for white quartz on the back countertop and blue-grey quartzite (our one splurge) on our 9x4 island. Or possibly a white granite instead of quartzite. Figuring any leftover quartzite/granite can be used around our monolith (14' high, two-sided fireplace) or in a shower or just prop it on a shelf above my desk so I can gaze at its beauty. :)

If you have a good fabricator and you trust him/her, then yes, it is a good idea to have them look at the slabs you are considering before you actually purchase them. They will see the imperfection or faults in the slabs that might affect how they are used and if they will work for your particular project.

Our fabricator nixed 2 slabs we had picked out. 1 granite and Quartzite. He said I'd rather pout out the imperfections now then have you see them later and blame me. We appreciated his honesty. We could have templet around them but then we would lose the vision we had.

We installed a quartzite hearthstone. The contractor who built the fireplace played fast and lose with the dimensions even though we had warned him to measure carefully. He figured, he could just cut away any excess after the fact.

Turns out, he had to chip away a good amount of the thickness of our quartzite slab form the bottom, as he had build the support too high. Apparently, with softer stones that's not a big deal. But you should have heard him cursing as he went through a ton of diamond blades finishing this job particular. I don't think he made any profit on our project.

Wow, M, how did it turn out? Would love to see photos.