Before directly knowing about the pros and cons of marble countertops, you have to know about what exactly marble countertops are?
Pros of Marble Countertops
On the good side of this expensive stone, the following qualities keep its demand rising in every season when compared to the other natural rocks.
1. Softness for elegant designs. You cannot chisel something beautiful out of hard rock. The reason why white marble is an apt choice for kitchen worktops and other needs is its softness, which is due to its recrystallized structure. When a material is recrystallized, the very strength of its molecules drastically changes. Hence, from hard rock to soft one. This quality allows you to get a variety of bespoke kitchen worktops designs, just fit for your requirements.
2. Porousness gets it a glossy look. This characteristic of the rock contributes to both the boon and the bane side of it. Compared to other natural rocks, white marble (or marble) is slightly more porous than the other stones. On the good side, the porousness of the marble allows the light to pass through its surface to some extent and reflects all over the space. Even for small kitchens, the white marble augurs well because you get a spacious feel with its illumination character.
3. Aesthetics. When it comes to beautifying your kitchen, you no need to be like Mogul King Shah Jahan (who built the Taj Mahal) or a patron of the Renaissance in taste. The stone has intrinsic veins and patterns running across it. The veins and patterns are not the same for each block of the marble you get out of the quarry. You won’t find its other kind anywhere in the world. In case you find it, you find its replicate in a black market as the original white marble.
Cons of Marble Countertops
Every beautiful thing in this creation comes with one or two drawbacks to keep it in check. The white marble worktops are no exception to it. Here are some prominent cons.
1. Aristocratic Opulence. The white marble is a rare and luxury stone. It breaks your bank for its premium feeling. That’s why you find the white marble flooring in super mansions and five-star hotels. The marble’s rarity and the difficulties to quarry the stone in off the season like winters make it even more expensive and exacting. A fact here is the marble business from the Carrara Mountains amounts to one billion USD a year, according to Business Insider. However, all that expense is worth the salt if you look for ethereal beauty out of the white marble.
2. Non-scratch and heat resistant. The kitchen is the most active part of a home work-wise. When you are working on white marble kitchen worktop knives or cutlery, you have to be vigil. If the marble gets a scratch, you cannot remove it for good. It’s that fragile. Also, you have to use stands for hot dishes. If kept without them, make up your mind not to worry about the damage it causes. (Well, all-natural rocks are poor conductors of heat when dry). Additionally, the marble is prone to chipping and cracks.
3. Acid causes a colour change. You can the acids can change the beautiful colour of your white marble kitchen worktops? They do, for good. Even the acids in foods like tomato sauce, vinegar and cleaning liquids can damage the marble permanently. So, you have to take utmost care. Otherwise, you will only shell out more bucks for avoidable mistakes.
You can turn these cons into null to the maximum extent provided you follow some precautions. It all depends on how well you take care of your precious white marble worktops.