Marble vs. Quartzite - Easy Way to Tell The Difference!

Marble and Quartzite are both beautiful options for countertops, but there is a big difference in their properties. On today's episode Jordan shows you how to easily tell if a slab is quartzite or marble in a stone yard.
Quartzite and marble are both metamorphic rocks, but quartzite is much harder and less prone staining and etching with acid than marble. Marble, on the other hand, has been used for centuries in all kinds of high wear applications, and the weathering and patina that it takes on are a one of a kind. Both stones have their place and can be used with success in a variety of applications. However, it is important to know which stone the slab you have selected is made of. Because of loose terminology, marketing, and the lack of lot tracking, it is very likely that there will be a slab mislabeled here and there.
So how do you protect yourself from choosing a slab that you think will perform like quartzite but is really marble?
The easiest (and one of the oldest) tests to determine a rocks identity is a hardness test. There are special tools that will determine the hardness of stone, but we are no geologist, we just want to know is t marble or quartzite. Luckily for us, the hardness of the two stones are very different. Quartzite is a 7 on the Mohs scale while marble is between 3-5. The harder quartzite will scratch a glass bottle when it is drug across the sharp edge, while marble will simple crumble under and mar the harder glass.

Topo Chico - https://amzn.to/2yx6zln
Knife - https://amzn.to/2YJ4624