I recently purchased a 2 bedroom pre-construction condo in Chicago. (mostly as an investment)

For the master bathroom I decided to upgrade the counter to marble. (personally - I like marble but I only plan on living there 2 years)

A few people have told me granite is a much better choice than the marble -- is a marble bathroom counter top a poor choice if I'm looking to sell it in 2 years?

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Originally Posted by uniqueproblemsolver

I recently purchased a 2 bedroom pre-construction condo in Chicago. (mostly as an investment)

For the master bathroom I decided to upgrade the counter to marble. (personally - I like marble but I only plan on living there 2 years)

A few people have told me granite is a much better choice than the marble -- is a marble bathroom counter top a poor choice if I'm looking to sell it in 2 years?

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... more durable than marble but why would moving in 2 years make a difference which one you choose? Don't understand your logic?

Granite is generally a lot harder than marble, making it more scratch and stain resitant. Marble is chosen for bathrooms, because it is warmer to the touch. If there is a high calcium content in your local water supply, you should take in consideration that the chemicals that you would use to remove calcium stains from fixtures and servaces, will also damage the varnish on the marble. No such concern with granite. Granite, most likely will look just the same in two or two hundred years, making it a better choice in terms of resale value.

A Realtor might be able to give you a better opinion of the resale value of marble vs granite.

There is real marble and cultured marble. Unlike pearls, there is a big difference in what the 2 are. Real marble is formed under ground when heat and pressure changes the crystal structure, but not the chemical properties of limestone. Limestone, marble, pearls, and cultured pearls are all calcium carbonate. The acids, commonly used to remove the hard water stains left by limestone containing water, will dissolve one, as well as the other.

Cultured marble is made by adding ground limestone to an unsaturated polyester resin. The limestone is protected from acids by the resin. However, the resin is even easier to scratch with abrasive cleaners.

Chicago does get its water out of the lake? If so, hard water stains should be less of a problem.

I am not sure what to use - granite or marble for my kitchen countertops. I am certenaly sure I like marble better. It has much better desain, much more going on, more colores to chose from, but a lot of peole says it stains and scraches, and it is used more in bathrooms then kitchen. Please if sombody can give me an idea what is a better choice .

Hey, I have an idea... how about let's NOT dig up 5 year old posts to append to? Much easier and less confusing to start a new thread.

Anyway, for kitchen use, granite beats marble. If you want the look of marble and the color selection, I'd suggest going with a marble substitute, like Corian (R).

Well, can you explain why? Is granit more resistant to stains and all the above I mention? The contractor that came to my house to give me an estimate told me that marble is better but more expensive. BTW I am on this site by chance, didn't even look at dates. I thought nobody would even reply!

I would go with granite over the marble.

Granite is more stain resistant and wear resistant than marble. While it is not perfect, granite holds up far better in high traffic uses such as counter tops and flooring. With a proper seal coating on granite and with proper care, granite will last for many years without scratching, staining, chipping, or wearing away. If properly cared for, granite may not need to be resealed every year.