The granite seal of approval? Maybe

“Counter Evolution,” Nov. 18, notes that granite must be sealed at least once a year. You’ve hit on a small controversy within the natural-stone trade, where a growing number of fabricators and maintenance-restoration professionals are noting that some granite countertops are oversealed.

The porosity of granite varies greatly; some varieties are very porous and might benefit from twice-annual sealings. The low porosity of some granite types might call for a treatment only every three or four years at best.

The annual-sealing argument is advanced by the manufacturers of maintenance/sealing products, as well as manufacturers of competing materials such as quartz and solid-surface countertops. One other countertop choice that’s a direct competitor to natural stone: recycled-content material. There’s a growth in materials using either post-consumer paper (Richlite, PaperStone, ShetkaStone) or glass bottles (IceStone, EnviroGLAS, Vetrazzo).

Emerson Schwartzkopf

Palm Springs

The writer is the editor of Stone Business.