Choosing Countertops That Handle Desert Heat and Sun

Stand at the kitchen sink at four in the afternoon and lay a hand flat on the countertop beside the patio door. The surface will tell you more about the material choice than any sample board. The breakdown sitting on kitchen remodel scottsdale az primal health with jean lists the surfaces in the order they tolerate this kind of heat, and the order surprises people. A kitchen in Scottsdale, AZ takes direct sun for most of the year, and the Sonoran Desert sets the terms for every material that goes into it.

Quartz and the heat from a window

Engineered quartz is made of crushed stone held together with resin. The resin is the weak point. A slab that sits in strong direct sun beside a west facing window can yellow or warp slightly at the edge over the years, and a hot pan set straight down can leave a ring. Quartz does well in a kitchen with shaded glass or a covered patio, and less well where the sun lands on it for hours, as it does in a house below Camelback Mountain with a west facing patio door.

Granite and other natural stone

Granite takes heat from a pan without trouble and does not fade in sunlight. It does need sealing, and in a dry climate the sealer wears from cleaning, not from the weather. A simple test is a few drops of water left on the surface for ten minutes. If the stone darkens, it is time to reseal. Quartzite behaves much like granite and is often chosen for lighter colors that still hold up in the sun.

Edges and seams

Thermal expansion is real in this climate. A slab beside a south facing slider can swing a good deal between a cool morning and a hot afternoon, so seams are placed away from the sink cutout and away from the window wall. A square edge chips easier than an eased one, and a full bullnose adds weight and shadow lines that suit older ranch kitchens in Scottsdale, AZ.

Solid surface and laminate

Solid surface can be repaired by sanding, which counts in a house with children and a lot of cooking, but it scorches under a hot pan. Laminate is the least tolerant of heat and the fastest to peel at a seam when the sun bakes the substrate. Both have a place in a rental or a secondary kitchen. Neither is the first pick for a main kitchen in Maricopa County.

Questions to settle before ordering

Where does the sun land, which wall is hottest, and where do the pans get set down? Those three answers narrow the field to two or three materials before anyone looks at color.