Granite Countertops in Des Plaines, IL

No. Same shop, same crew, same published price in every town we serve — the 6 miles between Des Plaines and 2260 Elmhurst Rd is our cost of doing business, not a line on your quote. What changes your number is square footage, edge profile, cutouts and how much tear-out there is, and none of those are about your ZIP code.

Neither is better; they fail differently. Quartz (about 90% ground stone in polymer resin) is nonporous, never needs sealing, and shrugs off wine, coffee, and turmeric — but its resin can scorch or discolor around 300F, so hot pans are off the table, and manufacturers exclude heat damage from warranty. Granite tolerates hot cookware and every slab is unique, but it is porous enough that some stones benefit from occasional sealing, and its natural variation makes seams and repairs less predictable. As of 2026 both sit in a similar installed band (roughly $40-$120/sq ft), so choose on habits: distracted cooks who set pans down anywhere are happier with granite; households that spill and never want maintenance lean quartz.

Much of northern Illinois sits in an elevated-radon zone, but that radon seeps from the soil under your home, not from your countertops - granite emits only trace, negligible radiation. The right move for a Chicago-area house is a soil-gas radon test in the lowest level and mitigation if the reading is high; your countertop material has essentially nothing to do with your radon risk.

Nothing dramatic at first — and then a splash of olive oil or red wine sits overnight and leaves a dark shadow in the stone. Fresh oil stains can usually be drawn out with a baking-soda poultice left on for a day, but old, deep stains may never fully lift and can require professional restoration. Sealer is a $15-30 bottle and 20 minutes of work; it is the cheapest insurance in the kitchen.