Warm summer days are a great excuse to move a meal outside. With a choice of three meals plus snacks, there’s no end to the possibilities for outdoor dining — a leisurely weekend brunch spent with friends, a summertime pool party or just any reason to fire up the backyard grill for a tailgate party. Any way that you look at it, al fresco dining is a fun way to enjoy food out in nature, one of the most beautiful and unique settings that you can find.
With more consumers discovering the benefits of an outdoor kitchen it’s worthwhile to consider if a granite or natural stone countertop might be right for your outdoor dining arrangement. When you’re looking to add an outdoor countertop or additional space for a bar to complement your outdoor area, you might have considered installing a granite or natural stone countertop, but don’t assume that because a stone comes from nature that it will necessarily be right for outdoor use.
Amanda Lecky, a writer on HGTVRemodels.com, offered a great primer on how to evaluate natural stone options for outdoor countertop use. Lecky suggested that consumers should avoid porous stones such as soapstone, bluestone, limestone or marble. Much like a sponge with tiny holes, these stones are marked with small openings that allow foods, drinks and grease to seep into the surface where they can leave deep stains. When it comes to choosing the best stone option, the author suggested granite for its ability to stand up to the elements and its resistance to stains.
The color of the stone should also be a consideration. Much like a car with a dark interior absorbs heat, dark-colored granite will absorb the rays of the sun and make a countertop warm or even hot to the touch. Stone containing a large amount of veining should also be avoided because those stones contain epoxies and fillers that could negatively react with UV rays, according to Steve Chepurny, a landscape architect quoted in the HGTVRemodel.com article.
Once you decide on the stone surface that best works with your four-season room, deck or patio it’s important to provide the stone with an extra dose of TLC by regularly cleaning and polishing the natural stone or granite countertops that are exposed to the elements. Rock Doctor’s fast drying and non-abrasive Rock Doctor Granite & Quartz Polish will enhance your granite or natural stone countertop with a beautiful shine. The Granite & Quartz Polish provides a natural barrier to spills, etching and glass rings so you don’t have to interrupt the fun worrying about marks on your granite or natural stone countertop. Especially formulated with emollients and carnauba wax, Rock Doctor Granite & Quartz Polish will fill in small imperfections, making it the perfect product to give old and new stone a lustrous boost.
This article was brought to you by Rock Doctor, which offers a line of specially-formulated stone cleaner, stone polish, and stone sealer products. Rock Doctor stone care products can be purchased through a number of fine retail stores, including Wal-Mart, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Bed Bath & Beyond, Ace Hardware, Do it Best Hardware, Hy-Vee, and Wegmans.
