Anyone have Corian Countertops?

[mickeyfan2]

huh? You lost me. Were you saying that the fact that your Corian has lasted 15 years means that it's a durable product? I'd argue that granite should last forever since it's a rock.

Seriously, around here Corian is not a selling point and granite is.

I was saying that the older Corian is much thicker than the new Corian. To keep the price competitive they are making it thinner.

In some places granite is a selling point, but not everywhere and not forever. I could careless what sells, I am living in my home and want it the way I want not the way everybody else does. I do not move up all the time, so I built the home that I wanted. I was way ahead of most trends. Things that others are adding to their homes now I have had for over 15 years. I find granite to be ugly and too dark.

 

[mickeyfan2]

WHAT??? They must have been solid surface sales people in disguise! That is absolutely rediculous! You'll spend more time sanding the Corian in a year, than you would staining the granite

I have never sanded my Corian in 15 years.

 

[jrmasm]

I could careless what sells, I am living in my home and want it the way I want not the way everybody else does.

That's fair. That's how we felt when we built our house. But the OP didn't say what her situation was. If she plans to sell soon, current trends could be relevant.

I thinks its great that you love something you picked 15 years ago. My counters are only 4 years old but as of today, I would never have any other kind of counter.

 

[RockyMtnMaria]

I have never sanded my Corian in 15 years.

That is great. And I have 18 yo Formica counters without a scratch on it either. But I have seen the problem with friends and they say they just pull out the sandpaper and sand the scratches down.

I suspect they cut directly on their counter, while you and I use a chopping board.

I can't wait to get rid of my Formica, but I am a wierdo and can't wait to get my green granite! I don't like light counters at all. The trend towards all white kitchens is not one I enjoy. I love color and warmth. When it comes to house design and decorating, taste is a very subjective thing.

 

[*Susan*]

I'm planning to check out the Granite Tranformations website that someone mentioned, but from the photos, it looks like another form of solid surface, with the wierd plasticy pattern. I just don't like the looks of Corian or it's competition AT ALL, and neither does my dh.[/QUOTE]

Not sure what you mean by "plasticy pattern" but it's actual granite rock. It's not synthetic rock, it's real (you can see the variations in the actual pieces, different rocks etc). We have the karra oro color. Just FYI. I will say that their website photos don't make it look as nice as (we think) it is.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I have Silestone installed by/thru the Home Depot Expo in our area. It is about 3 years old now and just as perfect as when it was installed. No stains, scratches or any other type problem. The price when we purchased it was actually only $3.oo less SF than granite, but the "upkeep" scared us off the granite.
It was a wonderful choice for us!
Good Luck on your remodel!

 

[mickeyfan2]

I suspect they cut directly on their counter, while you and I use a chopping board.

Yes I do. I love the thin flexible ones that you can then use to put the stuff in to the pot with.

 

[MinMouse]

I have never sanded my Corian in 15 years.

Me neither. Our corian counter is almost 15 years also. We choose a bone color and it has been easy to care for. I would recommend you choose something you really like. These counters (corian and granite) last a LONG time. That is the one thing I would prefer about formica . . . you can pick something a little more daring and change it when you tire of it.

 

[chrissyk]

Where in FL are you? I just redid the bathroom in granite for $50/sq. ft. installed. I called around to different granite yards and asked if they sold remnants. I found one that sold them for $50 sq. ft. regardless of grade (A-D grade), and included one sink cut, all edging, and installation in that price. When I went to pick out the remnant, I couldn't believe the size of so many of the pieces. You could easily do a kitchen out of remnants of some of the more common granites for $50 sq. ft. installed. I think that Corian looks really outdated, and it's not worth $50 a sq. ft. when you can do granite for the same price (IMHO anyway).

 

[Iri920]

Where in FL are you? I just redid the bathroom in granite for $50/sq. ft. installed. I called around to different granite yards and asked if they sold remnants. I found one that sold them for $50 sq. ft. regardless of grade (A-D grade), and included one sink cut, all edging, and installation in that price. When I went to pick out the remnant, I couldn't believe the size of so many of the pieces. You could easily do a kitchen out of remnants of some of the more common granites for $50 sq. ft. installed. I think that Corian looks really outdated, and it's not worth $50 a sq. ft. when you can do granite for the same price (IMHO anyway).

I agree. My parents just renovated their kitchen and found a granite place that was asking half of what Home Depot wanted. I don't know where you are, but if you're in NJ I can give you their name.

Iri

 

[PiRSquared]

I guess I'm the only one that doesn't like my Corian. I have white in my bathrooms. We moved into this house (new to us 4 years old). My electric toothbrush had stained the counter within 6 weeks. It was yellow looking and it was the exact shape of the electric toothbrush. I now have the toothbrush on something so it won't stain. I bought the kids a frog soap dispenser to match their bathroom. I watched it for a couple of months and it didn't appear to be staining. My daughter has been cleaning the bathroom, so I had quit watching for the stain. Sure enough, it stained yellow under the plastic soap dispenser. We clean once a week, so it's not like we are dirty people.

 

[sm4987]

I love my corian countertops. We went with white jasmine and the seemless sink. We love our countertops. I could have afforded whatever, including silestone, but I really wanted corian and I wouldn't change them for the world!

 

[JandJ]

Hi all! OP here . . . Where I live there are about 10 granite and tile outlets within a stone's throw of my neighborhood, but it's still not an option financially. We have a large island/buffet, so it would require a large piece of granite with the edges finished all the way around and would need all new supports made. Plus, I really don't like the granite choices at the outlets. I really want a light color and all the ones we've seen have been dark. The Corian color we've settled on is "Aurora" and it's very light with little flecks of a light brown/red color. All of my kitchen accents are red so it works good, and if I change my colors it's not so RED that it will look bad with other accents. I just know I hate the formica we have - it's practically black and trying desperately to look like granite with little grey and white flecks (and failing desperately too!). We've done a lot of work on our house and plan to be there for the next 10 years at least and just want it to look nice, be functional, and not break the bank

Thanks to all who have responded, I really do appreciate the input!

 

[SplshMtn99]

Get quotes for all types of surfaces. We were in a kitchen place the other day to look at quartz products (Silestone, Cambria...) again, and they told us that some granites are actually cheaper than quartz now. So, we are getting quotes for all. I'm afraid they will still be more than what I WANT to pay however.

We've had Swanstone bathroom sink/vanities for a year now with no problems. But they don't do kitchen counters. I had gotten them off a ebay store & saved a TON compared to Home Depot. I really like them.

 

[gottaluvdis]

Hi all! OP here . . . Where I live there are about 10 granite and tile outlets within a stone's throw of my neighborhood, but it's still not an option financially. We have a large island/buffet, so it would require a large piece of granite with the edges finished all the way around and would need all new supports made. Plus, I really don't like the granite choices at the outlets. I really want a light color and all the ones we've seen have been dark. The Corian color we've settled on is "Aurora" and it's very light with little flecks of a light brown/red color. All of my kitchen accents are red so it works good, and if I change my colors it's not so RED that it will look bad with other accents. I just know I hate the formica we have - it's practically black and trying desperately to look like granite with little grey and white flecks (and failing desperately too!). We've done a lot of work on our house and plan to be there for the next 10 years at least and just want it to look nice, be functional, and not break the bank

Thanks to all who have responded, I really do appreciate the input!

It sounds like you've made your choice, but I wanted to add that silestone comes in a lot of light colors. We have "Diana Pearl" and it's very light and bright. It's a light sand color with small flecks of black & white. Our old counters were a blue laminate (yuck!) and even though they were light blue, the silestone color we chose really brightened up the kitchen compared to the blue. My cousin has a light colored corian in her 4 year old house with the integrated sink and 3 kids, and they love it although they do have some scratches, particularly in the sink.