Corian countertops - is it worth it to upgrade to in new house?

[suzannen]

Personally, I would get granite before I got Corian. My MIL spent the extra money for the Corian in her apartment and by the 4th year of having it, it always looks stained and dirty. It really takes away from the look of the kitchen. Meanwhile, we went with granite 10 years ago, and ours still looks great. These are always such hard decisions, aren't they?

 

[clarabelle]

Very nice!!
Is that granite uba tuba?

 

[CEDmom]

Our new house is about 2 months from completion and we went with the Corian upgrade. Our reasoning was more because we didn't like any of the laminates or even the granite. We would have liked Silestone but it wasn't an option and we didn't feel like having something basic put in and then have to immediately replace it when we move in.

I'd recommend seeing if the design studio is open for you to go look at your actual choices before your appt in 2 weeks. Our builder had general non-appt hours and it was a real help. We upgraded things that would either be pricey later on or just a pain to do.

It would also help to go to Home Depot and price what Corian would cost them to put in your new house. Somethings the builder gouges you on and somethings aren't that marked up.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Very nice!!
Is that granite uba tuba?

Yes, it's Uba Tuba. For once I liked the least expensive item! I was so proud of myself!

We remodeled one of our bathrooms too and we put Absolute Black in that one. It was pricier, but we didn't need as much.

Here's our bathroom: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/smbno...://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/smbnobles/my_photos

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

This is an awesome website where I got soooo much valuable information: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/

Forums for just about everything!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

One of my favorite topics.... My experience....

My husband is not handy, we hate remodeling, so going with the builder upgrades is a must for us.

I am on my 3rd house and I have upgraded, used builder grade, and remodeled. (2 of them new, one we built, this one is a spec.)

The thing to upgrade is...

#1...Elevation of the house
#2....Kitchen
#3....Flooring

I would go with granite tops and walnut-color cabinets. Dark and wood & granite is "in, in, in".

Also it costs a small fortune to have it done and with a new house you will not get to it.
I most certainly would do the kitchen with at least Corian.

Unless your DH is a super handy man....Mine is not.

 

[lfeikert]

We're about three weeks from moving in to our new house. We are putting in solid surface countertops. Not corian, but just like them. As a previous poster mentioned, corian's patent ran out so there are many other solid surface options out there that are not as expensive as the actual corian. Ours are Formica solid surfacing. There were so many color choices that I had a terrible time picking one! The one we are getting looks just like granite. That might be an option to explore.

 

[Skatermom23]

I wouldn't get them, you can get laminate that looks like corian. Later on you can upgrade to granite. I would do the wood floors and crown molding for sure. Crown molding really dresses up a house.

We got a laminate that is identical to a marble design out there, and got the wood trim to go around it. I figured this was fine while the kids were still at home and as soon as they leave... I will get the marble. The wood trim is a must with the laminate...it makes it looks like the real thing!!!

 

[DrCavin]

Like someone else mentioned, if houses in your development have corian/granite then I would spend the money. If *most* of them have laminate, then I would put that in.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Like someone else mentioned, if houses in your development have corian/granite then I would spend the money. If *most* of them have laminate, then I would put that in.

See, I've had to do the reverse. The older section of our subdivision was built in 1993 and laminate, with ceramic tile was used. Then two more sections were put in. That's when we started seeing the Silestone.

Since then, we've had to compete with the newer homes, so more and more people in our section are ripping out our counters and replacing them with solid surface, to achieve equal resale value.

Ironically, those that are remodeling, are going with granite predominately.

Corian is on its way out here. I very rarely show homes with it anymore. Different parts of the country use different things, so YMMV.

 

[lindalinda]

I would try to price other options also besides corian. Corian is a brand name and there may be other options that are better than laminate but not quite so pricey. I have laminate and am looking at upgrading now (my house is 9 years old) I think I need to for the price range of my house, but I am looking at all the options, there are different grades and types of solid surface to choose from. If you are just looking at it for resale potential, but dont think you'll be moving for several years, I would not do the upgrade. I would wait and see what the current trends are when you are getting ready to sell since its not that expensive an item. By this I mean, you get the expensive corian now....by the time you sell, everyone must have granite...so then you have to upgrade to granite...or whatever. This happens in lots of items...door hardware, faucets, even sink styles change so you never know.

 

[WL Fan]

I don't have any experience with Corian countertops, but a friend of mine got a fabricated sink (I think it was silestone) and immediately regretted it. It stains super easily and she has to work at it every day to keep it clean. I vote for a heavy duty stainless sink. I love mine.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I would do it. I love our corian counters and 12 years ago we paid $100 per linear foot. Not sure what the cost would be now.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I don't have any experience with Corian countertops, but a friend of mine got a fabricated sink (I think it was silestone) and immediately regretted it. It stains super easily and she has to work at it every day to keep it clean. I vote for a heavy duty stainless sink. I love mine.

Sounds like Corian. I don't think the others do integrated sinks... at least I don't think so.

With the other surfaces, you see the undermount sinks. I agree with you; we have a stainless steel sink and it cleans up beautifully with some lemon oil. It has a few scratches, but oh well...

 

[Mjasp]

I say go with the granite, once you get in the house you may never put it in.

JenL...Which builder are you going with? I sent for 2 brochures, one from KB Homes and 1 from Centex

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I say go with the granite, once you get in the house you may never put it in.

JenL...Which builder are you going with? I sent for 2 brochures, one from KB Homes and 1 from Centex

My first home was built by Centex.

 

[kldmom2000]

It shows stains very easy. You are supposed to be able to sand them out -I just haven't tried it

First, just replying to the above quote with a warning.... you should never attempt to sand the corian countertops yourself-try to hire a certified corian fabricator to do it otherwise you will have a "hazy" area where you sanded and the shine will be gone from that spot. You also jeopardize your Dupont warranty by doing it yourself.... just an FYI...

I'm biased on corian because DH owns a corian fabrication company here in MA. We have corian in our kitchen and bathroom-we did the stainless steel undermount sink in the kitchen-I liked that look. I chose a dark green color w/ speckles (malachite) for my kitchen to avoid any stains and such-the only downside is scratches are a bit more noticable in the darker colors. In the bathroom, we have vanero chamagne as a color-it's an off pinkish color with swirls of white all through it accented with a white corian sink I LOVE my corian countertops!! We put the corian in shortly after we bought our house and when we refinanced, it made quite a difference in our home's value.

 

[kldmom2000]

I say go with the granite, once you get in the house you may never put it in.

And just an FYI on granite too... granite is porous. It's stone. If you spill something on it and leave it for an hour, if you look on the underside, you'll see the wet stain coming through the bottom... kinda makes me want to thinking of what harbors in there (granite comes from South America and is brought into the country infested with insect eggs-they use heavy duty pesitcides on the material when they bring it into the US and then seal the granite.... who knows what could still be in there and the thought of extra pesticides..... I know-I'm just crazy with a DH who is very well-informed. He chooses to do corian because he believes in the product and absolutely refuses to work with Granite... if you want the granite look w/o the ick... you can always do Zodiaq-a manmade stone by Dupont that looks spectacular

 

[jennyL]

I say go with the granite, once you get in the house you may never put it in.

JenL...Which builder are you going with? I sent for 2 brochures, one from KB Homes and 1 from Centex

We're going with the KBHomes. Its the one in the area that we wanted.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

And just an FYI on granite too... granite is porous. It's stone. If you spill something on it and leave it for an hour, if you look on the underside, you'll see the wet stain coming through the bottom... kinda makes me want to

Fortunately, I only see the topside. I also don't let things sit on my granite counters, any more than I did on my formica.

thinking of what harbors in there (granite comes from South America and is brought into the country infested with insect eggs-they use heavy duty pesitcides on the material when they bring it into the US and then seal the granite.... who knows what could still be in there and the thought of extra pesticides..... I know-I'm just crazy with a DH who is very well-informed.

Can't say I've ever heard the insect-egg theory, but the bacteria rumor has been around so long, that there are websites created just to debunk it (including comments from the CDC). Granite holds no more bacteria than other surfaces, when cleaned properly. Next, the methane gas rumor will rear its head, followed by the rumors of how horrible it is to maintain.

Granite has been around longer than any other solid surface. If it was that bad, we would be seeing the evidence of it long before now. How many people have seen banks, hotels, department stores, etc, with granite? I have never heard of anyone getting ill because of granite. I have never heard any negative stories about granite at all, except for people not liking the price.

Yes, granite has little pits in it, but when I clean my counters, the liquid gets in those pits too. If I let chicken goo sit on a Corian scratch, I'd get sick too. It's all about cleanliness, plain and simple.

He chooses to do corian because he believes in the product and absolutely refuses to work with Granite... if you want the granite look w/o the ick... you can always do Zodiaq-a manmade stone by Dupont that looks spectacular

I would be very interested in seeing the sources behind your "ick" theory.

I don't have a financial stake in granite; I purchased it after doing a ton of research and I made a well-informed decision based off of knowledge, my love of its natural beauty and my housing market.

All I had do to was google "granite bacteria" and it brought up a ton of information. Anyone interested in it, should so the same research.