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

[hmp2z]

I would probably go with the standard laminate now, and upgrade to Silestone when it's available. It's beautiful, is nonporous so doesn't have to be sealed yearly like granite, and, because granite is a natural stone, the color you order might not be exactly what you end up getting, depending on where your stone comes from. DH & I just don't like the plastic feel of Corian.
Good luck!
Heather W

 

[IceQueen777]

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

Granite comes from MANY countries, not just South America. There are granites from India, Norway, Africa, etc. The solid-surface manufacturers are spreading false information about granite to increase sales of their own product because granite is becoming much more affordable than Corian. Why choose a more expensive, plastic-looking, easily scratched material (Corian) over a less expensive, natural, more durable material (granite)? The solid-surface companies' answer to that question was to spread misinformation about granite. Studies have shown what the previous poster said...granite is no more likely to harbor icky things than any other surface.

 

[Muffy]

When you put your money in a kitchen upgrade you get it back in spades. As far as resale goes, upgraded kitchens are in big demand. We are building a second home right now ourselves and did upgrade the kitchen to the hilt. Definatly upgrade the counters if you possbily can. Good luck to you!

 

[MAKmom]

I'm biased on corian because DH owns a corian fabrication company here in MA.

MY DH also own a Corian & Granite Fabrication bussiness...I also was a Disney Store Manager & have 2 DD at home....just like you!

Now on the East cost Corian is still cheaper than Granite...but close.

Yes the Solid surface guys are spreading rumors.

but CORIAN is approved for commerical use & granite is not. Corian is approved for use in food prep areas & in hospital rooms & public bathrooms. Granite is not.

I have Corian. I have an Island that seats 10. We do everthing on it. Crafts, I scrape paint off it with plastic, eat crabs & beat it with the wooden hammers. It really is great. If someone pushes a POTTERY type bowl or plate across it it will scratch...but so will any counter surface. I have the white speckle...DH wanted to go nuetral fo resale value. I have had it resanded 1 time in 7 years. I would stay away from solid colors. I never hace the streaking problem but I wipe mine down with water & dish soap not windex.

DH says Corian is for familys who use the kitchen. Granite is for grown-ups that eat out alot. It look wonderfuls but is unforgiving. It needs to be sealed every year or so & if you knock a glass over its going to break. But if your not eating at an island like we do I would go for it.

THere is another thread from 2 weeks ago about this.

 

[jrmasm]

It needs to be sealed every year or so

Not necessarily. It depends on the stone. As a general rule, the darker the stone the less porous it is and more durable it is. Dark granite such as UbaTuba do not require sealing.

 

[IceQueen777]

DH says Corian is for familys who use the kitchen. Granite is for grown-ups that eat out alot. It look wonderfuls but is unforgiving. It needs to be sealed every year or so & if you knock a glass over its going to break. But if your not eating at an island like we do I would go for it.

That is so funny, because I feel the opposite! I think Corian is a pain to maintain (the scratches would bother me), but granite is so easy. Sealing is no big deal...rub the sealant in with a cloth, let it sit for 15 minutes or so, then wipe off. Takes about 30 minutes once a year. Some granites never need sealing...it really just depends on which one you choose. My Black Galaxy island does not need to be sealed, but the rest of the kitchen is Giallo Ornamentale which does need to be sealed. I love that it doesn't scratch and that you can put hot pots and pans on it. We are a family of five and we definitely use our countertops! I think if we had Corian, it would be full of scratches.

Oh well, that's why there are different types of countertops to meet each individual's idea of function and beauty. Get what works for you!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

DH says Corian is for familys who use the kitchen. Granite is for grown-ups that eat out alot. It look wonderfuls but is unforgiving. It needs to be sealed every year or so & if you knock a glass over its going to break. But if your not eating at an island like we do I would go for it.

Well we eat at the island all the time and I use my granite. Here where we are at in Texas, granite is "it", the thing to have in your home.
Your kitchen is not considered "upgraded" unless you have it.

I never had Corian although it sounds nice, I need the Granite for the "resale" of my house.

 

[golfgal]

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

Maybe where you live Granite comes from South America but the granite in this area comes from neighboring towns that have Granite Quarries.

 

[mickey4ver]

I work for a granite/marble wholesaler and granite counter tops are IT right now.......I think if you choose a moderate price slab, with fabrication/installation you can stick around the Corian installation price and have a very nice countertop.

As far as "bugs" etc., all the containers coming into this country are pretty stingently checked at customs, so not so sure about the real concern with that issue...but to each their own.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

DH says Corian is for familys who use the kitchen. Granite is for grown-ups that eat out alot. It look wonderfuls but is unforgiving. It needs to be sealed every year or so & if you knock a glass over its going to break. But if your not eating at an island like we do I would go for it.

THere is another thread from 2 weeks ago about this.

I don't think so...

I don't know of too many countertops that let you take a hot pan and set it down directly on top of it, nor do I know of any others that let you cut with sharp knives directly on top of it - without developing issues.

If what you're saying is true, then I really screwed up when I was cooking last night! Having the ability to be rough on my counters, was one of the biggest selling points of granite. And no, a granite fabricator didn't tell me that was true, I researched it myself.

While I wouldn't take a hammer to it (or to Corian for that matter), I stand on my counters (when I can't reach something, of course), I sanitize and use my island as a prep area, without the need for a cutting board, and I cook and serve without the use of trivets. It's wonderful!

As far as sealing goes (To the OP who PM'd me - I told you this would come up), you spray the sealant on and wipe it off! If someone can't commit to doing that once a year, then they aren't prepared for countertops, period.

My granite actually came pre-sealed and like OP said, mine doesn't take the maintanence that others do - again, research, research. I do plan on using a lighter granite in my bathroom (I'm thinking Santa Cecilia) when we start that remodel this summer and it's no biggie - no more so than the Travertine I have in a portion of my house. Wipe it on, wipe it off.

OP mentioned that you wouldn't have conformity in granite, like you would in man-made counter material. That's not true. I went to a stone yard and I picked my two slabs from the same "sandwich" of granite. The chunks are cut and then sliced and bound together. I checked the two slices for inclusions, found none and have beautiful matching counters. I have only one seam and you have to get within inches of the counters to even see it.

To each his own, but let me tell you, when the sun shines in my kitchen and it hits the granite, it is unbelievably beautiful - you won't find that in any other manmade material. Some have tried to come close (Silestone and their counterparts), but nothing has the flowing motion, or the depth of the quartz flecks that true granite does.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Maybe where you live Granite comes from South America but the granite in this area comes from neighboring towns that have Granite Quarries.

True! Go anywhere in Texas and you're going to see a reddish granite being used extensively.

Take a road trip to the Hill Country (Austin, New Braunfels, San Antonio) and you'll see the very same granite in its natural form, in outcroppings. While I didn't chose that granite, I always thought it would be cool to have stone in my house, that I knew was quarried nearby. I think this is the granite: http://www.vincistone.com/marble_and_granite/granite_colors/granite_selector.htm

The last thing I'd be worried about would be pesticide in my granite. I'm thinking I should be more concerned about the pesticide that is on my food and is being sprayed around my baseboards once a year.

 

[LvsTnk]

Love, Love, Love my granite!! I homeschool (my special needs son) so I really researched what I was going to use before hand, the same with my stainless kitchen table, and 4 skylights for natural light.

I cut right on it, set hot things on it, haven't sealed it since I got it 4 years ago, and I don't worry about stains what so ever because of the color I picked.

It still is so beautiful to look at especially since we spend the majority of our day in the kitchen.

UPGRADE!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

It still is so beautiful to look at especially since we spend the majority of our day in the kitchen.

UPGRADE!

When mine were first installed, I was almost laying on top of them! I was really pathetic; I'd raise the blinds during certain times of the day to see the sun hit different areas... lol.

 

[skiwee1]

Can you do granite instead? It is pricier then Corian but holds up better. We are redoing our kitchen and have opted for granite.

 

[lecach]

Granite IS an option (more expensive of course)- but around here Corian is by far the more popular and better known option. We're still toying with the idea-its all about the money. At Panerra today I noticed that the coffee prep area was Corian - it looked really nice

Whats going to happen is that we are going to see what all the other upgrades that we HAVE to have cost. Then we'll decide. I am positive that we'll be doing the wood in the dining, crown molding downstairs, upgraded carpet pad throughout, and upgraded linoleum in the kitchen. I just cant get out of my mind that for every $1000 in upgrades our payment goes up $6 - that corian would cost me $24 a month forever. Thats a LOT.

 

[arminnie]

My cousin had Corian put in when they build their home 5 years ago. They have no children and have really "babied" their countertop.

But it still has all sorts of very fine scratches on it from just day to day living.

Granite is just WAY more durable. In the West (CA) and SW (AR, LA, TX) granite is almost required for an upscale resale. When I bought last summer , Corian was a negative not a positive.

I've had formica type countertops for most of my life. I never found it to be all that fragile. I didn't put ultra hot pans on it or cut on it, but you can't do that with Corian either.

Everyone makes a big deal that Corian can be repaired, but it is very expensive to have that repair work done.

But the final decision is up to you. My cousin wanted a white countertop- which was not possible with granite. I vote for getting what makes you happy.

 

[720L]

I think you should start a new trend and get granite. When everyone sees how beautiful it is, they will be copying you!!!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Whats going to happen is that we are going to see what all the other upgrades that we HAVE to have cost. Then we'll decide. I am positive that we'll be doing the wood in the dining, crown molding downstairs, upgraded carpet pad throughout, and upgraded linoleum in the kitchen. I just cant get out of my mind that for every $1000 in upgrades our payment goes up $6 - that corian would cost me $24 a month forever. Thats a LOT.

I think someone else has already mentioned this, but I would sink my upgrade money on your kitchen floor, before I'd sink it in the countertop. Linoleum, regardless of how much it's upgraded is a BIG pain in the rear to remove.

If you ever decide later on down the road to put in wood or tile, you're going to either have to deal with it on your own, or you're going to pay $$ in labor to have it taken up. I've done it before and it was one of the most labor-intensive things I've ever had to deal with.

As many houses as I've shown, I would be perplexed at going into one with linoleum on the floor, and solid surface counters. However, I show tons that have wood or ceramic on the floor and formica on the counters. People never blink an eye at it.

Formica with a nice backsplash looks very pretty. You could always do a tumbled marble backsplash with a neutral formica. Put under-the-cabinet lighting in (cheap and easy to do) that highlights the backsplash, and I guarantee you, nobody is going to notice that you didn't bling out your countertops.

Since the backsplash sits on top of the counters, later on you can always remove the formica (after all, it's just nailed down to the cabinets) and have solid surface installed. Just keep some left over tiles in case the bottom row gets damaged, or doesn't meet up to the new counters perfectly.

Bottom line, if you're concerned about resale, linoleum is going hurt you more than formica. I see formica all the time, but very, very rarely see linoleum floors any longer - not with the inexpensive ceramic tile that's out there.

Just food for thought.

 

[sm4987]

I want corian or a solid surface type countertop. Mainly for its seemless look. Now in saying that, we did just put in grante tile countertops in my kitchen several months ago as I found them on a great sale and I loved the color. I have brgun rethinking getting corian as I love to abuse my countertops. I set hot pots on it and it is wonderful. I know you can't do that with corian. And as an above poster said, granite is really "in" here in texas. My neighbor hood doesn't have much if any corian in it ( I know my husband is in sales in this community) Everyone either is getting the granite tiles, granite slab or going for quartz countertops.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I want corian or a solid surface type countertop. Mainly for its seemless look. Now in saying that, we did just put in grante tile countertops in my kitchen several months ago as I found them on a great sale and I loved the color. I have brgun rethinking getting corian as I love to abuse my countertops. I set hot pots on it and it is wonderful. I know you can't do that with corian. And as an above poster said, granite is really "in" here in texas. My neighbor hood doesn't have much if any corian in it ( I know my husband is in sales in this community) Everyone either is getting the granite tiles, granite slab or going for quartz countertops.

The tile route is a great option. I've seen Uba Tuba and Absolute Black tile counters and they look awesome. You have to really look to see the grout lines!

I don't know where in Texas you are, but Floor & Decor has some great deals. That's where I got my Travertine.