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

[Laurajean1014]

I think it depends where you live. In CT, many homes are upgraded.

My sister is thinking of selling and a real estate agent told them to upgrade their Corian to granite if they wanted to sell the home without having to discount their home. (Wow!).

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I think it depends where you live. In CT, many homes are upgraded.

My sister is thinking of selling and a real estate agent told them to upgrade their Corian to granite if they wanted to sell the home without having to discount their home. (Wow!).

Same here in Texas. Unless it is granite it is not an upgrade.

 

[Dee & Greg]

It's solid surface just like Corian, but about 1/3 the price. Good news about Swanstone is that you could pour boiling water into the sink and it won't crack like Corian. We replace our nasty formica countertops with Swanstone and it's fabulous. Sink is the same color as the counter top (Burmuda sand, I believe)... has flecks of caramel and black in it. Corian would have been almost $7,000k, the Swanstone was $3,500. Can't tell the difference, and it is solid surface material, just doesn't have the advertising dollars associated with Corian.

http://www.swanstone.com/products/color

 

[sm4987]

Wood floors are just take a lot of time to maintain. We had them in our entry, kitchen and breakfast nook. For me, never again. My childern would alway leave the water on the floor, the back door had water coming in it somehow and the water messed up the wood floors. For my sanity, I put pergo over top of it. This way the next owner, if they want it, still has wood floors and my children can now abuse my floors and I don't have to worry!

 

[rt2dz]

Then you were lucky, because it was a major project for me!

It was the glue that was so hard to get up. We ended up having to rent some sort of heat gun to soften it and the fumes were horrific. The only thing I can think of that was almost as bad, was removing ceramic tile from the floor.

Who knows - this was back in the middle 80's - maybe things are done differently now.

BTW, my whole paragraph was about removing the linoleum; I have never put down wood or tile, so I don't have any experience at how hard it is, or isn't to do.

I think maybe you were unlucky. I've done it a few times without much hassle. But each projecty can be different for each person. And I do agree that removing ceramic tile is one of the worst things to do. The time, the mess, the energy--YUCK!

Also, I know it was all about the removing of linoleum; I didn't mean to compare the whole projects, just the part.

 

[rt2dz]

Ok, as far as floors go--I LOVE my tile (and have slab foundation). My entire lower level is tiled, except the wood in the family room. Yes, I'm going with tile again, no doubt.

I've watched my sisters both struggle with wood (upkeep & the problems when a/c leaked, roof leaked, fridge broke--and always when they were on vacation & then just regular water spills). Oldest sis's wood floors has become destressed after 10 years. lol

2nd sis just moved & they skipped the wood except in the library for tile. Their home owners insuriance actually went up after they had to replace all their wood floors when the a/c blew. My parents also had wood in their kitchen years ago & my mom vowed never again.

 

[Sandy22]

Sorry - I was not trying to give out inaccurate info. I was told that and I have never seen it done. I also thought I had read it somewhere.
I don't really understand how it would work with the laminate.

Here's the link for a company that does it. It seems like a great way to get the "look" without spending a fortune on solid-surface counter tops.

http://www.counter-seal.com/

 

[DisTeach1]

Has anyone mentioned Quartz? We have Silestone Quartz and love it! It was more expensive than Corian and some Granites, but well worth it!

 

[Disney Doll]

For floors, I love hardwood.

If you are looking for something besides Corian, check into Swanstone. It's just as nice as Corian, but not as expensive.

 

[lecach]

OP here. We had our upgrade meeting yesterday. We left the kitchen for last so we'd know how much money we had to work with. Everything was going great - we spent about $4000 on the rest of the house. So we felt we could afford the Corian. We went back and forth on whether we should spend so much money. When we decided to definately get the Corian, then we couldnt decide on the color. I was more attracted to the cool tones (Aruba Corian with cobalt blue specs that match my KitchenAid mixer with white cabinets). But I know that most people are going for wood cabinets with neutral counters (Corian Sandstone is what we liked). So do we go with my first instincts or go with whats best for future resell. We finally went with my instincts. I still cant believe that we're paying almost $4000 for countertops (the undermount stainless sink is $650). But I think we'll enjoy them.

 

[clarabelle]

Here's the link for a company that does it. It seems like a great way to get the "look" without spending a fortune on solid-surface counter tops.

http://www.counter-seal.com/

Sandy that is pretty neat.

 

[redshoes]

Lecach,
Sounds like you're going to have very nice kitchen and a great home.

In regards to sinks, has anyone had any experience with Moen's granite sinks? We just ordered an undermount for our new home, the plumbing supply shop said they are great. but I was wondering if anyone had any real life opinions about them.


Kate

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Lecach,
Sounds like you're going to have very nice kitchen and a great home.

In regards to sinks, has anyone had any experience with Moen's granite sinks? We just ordered an undermount for our new home, the plumbing supply shop said they are great. but I was wondering if anyone had any real life opinions about them.


Kate

Check out this website: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/

I remember seeing posts on them in the kitchen forum.

 

[redshoes]

Thanks a ton for the website, it answered a ton of my questions.

 

[rblimports]

BE WARNED ABOUT CORIAN!!!!

Corian claims to be heat resistant, but I found that not to be true, and Dupont/Corian will not honor a warranty.

Where we use out countertop the most, a seam was placed in the Corian to hold 2 pieces together. This seam is glued, and the glue is then heated to make the seam transparent. I have placed hot pots on thick potholders in this area, and over a period of a few weeks the seam began to show. I filed a warranty issue with Dupont/Corian and they said the seam showing was heat related and not covered by the warranty. The original seam was cut out and a replacement insert was added. I now have 2 seams showing.

I have to live with seam lines showing in my Corian countertop. We have had the Corian countertop for a 11 months and have been trying to get some resolution for 9 months.

Be careful where seams are located on your Corian. Even when they bring the peices out to install there may already be seams in the pieces they bring. I would NEVER buy Corian again.