Considering Corian. Any advice?

ognum

I'm planning anew kitchen and considering Corian work tops so would appreciate any advice for those who have them already.

jacquie879

Hi Ognum

I was too until I spoke to a kitchen company,two of the designers there said they wouldnt touch it because it scratches. I also spoke to a Corian repairer. I was told -Corian is a soft material unlike stone. It will scratch much like stainless steel ie fine scratches.this can be repaired by sanding it usually every 5-6 years depending on the use of the kitchen, this is also expensive but makes it look as new. It is better to go for a light coloured corian as the scratches show as white so with a lighter Corian they don't show out as much. Also you can't put anything hot onto it otherwise it marks. I love the smoothness of Corian but doubt we will have it now because of the above reasons so will probably go with quartz.

Hope this helps

Jacquie

Leif

If you are worried about joins, the joins in quartz are almost invisible if done well. And in my opinion quartz and granite have a translucency lacking in Corian.

rustyboy21

I cannot advise on corian worktops, but if it is the same consistency as the corian used for some fireplaes I have sold in the past, be careful with it.

When I used to sell corian fireplaces, 3 out of every 4 used to come in smashed to pieces. To me it is just brittle plastic with an expensive price tag. It also used to mark quite badly too and easily scratched

ryder72

Whoever was selling Corian fireplaces was taking the proverbial p***. Corian is not meant to be used in the vicinity of open fires.

The advice you have received is correct. Corian scratches very easily, marks easily (but can be cleaned), has poor heat resistance. It is an expensive work surface, but its a hygienic and practical work surface.

If you can bring yourself to live with joins on quartz/granite, but want a moulded sink, Silestone now offer the Integrity sink which is a brilliant surface. If you dont mind steel/composite sinks, granite/quartz in my opinions is a much better alternative.

CKdesigner

Corian fireplace - sounds as practical as a the old favourite chocolate teapot.

All that has been said above about Corian is correct but there is a couple of things about it that haven't been mentioned. Corian is a brand name, just like Hoover is a brand that makes vacuum cleaners, the actual material type is natural acrylic stone, there are many other companies that make it other than Corian.

I believe that natural acrylic stone is the only other material to stainless steel that is licensed to be used as worktops in commercial kitchens, also unlike any other worktop material it can be completely and invisibly repaired should you have a major accident with it.

We have a studio in St Albans and virtually every customer through the door wants Corian as it does provide a very unique look.

CK

ryder72

If was to be pedantic, Corian is a brand name owned by DuPont Corporation .

The material itself is PolyMethylMethAcrylate, an acrylic derived compound. Several other companies make this compound, though DuPont was first in the market with it and hence the worktop is generically called Corian now.

It is licenced for use in commercial kitchen, but, in fact, rarely is due to relatively poor heat resistance.

CKdesigner

Pedantic maybe - boring definitely!;)

officeguru

ognum wrote: »

I'm planning anew kitchen and considering Corian work tops so would appreciate any advice for those who have them already.

Last summer, we decided to revamp the kitchen and had a look at all the worktops available in a reasonable price range... and we found that we could have real granite worktops for the price of all the fake stuff...

Take a little time on the internet and shop around the granite specialists and you would be surprised how competitive they are...

As I am always in my kitchen, I needed something that was functional and not just pretty to look at and I really enjoy having the granite.. it's keeps everything cold as well ... handy for pastry ...

Absolutely no regrets with the choice... forget the molded plastic!

Regards

rustyboy21

kmdesign wrote: »

Whoever was selling Corian fireplaces was taking the proverbial p***. Corian is not meant to be used in the vicinity of open fires.

.

You try telling them that !

http://www.brilliantfires.co.uk/product/information/Gas/LEDGE+22

madget_2

I considered it, but decided against it because of the potential for scratching. In addition, I asked our neighbours their opinion of the Corian in their own kitchen (they've had it for several years) and they really regret having it and would never buy it again.

In the end, I decided to go for practicality as I do a lot of cooking and wanted a fuss-free worksurface, so I chose a Duropal laminate worktop with a Quadra (squared) profile. It looks great and the one I chose seems to be incredibly durable. I've now had it for about 19 months and still love it.

My advice is to get hold of samples of different worksurfaces and give them a good testing - spill things like tomato sauce, fruit juice, etc on them, let water dry on them to see how watermarks show up, try using them as a cutting surface (not recommended on your actual worktop, but a good way of testing out a sample!), bang a pan against them, etc. See which one is likely to best stand up to how you will use it.