We recommend DuPont Corian Solid Surface® in the “solid surface” category of countertop materials. DuPont Corian Solid Surface®’s brand so totally dominates the category of “solid surface” that “Corian Solid Surface®” is practically the generic name for it. We recommend Corian Solid Surface® because of its aesthetics, performance characteristics, and competitive pricing. We purchase Corian Solid Surface® in sufficiently large quantities to offer you very competitive prices. Corian Solid Surface® installations come with a ten-year installed warranty backed by DuPont.
We offer the following answers to the question “why use Corian Solid Surface®?”
Seamless: Corian Solid Surface® seam when fabricated correctly are inconspicuous or invisible.
Integral sinks: Corian Solid Surface® offers a variety of integral sinks for kitchen and vanity tops that seam the sink to the top material for a totally seamless look.
Non-porous: Corian Solid Surface® is non-porous and is approved for food preparation by NSF.
Coved backsplashes: This is an option we always offer. Coved backslashes are fused to the countertop deck to become one piece with the work surface. There is fillet of Corian Solid Surface® between the horizontal and vertical which is “coved” or rounded. The net effect is a one piece seamless deck and splash, which will never open up and is incredibly easy to keep clean. This feature is one of the best reasons to purchase Corian Solid Surface® countertops.
Repairability: Corian Solid Surface® can almost always be repaired. We leave matching material at every installation which can be used to make repairs. In this sense, Corian Solid Surface® is a “forever” countertop.
Price: Corian Solid Surface® installs at a more competitive price versus stone or quartz.
Corian Solid Surface® disadvantages verus stone or quartz:
Hardness: Corian Solid Surface® is much softer that stone or quartz. Corian Solid Surface® will scratch more easily. In the lighter colors of Corian Solid Surface® small scratches are barely noticeably, but in the darker colors scratches appear light against a dark background. We do not recommend using dark colors Corian Solid Surface® in kitchen applications for that reason.
Heat resistance: Granite is much more heat resistant than Corian Solid Surface®. Quartz countertops are more heat resistant than Corian Solid Surface®.
We list other solid surface brands in the pull down menu. We fabricate all of them. We do not discourage you in any way from using them, especially if you find an aesthetic in one of them not found elsewhere. But all things being equal, you will find the other brands more expensive that the corresponding Corian Solid Surface® option unless your kitchen is an almost perfect layout for the other brands’ sheet sizes.
I hope I have answered some of your questions but undoubtedly you will have more. I or my very knowledgeable staff are here to help you.
Tom Sullivan