I am remodeling our kitchen and we are debating over counter top options. I favor ceramic tile because I can do all the work myself (saves a lot of money) but my wife is sold on corian. One major deciding factor is durability. I have heard many pros and cons over corian scratching, burning, staining. The suppliers say all these can be sanded out but that sounds like a headache.
Any advice on the durability of corian vs ceramic tile?
poppi
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Replies
I am not overly impressed with Corian as a working kitchen counter top material. The color is beautiful and the price was impressive.
The problem is scratching. Yes, any scratches can be sanded out and refinished to "like new" condition - complete with all of the attendant mess. Ours are finished to the "semi-gloss" finish.
Our chief problem area is the section over the dishwasher, a pot or plate sliding across the counter top will scratch it every time. No, we are not silly enough to cut directly on the countertop - damages the counter and the knife edge both.
We have never burned or stained the counters - can't comment on that factor.
OTOH, I love Corian as a bathroom counter surface - probably because there are not nearly as many china / porcelin / metal objects which are routinely in contact with the bathroom counters.
Pitfalls of ceramic tile - stemmed glassware has a 0 % chance of survival. Some say the grout gets pretty grungy in a rather short time, although I have friends with tile counters which look great after years of service - could just be a question of housekeeping and re-sealing the grout lines every few years.
If it were me, I would lean toward the tile.
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
I wonder if scratches so up only on the dark colors of Corian? I have lighter solid surface and it scratches but they are not at all noticeable. You might also want to consider the new synthetic quartz tops.
FF
Maybe you are right on the color - ours are an emerald / hunter green with a small gray fleck. Maybe the lighter colors don't show the scratches as easily. Or perhaps it is the lighting in the kitchen.
Do a fair number of bathroom remodels and the lighter "bathroom" colors seem to hold up well.
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
I have the opposite viewpoint. My wife and I have lived with both Corian and tile kitchen counters (and Formica and granite too). Our favorite so far has been the granite, but the second best is Corian, and it's a lot less expensive. We had no problems with scratches, scorching, or stains, by using a little caution and always setting pots on trivets or potholders. I particularly liked the built-in one-piece Corian sink. There is no lip or edge to collect debris, and any stains can be easily scrubbed out with a mild abrasive without harming the Corian at all. Both the granite and the Corian are great to work directly on for pie crusts, bread dough, etc. One advantage of the Corian over the granite is that the seams were completely invisible.
We have a tile countertop in the house we just bought, and my wife hates it. The grout lines are filthy, and as was mentioned, any slight bobble by one of the kids is an automatic broken dish. We have more broken dishes and glasses in the past 6 months in this house than in the previous 8 years with granite counters, for some reason. The tile surface is also uneven, so it's difficult to write or work on without using a separate work board underneath. The top-mounted sink has a bid edge which collects water and debris all the time. We can't wait to get the kitchen remodeled! We are looking at either granite or soapstone this time, with an undermount sink, probably copper.
We have an Avonite countertop, similar to Corian, and it has the integral sink bowl. The sink started developing hairline cracks around the strainers (ISE on one side, but cracks uniform in both), so I brought it to Avonite's attention. They said it was a recognized defect with the bowl they used back then (1996), and they will have it replaced. Seems that it takes a specialist to remove and replace the bowl without removing the countertop, and my nearest is in the Chicago area (I'm western WI). We all made contacts in April 2005, but I haven't heard from the bowl replacer since. I'm periodically reminding my Avonite contact that we'd like this done sometime in our lifetime, and she keeps saying she's contacted the replacement guy to call me. Hasn't done it yet. I'm convinced they have hoped I'd sell my house and no longer be a problem to them. Having it to do again, knowing what I know now, I wouldn't get the integral sink bowl, no matter how cool it looks -- which it does, except for the cracks. Needs periodic bleaching for food and coffee stains, but they go away immediately. Topside scratching isn't really a problem to us. We have a tiled floor, so dropping a glass is mostly a foregone conclusion, anyway -- it bounces off the Avonite and dies on the floor. I have this abiding curiosity about how the sink bowl can be cut out and a new one replaced without any evidence afterward, so I really wish this guy would arrange to do it. Meantime, I hope the disposer doesn't end up on the cabinet floor anytime soon.
I don't understand why they have let it go this long. Start moving up the corporate chain. I had a few of their sinks do the same thing and they had a authorized repair guy come out within a few weeks, but this may be because they were in SoCal(larger population)
They tech bulletins said that it is because of "shocking" the sink from when you pour boiling water into a cold sink. They recoomend that you run water into your sink before/while you pour the boiling water down the drain.
If my choice were only between tile and Corian I'd have to pick Corian even though I would never have it in my house. I want a countertop that can be used and not one where every move has to be planned. Tile is next to impossible to keep clean. Corian scratches too easy for me although it is easy to repair. The plus for me of Corian over tile would be that is can be wiped off and doesn't need Clorox and a scrub brush every week to keep is clean.
I have granite but would go with quartz if I ever need a new one.
If your wife is sold on Corian and she is the one doing the majority of tasks in the kitchen then I think your decision is already made.
As for me, I dislike tile for a counter - it is hard to keep clean (even if you are anal about it, are your kids?). When we do our kitchen I want to have copper for it's warmth. If I can't find somebody who can do that, then my next closest choice is silestone (quartz mixed with a resin) - scratch-resistant, scorch resistant, and best of all, non-porous so it doesn't need any sealing like other natural stones.
I'm not much of a fan of either, Along with the possibility of burning etc Corian scratches, I've seen it in several kitchens after time it starts to scratch and most people are not willing or interested in maintaining it, I know it can be fixed, but who want's the hassle...
Tile I don't like because of the grout, though I guess this can be taken care of with epoxy grout. I have seen several kitchens with granite tiles with little to no grout lines, that looked good though.
Have you looked at Quartz countertops, almost the same look as granite sans the natrual viening, heat resistant, scratch resistant and no maintance. Price is about the same or a tad more then Corian.
Look at
http://www.silestone.com
http://www.cambriausa.com/
Where are you located?
Just installed Silestone in our house - love it. We have an undermount sink that looks great. The seems are pretty much gone too. Easy to clean and none of the maintenance of Granite. It's a little pricey though.
Joe
theres a place here selling tile for the counter top that measures about 12 x 25. one pc of tile covers from front to back,then the tile is set with a very small grout line.looks pretty nice,has a great feel to it. they sell on the internet,if you want me to find out the name i will.larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
This is a subject that interests me also. I notice that the only complaints about tile counters seem to be the vulnerability of glassware and cleaning the grout. The glassware is going to be a problem with any hard surface, and hard surfaces are the type which scratch the least easily. The grout problem can be overcome by using epoxy grout. Epoxy grout is specified for hospitals and commercial food preparation areas.
If and when I do a tiled counter I shall use exterior mdf as a base.
John
I've got Corian countertops in my kitchen. I also have stainless steel next to the stove. Can't burn that. I've never burned or stained the Corian. About one a year, I get a white pad, dampen the top, and use the RO sander to take out any scratches. I've built several furniture pieces using Corian, and never had a problem. Hint: do not get black or glossy solid colors for the kitchen. Get a pattern with a matt or semi gloss finish, and you won't notice any scratches. Stay away from undermount sinks, as they tend to fail and leak.