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vanity counter top - granite or corian

14 years ago

We have picked the LG HiMacs (similar to Corian) for our new house build for the bathrooms. We are getting New Venetian Gold granite for the kitchen. My wife suggested we get the same granite for the bathrooms also. That would cost an additional $750 (per the builer). Is granite ok for bathrooms? Shouldn't I be worried that some cleaning product or nail polish remover or something would etch the granite!

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Comments (7)

2sweetpea
14 years ago
I amagine there are some products that would harm granite, but nail polish remover is not one of them. The stuff my fabricator used to clean up after attaching the granite backsplash to the granite vanity was acetone, that is what most nail polish removers are. You will probably seal your granite and it doesn't take any fancy cleaning compound to keep it clean. OxyClean and water are the staples in my household, with a microfiber cloth. I think Corian is more likely to stain than granite. Think about it, granite is a natural stone, in nature it takes alot of abuse. Last time I checked there wasn't that much difference in price between the 2 materials. For easy of upkeep and looks I prefer granite, but each to his own.
bommai
Original Author
14 years ago
I wish the prices were the same with my builder! He is charging us $750 more for the granite compared to the Corian. This is for the master bath with two sinks and two guest baths with one sink each.
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Ceiling fans -- the key is to keep 'em moving! It's harder to see the dust then. LOL! :) Yep - As sheilajoyce said, it's important to get a granite with lots of pattern and swirls if you want to hide anything. Also, we polished our granite once when we had it installed and again about 6 months later. It's been 3 years now, and we haven't done it again (I'm SOOOO ashamed... not!) and it's fine. I don't notice any stains or marks and it's still shiny. Yay! The only thing I had to learn to do was to not set a glass or dish down on it very hard. There is NO give like on a laminate countertop with a plywood underbase. I went from a vinyl floor and laminate counter kitchen to a ceramic tile and granite counter kitchen -- it took awhile before I adjusted! At least it's an excuse to buy new dishes since I chipped several of mine before I got used to it (plus, I think my sister and neice chipped some too when they lived here -- again, inexperienced granite counter users!). Enjoy!
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TV is pretty far from real life. You cannot cut granite dry. You must use a wetsaw of some variety. I have seen topmount sink cutouts finished on site with a portable concrete wetsaw, but the major cutting was done in the shop and only a few small areas remained to be completely cut through. Polishing is a whole other set of skills as well. There is NO way you'll be able to polish granite dry. None. It's darn hard for the experts to do it wet with the right equipment. A lot of time there is a difference in sheen that is readily apparent between the top and the edge, and that's due to poor polishing. Seams are done with two part color matched epoxy and some proprietary suction clamps. If you can find someone willing to deal with your parts and pieces, the average fabrication costs for granite are in the $40 a square foot range. That's just the labor, not the materials. Dealing with parts and pieces is actually harder than dealing with a whole slab. If you want to fabricate your own counters, stick with laminate, butcher block, corian or copper. Those are materials suited to a DIYer. Stone is best left to the professionals unless you are doing stone tile.
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We have had almost the exact same issue with our corian. The builder wouldn't even come to check it only went by the pictures we sent. Then blamed it all on something "very hot" had to do that! I can tell you now, it did not. There is also a large dip or warp over the dishwasher. When we pulled it out there is absolutely no heat barrier or insulation to protect the corian. The installer also never sealed the sink basin. Which we found out the hard way when our sink overflowed. The installer/builder takes no blame Won't even come to look or tell us what we can do. There is a ten year warranty on the corian, we've been fighting this for over two years now. The ten year warranty will be up in September of this year. What can we do???
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milele
14 years ago
I would go for Quartz. It is great, no maintenance. I have marble (MB) and Granite in the kitchen. If I could go back and had $$$, I would quartz the entire house. I bought mine online with a under the counter sink
monicae
14 years ago
Another vote for Quartz. We have it in our kitchen already and are putting it in our master bathroom as well. Beautiful and tough!
igloochic
14 years ago
COrian in the bath will seem like a big step backwards in quality in the future if you should sell. I'd go with a stone counter no matter what.
trtsmb
14 years ago
I would go with the product that makes you happiest. People get too hung up on what a future buyer might or might not like while not stopping to think that they should be selecting what makes them happy. That future buyer will most likely rip out your countertops and put in what they like.

We're in the process of redoing our master bath and our selections are all based on what we want and like. If you like Corian or a similar solid surface product, go with that.
annkathryn
14 years ago
I have one of each; Corian in the boys' bath, and granite in the master. Both are beautiful, functional, and high quality. Go with what you love.

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