countertops- marble vs. solid surface?

16 years ago

I am weighing my options for countertops for our new home. I am trying to decide between polished carrara marble, honed carrara marble, and plain white solid surface (corian, formica solid surface, etc).

What do you have and do you like/dislike it?

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Comments (9)

formula1
16 years ago
We nixed Corian when staying in a vacation condo and found out that simply moving a coffee cup across it scratched the surface. Then friends told us that their Corian bathroom vanity tops were pitted from the solvent in hair sprays.

We did granite in the kitchen and cut costs in the baths with cultured marble.
coffeehaus
16 years ago
Formula1, how has your cultured marble held up? Where did you use it...just the vanity top, or tub/shower as well? I'm giving serious consideration to using it, but have no experience with it, and it does not seem to be very commonly used. How did the cost of cultured marble compare with other materials such as granite or solid surface?
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I was actually planning on the reverse in my kitchen for the same reason (easy cleaning -- no grout). I was going to do white corian counters with solid slab (white marble) backsplash, and I think that would have looked awesome. Plus you get the benefit of the pretty stone being the vertical surface, which is more visible. Ultimately, though, I decided tile backsplash made more sense in our home. The whole place is spanish-style, and tile is such a big part of that style. A solid backsplash is sort of a clean, modern look, and it didn't look right in context. I am still sad about that, though.
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I had an estimate from HD for quartz and Corian. The Quartz (LG or Silestone) was a little cheaper even if I added the cost of the sink. Is the estimate based on paying for a whole slab? i am still working on my decision but know I want a white marble look. Besides HD I found a place that sells some quartz by the sq foot. A remnant might work for us too as long as it is the right look. Do you think you'd be happy with the remnant? Unless a big difference in price or way out of your budget, I'd try to find something you will really be happy with.
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green-zeus
16 years ago
Cultured marble is a man-made product. It is resin and ground marble.

Have you considered granite? If it's a smaller top, you can have it made from a "drop" (remnant) and it's very cost effective that way.
ccecilm
16 years ago
We have had Corian for about 3 years now and we are disappointed in it's performance. It scratches too easily just as formula1 experienced. I haven't really found a good method for repolishing to remove the scratches very well.

If you choose marble or granite (granite would be my choice) I would go with a dull finish so maybe it would help minimize the appearance of scratches.
flattie_2008
16 years ago
Agree with the other posters. Not a fan of Corian. A former neighbor had it in her kitchens and baths and I was underwhelmed by its performance.

We're in the process of starting to consider our options for kitchen and bath renos. I've had granite in my kitchen in previous homes prior to being married and loved it. But my wonderful DH isn't good at wiping up messes he leaves on the counter and this isn't going to change, so I'm strongly leaning towards engineered stone at this point.
tom999
16 years ago
Okite makes an engineered stone product that very closely resembles Carrara Marble.
flattie_2008
16 years ago
Thanks Tom, that sounds very interesting for our baths.
mayvenne
16 years ago
This okite sounds very interesting. I googled it, and it sure does look good on a puter monitor. I tried to find where it is sold, and it looks like it is distributed by Dupont along with other engineered stone? I am so far, unable to find where it is so I could see it in REAL life.
Anybody have it or can steer me to a store?
Thanks. And again it sure does look promising..................
suero
16 years ago
I have a 15 year old Corian countertop in my kitchen, and I just installed a Corian countertop in the bathroom, based on how much I enjoy the kitchen countertop. Yes, Corian does scratch, but you can remove the scratches with a 3M pad designed for removing scratches in Corian. It should not pit. If it does, and it's within the 10 year warranty period, a call to the manufacturer is in order.
I wouldn't put a hot hair dryer down on the coutertop, however.

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countertops- marble vs. solid surface?

Comments (9)

formula1

coffeehaus

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green-zeus

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