It's like Corian but not as nice (and not as expensive). The colors are boring and obviously man-made, whereas Corian has some options that you'd have to touch to realize it's not real. Our Lowes is having 10% off Corian with a free seamless sink, which puts costs between $41 and $71 all-inclusive.

I have a friend who has Hi-Mac and it's pretty in her kitchen, but her kitchen is pretty contemporary, so the man-made look isn't out of place. My kitchen is going for a vintage 20's look, so I chose a Corian that looks like Carrara marble.

Does your Lowes not carry pre-fab granite? I know our Lowes had some for less than the cost of the Corian I got.

thanks kitchen1921, we live in Vermont and no pre-fab granite here--

I do like some of the newer Corian that look like Marble.

I am more of a traditional look person altho not against contemporary and I think I was not impressed when I saw the hi-macs in lowes a while ago.

thanks jessie 21, I should have clarified DH wanted granite, I was interested in quartz, but ultimately no decision has been made and if our budget does not permit pricier options, I would put in laminate if that ended up being more economical.

the only decision I am able to make is what I do not like for colors, whether it be granite, quartz, corian or formica!

Can't wait to see the pic.

One of the KD's who frequents here Kompy recommended it to me but it isn't one of the less expensive solid surface products in our market and was well out of reach of our budget. I preferred Meganite which actually is a little less expensive (but not inexpensive enough, we went with laminate) but the Hi-Macs looked nice.

I just got Hi-Mac counters and love them. I chose them b/c I thought Corian was boring, the Hi-Macs had more interesting colors at my Lowes. I didn't care for granite, too cold and busy for me. The Hi-Macs are not inexpensive, same as Corian but I got my counter on sale, I think it was a D or E and got
it for C price with free sink.

Boring was the wrong choice of words and I apologize. Obviously, this is all a matter of taste. I think what I really meant was that I didn't see any look offered by HiMacs that couldn't be reproduced more cheaply by choosing laminate. The Corian was more realistic looking, but I'm a fan of natural products. Someone who likes bright, fun colors would definitely be happier with the HiMac range, but I still don't know why you wouldn't go for laminate if you were wanting bright colors.

I have Mesa Granite Hi-Mac which is a mixture of grey, brown, black and white in small flicks, which I love. Not bright -never thought of any of their colors as bright! Anyone interested should go to the Hi-Mac website where they show their colors.

I am planning on Hi-Macs in Azure Quartz, but am not doing the integrated sink. I have had the sample (I ordered off their site) of it for over a year and just love it.

I did all sorts of testing with my square and it still looks great! With all the flecks and colors in it, I think it will whether daily kitchen abuse rather well. I obviously won't cut on it or set hot pans on it, but I don't do that with my laminate counters, either. I'm already "trained"--and so are hubby and kids.

I'm looking forward to it. I just wish they would have a sale on the Hi-Macs. It is pretty expensive!

kitchen1921, I would have been really really happy to go with laminate...I am not prejudiced against man made items, had good experience with it in the past, love to not spend a fortune. But I never found one I thought would be right for me. Loved the look of the textured ones, but I like my counters smooth feeling. A bigger problem for me was that I really wanted an eased edge (really, mostly squared) and did not want the seam on the edges that you get with the square edge on laminate. That's another advantage of the solid surface over others. No visible seams anywhere. I love it.

As an indy KD, my fabricator offers about 12 edges on any solid surface as a standard edge (no upcharge). And Hi-Macs has been offering a free sink now for about year.

It's true, you can get a laminate top for less with the same look. However, the big selling point is it's longevity and repairability.

I just sold a laminate top. Wife wanted Hi-Macs...husband wanted laminate since it was a starter home. They plan to live in house 3 more years and then sell. Tops came to $1512 installed. They have to buy a new sink...so let's say they buy one for $250. That's $1762. Hi-macs was $2699 installed with a sink. That's only $937 more for something that will help in selling their home. My biggest fear for them is if they somehow damage the top within the next 3 years...chip or burn the laminate, water damage....seam separation...etc. But they were willing to take that chance.

I also love the volcanics colors. I have done many Tambora...I have Lattitude in my showroom.

Kompy

HI-MACS is an excellent countertop material. It is a solid surface material that has inconspicuous seams giving the countertop a monolithic look. I have Tambora countertops in my house that look awesome. I went with a zero radius double bowl stainless sink that my wife loves. The only thing we wish we would have done differently is splurged a little more and got the cove backsplash. Our friends did and now we wish we would have spent the money.

HI-MACS also came out with a new marmo series this year and we think Terni will be the perfect color for our bathrooms. My wife wants the integral vanity sinks for both bathrooms.

HIMacs is not the cheapest material, but we became believers after renters trashed the kitchen at one of our investment properties. The countertops were trashed (we thought) but a local shop was able to refinish them back to their original beauty for around $300. They told us that was the best part about HiMacs - that no matter what happened to them they could be fixed. We were sold after that.

In searching for a Himacs countertop company at our new house we used www.himacscountertops.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Find local Himacs countertop fabricators

We purchased LG Hi-Mac March 2011 for $5500. It has been a complete nightmare! From day 1. First the color & chips did not match the sample, the finish was different than the sample. Then came Day 2-18" scratches, just from using regular plates, no pots or pans, no cutting on the surface, nothing but dinner plates. Purchased from Lowes, have been dealing with them since the day of purchase, first they are going to replace with my choice of product, then they want LG to replace. Now LG says they won't cover warranty because YES it does scratch. You can have it sanded out. I would have to have a professional live here, since I get a scratch or two almost daily. My advise, spend a little more-buy quartz or marble or laminate. No more LG products in this house.

Hi.......HELP! We just had the LG HI MACS installed and hate it! Scratches way too easily. Has your situation been resolved? How has your sink held up? Any input appreciated as we are in the "Complaining" stage with Lowes and the installer. Thanks!

Ordered an LG Solid Surface Countertop for new home in 2007. In the first year countertop cracked. Because it was during the housing bubble, the contractor that installed it went out of business. We were finishing our basement and we found that LG Warranties their countertops. We sent in to have our countertop either repaired or replaced. LG sent out a technician. Technician stated it was because of heat that it cracked. I sent in pictures that it was over a Dishwasher. They asked if there was a heat support. I pulled out the dishwasher and told them there was. They still denied the warranty. I would strongly recommend you don't purchase an LG Solid Surface Countertop as LG doesn't honor its Warranties.

krisgunther:

I have been hired as a warranty agent for many major solid surface manufacturers. I can tell fabricator error from customer abuse virtually every time.

If you post pictures, I'd be happy to offer a diagnosis.

I put the HI-Macs counter tops in a caretaker apartment we built on our property. We purchased the material from Home Depot. If I had to do it over again, I would have gone with Corian. Just trying to find a contractor who will service this product after the initial installation is near impossible. Home Depot used a company called Duracite to install it. Within a year there was a surface crack and the finish was looking scratchy. Home Depot sent the same local Duracite contractor out. He wasn't even told what issues needed to be fixed, so he didn't have the tools to do the job. He was able to fix the crack, but I have made repeated calls to Home Depot to have them come out again to smooth out the scratches. The Lowes stores in our area stopped offering HI-Macs because they could not find a reliable contractor to install or service it. Bottom line.... make sure the retailer who is selling this does their own installation and service. Don't buy it if you have to rely on a third party contractor.

I have had nothing but problems with my HI-MACS solid surface counters. They cracked in one place and melted behind the stove. LG Hausys told me that using the back burners constituted excessive heat and my warranty is voided. Worst customer service ever! Read the complete story here: http://thefarmgardenblog.com/2015/10/09/hi-macs-solid-surface-counter-review/

Michael O'Loughlin:

I have been and remain a private consultant and warranty agent for many solid surface manufacturers and have extensive experience in differentiating between customer abuse, fabricator error, and manufacturer error. I need to know the manufacturer and model of your appliance, and existing installed dimensions to make an online diagnosis. It is shocking how many times it is the designer, not the manufacturer, fabricator, or user, that causes solid surface failure.

Take a deep breath, along with some pictures and drawings with dimensions and let's try to sort this out, please.

Hey, Michael don't pull up every old thread and end them in a rant. It shows more about you than it does about the product.

Joseph Corlett, LLC

Thanks for looking into my situation and getting back to me so quickly and confirming what I have said all along . You went above and beyond.

I just had a Hi-Mac double sink (3218) break when a Pyrex measuring cup was inadvertently dropped into it. The resulting hole is about a foot square and the sink can no longer be used but must be replaced. The product was purchased at Lowes which no longer handle these Eden products. The sink itself can be replaced for about $1400.00. I only comment to let you know the sink can break and need replaced. We had the Eden unit for six years (one year warranty) with no problems prior to the breakage.

That sounds about right, price wise.

Do not purchase Hi-Macs for your home. We have been disappointed in it from day one. It scratches very easily. We have been very careful not to sit any thing on it and to not slide anything across it and it still looks like crap. I know I can have a professional come out and sand it down. It just does not seem worth the effort knowing that it will be scratched up from normal everyday use within a few weeks. So disappointing. I wish I had seen these messages before I made the mistake of purchasing Hi-Macs from LG Hausys.

marshall1957:

You could learn to refinish your countertops yourself with a $39.00 palm sander and $10.00 worth of abrasives. If you buy the sander and pm me, I'll send you the abrasives and instructions for free.

I have had white kitchen Corian countertops for 20 years. They do not harbor bacteria like Granite and they do not chip. they have no seams. I am doing 3 vanity tops in Hi Macs. Will see how it does in the bathroom. I like solid surface much better than stone. It is cleaner and easier to clean.

I installed LG HiMacs in my kitchen and baths in 2008. My home sold in days and the new owners said that they LOVED the remodeled kitchens and baths. So, I can say that HiMacs is excellent for resale. I enjoyed the ease of cleaning them. Held up great in the kitchen and the baths. At my next home, the local HiMacs dealer tried to get me to pay more AFTER placing the order (bait and switch tactics...great way to treat a repeat customer)...and to not hold up my remodeling project...my contractor talked me into granite. I HATE ALL THE GRANITE COUNTERTOPS. I have a couple of small nics. Hate the upkeep of sealing. If you have hard water in your area, there will be hard water stains around the faucet areas. No cleaning product at Home Depot worked on the hard water stains. My contractor came to the rescue. Now I spray with Pledge and rub out the hard water stains with steel wool (#0000). Looking at moving again. My next house will HAVE Corian or HiMac countertops throughout the house.

Himac is one of the best products out there. Identical in composition to corian

After reading all of these comments, I’m not sure which direction to go in. Because our floors already have a busy pattern, I really wanted to go with the solid color in an ivory that the hi macs offers. We have looked at and considered quartz but I still don’t care for all the flecks... even in the most solid color I could find. I will say that we always use cutting boards and hot pads. Does anyone out there have pictures of light colored hi macs In your kitchen? What has been your experience with it? Thank you.

We had Hi Macs countertops installed in our kitchen during remodeling about 3 months ago. I love the way they look and how easy they are to clean. EXCEPT ... within the first week there were whitish ring stains on the island countertop. They look a little like water rings on a piece of furniture. We've been extremely careful since we saw the first one, but the marks just keep multiplying -- rings, drip marks, streak marks -- all the same whitish, shadowy stain, and just on the island countertop. Regular cleaners don't touch these white marks at all. We wipe the counters down constantly, and now I've resorted to placing a cutting board on the island surface so that nothing sits on it. But this is a kitchen, for goodness sake! I shouldn't have to treat the counters as though they are fragile. Any advice?

I am thinking about ordering tambora in Hi Macs for my kitchen... how thick is the edging ? My home is cottage and rustic decor ... I thought the tambora would go well with cream shaker style cabinets

The edging is as thick as you'd like it, that's the beauty of solid surface.

Joseph, I just got my HiMacs counters installed and the heat from my dishwasher makes the countertop hot. Is there some type of insulation that I can cover the dishwasher with?

Wow I wish I had read this thread before I bought my Himacs countertops. I have two cracks one on each side of my stove that have been repaired twice. Now on the third time around LG refuses to honor their warranty for the exact same crack that reopened. Very horrible customer service. Stay away from LG products, they do not honor their warranty, there is plenty of reading about it on the WWW.

Lorrie:

Are you using pots that are larger than the imprint on your appliance? Your appliance manufacturer prohibits that and you'd be transferring heat to the top, causing the failures.

Certain appliances have certain solid surface manufacturer specifications that must be met to prevent damage.

I'm betting on customer abuse or fabricator error, not a manufacturing defect.

"Joseph, I just got my HiMacs counters installed and the heat from my dishwasher makes the countertop hot. Is there some type of insulation that I can cover the dishwasher with?"

Has the insulation on your dishwasher been removed or squished? What do you mean by "hot" please? "Warm" or "Can't keep your hand on it."?

Joseoh, no I am not using pots that big. But I do cook alot since the pandemic. I have not abused these countertops at all. They are crap. That is all.

I had Hi Macs installed during a renovation/update and I am now looking for something similar. I'm not happy with the contractor, the interior designer or the sales, but the material is top notch. Dishwasher is properly insulated/ventilated. Induction stove-top, so no heat there.

The problem is this, they do not honor their warranty, period. They did the same thing with their refrigerators, which they got their butts sued over. This is their style.

There is nothing wrong with the material. It's probably fabricator error on the repairs.

@Joseph — we have a g.e. 4 burner gas range that is a slide in type which doesnt go all the way to wall behind — it overlaps sides and rear. is hi macs illadvised?

Not at all. Simply follow the HiMacs fabrication and installation instructions and you'll be fine.

I've had Hi-Macs countertops for about a decade. I bought it because I liked the pattern (dark with speckles).

It gets these milky-white stains that I can't get rid of (have tried every chemical suggested for Hi-Macs) and nothing gets rid of it. I have tried contacting the manufacturer: I think they're out of business. I have not been able to get a callback from anybody who says they refinish countertops.

Ideas?