[Hummingbird]

The hubby and I are planning on moving to TV as soon as our home sells, or sooner if we find a lot that will accommodate the home we picked.

I'm undecided on what to get for our counters, Corian or Granite.
What would your preference be and why. Is one easier to clean, maintenance, expense ???

Thanks in Advance

[hdh1470]

Dupont zodiac or silestone only ones approved to be used in food service

[flamingo]

I have granite in kitchen and corian in bathrooms, and I prefer the corian. Don't know exactly why, except that the granite has chipped a bit from dropped objects.

[joannej]

Love my granite countertops. Easy to maintain and so beautiful. It catches the light from our solar tube and it catches the colors in the granite. Should never have to replace it either.

[ilovetv]

Granite is highly over-rated and expensive, and most of the brownish ones look ugly....like somebody lost their lunch, unless you pay even bigger bucks. It is porous, too, as the previous poster said about food sanitation.

Synthetic materials are nice because you don't have a literal fortune in it and can change after a few years for an updated look if desired. Newer laminates are extremely tough too, with endless color/pattern choices.

[starflyte1]

Have you considered quartz? It does not stain like granite and comes in several color choices that are much lighter than granite. I love mine.

[ncr2482]

It is personal thing....I like granite and have not had a problem with chipping (surprised to read a previous poster mentioned that). I like the natural differences and shine of granite rather than the sameness of the man-made stuff.Two months ago I accompanied a friend when she was looking to replace her laminate countertops with corian/silestone/granite. They owner of the company noted that the man-made product pricing has increased signifcantly due to the price of oil, while granite pricing has held steady. FYI - the only maintainance with the granite is a once a year resealing.

[l2ridehd]

I have Corian in my Virginia home and granite in my villages home and have had both in the past in other homes. I would never have Corian again if I can avoid it. Corian scratches, needs to be polished by a professional (huge mess by the way) every few years and NEVER again looks as good as when it was installed new. Granite never needs anything but a clean wipe after every use. Granite looks natural in any color and Corian looks synthetic in every color. Granite has a very solid look and feel, Corian does not. For me there is no choice except granite.

[JenAjd]

I'd go with Silestone....have heard some good things about it, have a friend up north who has it and loves it! As stated here it's nice for food prep and I could be wrong but don't think you have to keep treating it each year. Granite is a fad and I think is over-rated (also stated here) and you have to treat it regularily plus it will crack! Corian will scratch and you have to treat it every so often as well.

[Uptown Girl]

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

I would never have Corian again if I can avoid it. Corian scratches, needs to be polished by a professional (huge mess by the way) every few years and NEVER again looks as good as when it was installed new. Granite never needs anything but a clean wipe after every use. Granite looks natural in any color and Corian looks synthetic in every color. Granite has a very solid look and feel, Corian does not..

I agree with all these points. In addition, Corian can be damaged by heat, like a hot cookie sheet or pizza pan.
I do like quartz engineered surfaces as well, although friends have had them, not myself.
We have outstanding granite (cream w/yellow and rust vein) up north and is one of the things I will remember fondly when we sell. I had it treated with a once a year sealer (professionally applied) that held up to anything.

We have formica-type counters here and although I wasn't thrilled at first, I am impressed with the 'current generation' of product. I'm not going to do the type of cooking I've done in the past, so for now I'm content to have what I have. It's actually very fresh looking to me at this point, and I'm not concerned about it's price point one way or the other.
Once I finish decorating, I may long for something more beautiful to make my kitchen pop, or I may find these counters don't stand up well to light usage. If so, I'll see what else may appeal to me later.

I do have friends who have soapstone counters, and one family member who had a custom one piece ceramic tile counter made.$$$$ But the coolest I ever saw was made of poured concrete, 4" thick, and polished smooth as a baby's bum. It was really gorgeous. My wonderful friend was a writer of cookbooks and figured concrete would stand up to whatever she could 'dish out'!

[memason]

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

I have Corian in my Virginia home and granite in my villages home and have had both in the past in other homes. I would never have Corian again if I can avoid it. Corian scratches, needs to be polished by a professional (huge mess by the way) every few years and NEVER again looks as good as when it was installed new. Granite never needs anything but a clean wipe after every use. Granite looks natural in any color and Corian looks synthetic in every color. Granite has a very solid look and feel, Corian does not. For me there is no choice except granite.

I completely agree.... Within the year, we'll be replacing corian with granite.

[2 Oldcrabs]

We have granite with an under mount sink. The wife has chipped the corner with large pots in the sink. Small chips that I was able to repair. Corian in bathrooms, they do lose their luster. Not sure what we will use in the future.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by flamingo

I have granite in kitchen and corian in bathrooms, and I prefer the corian. Don't know exactly why, except that the granite has chipped a bit from dropped objects.

Good morning Flamingo...

First I will do a slight Hijack...sorry admin, but Flamingo, the saying at the bottom of your posts is so NICE!!

Granite...We had Black Galaxy in our last home and it was beautiful, but required wiping off a LOT, several times a day, because it showed every water spot and glass ring and palm print because it was so shiny.

I have heard a lot about whether granite can be kept as sterile as other surfaces but I always chop and prepare food on those tempured glass chopping surfaces that go in the dishwasher anyway.

We are getting a multicolor sand color in the house we are building. I have been told it doesn't show every water speck.

All granite is of course is a big shined up rock. I always collected "pretty rocks" when I was a kid. I have seen both Corian and quartz that I have just loved from a design perspective. There is a quartz with sparkling stuff embedded in it and it can be quite dramatic.

Pick just what you love and enjoy it. This is YOUR lily pad.

[philnpat]

The lighter the colors of Corian are less likely to show scratches than darker colors. The installers suggested we use a product called "Plexus" to maintain it's lustre. It comes in a spray can and can also be used to clean and protect golf cart windshields as it is a plastic cleaner, protectant and polish. It's sold online as well as RV and motor sport shops.
Corian is less expensive than granite. It does scratch easier but is easier to repair than natural stone. We also like the undermount sink that is totally seamless.
There's pluses and minuses to all types of tops. Do your homework. Enjoy!

[salpal]

We just put granite in and got rid of the formica. Had Corian in former home, did not like it....scratched and looked dull after awhile. We had black granite in our bathrooms, and constantly had to wipe up water spots.

If you purchase granite that is dark or almost a solid pattern, you will experience the constant wiping of water spots.

We opted for a more expensive granite and I am not constantly wiping up water spots and easily clean with soap and water. The more random the pattern on granite, the more expensive. This is our last house, so we splurged.

We used Duncan Stone to do the work and were extremely pleased. We shopped around and found them to be best overall.

Good Luck!!!