# Counter tops Corian vs Silestone



## mrsstats (Feb 20, 2006)

Looking to install new counter tops.  Do not want granite as my house is just a small converted bungalow.  Want something with low maintenance that will hold up well.  Any experience with either one?


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## caribbean (Feb 20, 2006)

I had Corian installed 18 years ago when I built my home. Basic white was all that was available back then. Had the intregral sink installed as well. Still looks like new. Would definitly recommend it, and am looking forward to building our retirement home and having a choice of colors.


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## DeniseM (Feb 20, 2006)

I have had Corian for about 18 years in 3 different houses and we really love it.  Maintenance is zero - all I do is keep it clean with any household spray cleaner.

In one house I had off-white Corian with colored trim and it was really pretty,  but keeping it pristine white required daily cleaning with Clorox clean up.  Now I have granite colored Corian and I like it much better.  In 18 years I have never had Corian crack, chip, or any permanent discoloration.  

I did scratch my current Corian pulling a heavy stack of 24 plates across the counter with (unknown to me) a sharp edge on the bottom of the bottom plate.  My husband buffed it out without any problem.  You can also have the distrubutor come out and buff your Corian if you ever need to, but I've really never needed it except with the plates.


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## MRSFUSSY (Feb 20, 2006)

*Countertops*

Corian wins, hands down!


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## Eric in McLean (Feb 20, 2006)

With Silestone, you can have undermount sinks, which look alot nicer than built-in Corian sinks.  I love my Silestone bath countertops...they look more like granite than plastic.  On the other hand, my shower bench is made from white Corian.  If you want a solid color, there's nothing wrong with Corian.  Silestone looks very nice if you're looking for a more granite look.


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## maddaug (Feb 21, 2006)

Love any engineered quartz products ie: Silestone, Avanza, Zodiac. I have it in my kitchen and chop on it, spill anything like oil, red wine and don't have to worry about wiping it up right away. (kids, can you tell except for the wine)   
I also am a fan of undermount sinks. Spills wipe right in the sink. It's a clean look too. Hope this helps.


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## DonM (Feb 21, 2006)

Eric in McLean said:
			
		

> With Silestone, you can have undermount sinks, which look alot nicer than built-in Corian sinks.



You can have undermount sinks with Corian as well


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## Carolyn (Feb 21, 2006)

If you get Corian, do NOT get a dark color as it shows all the scratches.  In our area we can get a low end granite for the same price as corian.  Good Luck!

Carolyn


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## michelle (Feb 21, 2006)

Eric in McLean said:
			
		

> With Silestone, you can have undermount sinks, which look alot nicer than built-in Corian sinks.  I love my Silestone bath countertops...they look more like granite than plastic.  On the other hand, my shower bench is made from white Corian.  If you want a solid color, there's nothing wrong with Corian.  Silestone looks very nice if you're looking for a more granite look.



I agree with this poster. Unfortunately I know nothing about the maintenance of Corian, but on a purely looks basis, I also think the corian looks more "plasticy". We have granite kitchen and silestone bathroom and have so far not needed any maintenance. At the time we did the kitchen, the granite we chose was cheaper (on special offer) than similar corian, so price does seem to vary.


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## The Big Dawg (Feb 21, 2006)

*I have Silestone*

And it is great!


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## Karen G (Feb 21, 2006)

*Another Corian fan*

We love our Corian--have had it about 10 years and it's as beautiful as the day we got it. We also have the Corian sink and it's wonderful.


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## Eric in McLean (Feb 21, 2006)

DonM said:
			
		

> You can have undermount sinks with Corian as well



That makes sense but I don't know why that wasn't offered as a choice when I went to Home Depot Expo Design Center.


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## Gracey (Feb 21, 2006)

We have rose corian in one bathroom and dark green in another.  We've had them for about 14 years now.  Wipes clean, no scratches and still looks brand new!

Laurie


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## Big Matt (Feb 21, 2006)

I'm not exactly sure why you ruled granite out.  I've had it in the kitchen and it looks great and never needs maintenance.  I compared it to silestone, and thought they were both wonderful, but chose granite for the look.  Nobody has mentioned this, but you can put hot pots on granite and silestone and you won't scortch the counter top.


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## Judy (Feb 21, 2006)

*Silestone*

We just had Silestone installed. It's beautiful.  We chose it because according to Consumer Reports  , it holds up better against scratches and stains than Corian and because it doesn't need to be re-sealed every 6 to 12 months the way granite does.


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## DeniseM (Feb 21, 2006)

Big Matt said:
			
		

> I'm not exactly sure why you ruled granite out.  I've had it in the kitchen and it looks great and never needs maintenance.  I compared it to silestone, and thought they were both wonderful, but chose granite for the look.  Nobody has mentioned this, but you can put hot pots on granite and silestone and you won't scortch the counter top.



You can put hot pans on Corian too.


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## Big Matt (Feb 21, 2006)

I've seen horrible scorch marks on corian.  You can get them out, but it's a pain and lots of elbow grease.  The big benefit is that the marks will come out, like with stains.





			
				DeniseM said:
			
		

> You can put hot pans on Corian too.


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## Present (Feb 21, 2006)

To me, granite is the only way to go no matter what size the kitchen!


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## Buzzmom (Feb 21, 2006)

We compared Corian to Silestone and Silestone wins hands down for us as we think it looks nicer than Corian (not "plasticky," as mentioned above).  Silestone has gorgeous colors.  We're remodeling out kitchen and have chosen Silestones' Stellar Night which is black with glitter.  So beautiful.


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## DeniseM (Feb 21, 2006)

Big Matt said:
			
		

> I've seen horrible scorch marks on corian.  You can get them out, but it's a pain and lots of elbow grease.  The big benefit is that the marks will come out, like with stains.



Really?  In 18 years or so of having Corian that has never happened to me, and I take pans right out of the oven or off the stove and put them right on the Corian with no problem...


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## Big Matt (Feb 22, 2006)

Denise,
you have to put a really heavy and hot pan on corian to scorch it like cast iron that you used to blacken something.  It comes out with sand paper. 

My neighbor pulled a stainless steel pan out of a 500 degree oven and it was so hot she had to put it on the corian so it wouldn't burn her had through the pot holder.  It left a mark.  She called dupont and they told her to rub it out with fine sand paper.  

I also saw this several times when working for a counter company in college.  People thought that they needed to replace it, when all they really needed to do is sand it out.


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## oldman (Feb 22, 2006)

Judy said:
			
		

> We just had Silestone installed. It's beautiful.  We chose it because according to Consumer Reports  , it holds up better against scratches and stains than Corian and because it doesn't need to be re-sealed every 6 to 12 months the way granite does.




This is why I chose Silestone, also.


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## DeniseM (Feb 22, 2006)

Big Matt said:
			
		

> Denise,
> you have to put a really heavy and hot pan on corian to scorch it like cast iron that you used to blacken something.  It comes out with sand paper.



That makes sense - I don't have any cast iron cookware and the lighter weight stuff doesn't seem to do that.  I don't usually cook anything at higher than 375 degrees eithers, so I guess that's why I have avoided scorching.  

What would you cook at 500 degrees?


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## Big Matt (Feb 22, 2006)

Thick steaks.  Sear them on top of the stove and roast them in a high oven for about 10 minutes to finish them.  



			
				DeniseM said:
			
		

> What would you cook at 500 degrees?


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## Cat (Feb 22, 2006)

Something to consider is granite tile. You can then have a granite kitchen or bath, but at a fraction of the cost of a solid piece. My friend just did it in her kitchen, all by herself. Cost was $500. She used 15" tiles, on the diagonal. They rented a tile cutter.

As for sealing granite, I'm at 12 months now, and our counters still don't need sealing. I did it when we first moved in.  However, sealing is nothing to be afraid of. You pour on the sealing liquid, let it set the required time (an hour or so, if memory serves) then wipe it off. And that's it.


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## Judy (Feb 22, 2006)

We've been in our Florida house with the granite kitchen counters for over a year and haven't sealed them yet.  The big problem is that you have to wash them first and then let them dry for 24 -48 hours before you put the sealer on.  How do you avoid using your kitchen all that time?
(Yes, I did say we just got Silestone. That's in our place in Colorado)


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## Rose Pink (Feb 22, 2006)

Judy said:
			
		

> We've been in our Florida house with the granite kitchen counters for over a year and haven't sealed them yet. The big problem is that you have to wash them first and then let them dry for 24 -48 hours before you put the sealer on. How do you avoid using your kitchen all that time?


 
I avoid my kitchen as much as possible.  It's called take-out.


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## copper (Feb 22, 2006)

DeniseM said:
			
		

> That makes sense - I don't have any cast iron cookware and the lighter weight stuff doesn't seem to do that.  I don't usually cook anything at higher than 375 degrees eithers, so I guess that's why I have avoided scorching.
> 
> What would you cook at 500 degrees?



We do prime ribs at 500 degrees. 8 minutes a pound then turn the stove off and let set for two hours. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm


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## Cat (Feb 22, 2006)

Judy said:
			
		

> We've been in our Florida house with the granite kitchen counters for over a year and haven't sealed them yet.  The big problem is that you have to wash them first and then let them dry for 24 -48 hours before you put the sealer on.  How do you avoid using your kitchen all that time?
> (Yes, I did say we just got Silestone. That's in our place in Colorado)



Judy, our sealer said nothing about this. It just says, "Start with a clean countertop..."

So I cleaned it, wiping it dry immediately after washing down with a _damp_ cloth (not soaking wet.) Sealed it twice, allowing the sealer to soak in  the recommended time, and dried when time was up.


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## Whirl (Feb 22, 2006)

Go Silestone, if not Granite. So much more up to to date. I think Corian is past its prime and in ten years you may wish you chose granite or silestone which is more likely to still feel current.  The soaring demand for Granite, and thus a product like silestone, which essentially solves the one downside of granite --having to seal i-- is why Corian is trying to keep up with "granite-like" products and darker colors ( which I hear reports of showing wear).

Just my  personal conclusions from recent kitchen design adventure;It can be daunting.


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## Present (Feb 23, 2006)

Judy said:
			
		

> We've been in our Florida house with the granite kitchen counters for over a year and haven't sealed them yet.  The big problem is that you have to wash them first and then let them dry for 24 -48 hours before you put the sealer on.  How do you avoid using your kitchen all that time?
> (Yes, I did say we just got Silestone. That's in our place in Colorado)



There must be different kind of sealers because mine were installed and sealed in the same day and I was able to use the counters within an hour.  I've had them for about 3 years and they still look great despite heavy, heavy use!


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## Present (Feb 23, 2006)

Whirl said:
			
		

> Go Silestone, if not Granite. So much more up to to date. I think Corian is past its prime and in ten years you may wish you chose granite or silestone which is more likely to still feel current.  The soaring demand for Granite, and thus a product like silestone, which essentially solves the one downside of granite --having to seal i-- is why Corian is trying to keep up with "granite-like" products and darker colors ( which I hear reports of showing wear).
> 
> Just my  personal conclusions from recent kitchen design adventure;It can be daunting.



The "having to seal" it thing is over stated, I am a heavy kitchen counter user and haven't sealed mine in about 3 years.  When the guys came the first time, they just swiped the sealer on, wiped it down and let it dry for an hour.  Start to finish maybe an hour and 15 minutes including dry time!

The granite looks rich, wears great, is care-free, and if you shop around...much cheaper than silestone!


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## mrsstats (Feb 26, 2006)

After looking and pricing we have decided to go with Silestone.  Now we need to decide on the color.  We have a dark brown stone look vinyl with medium oak cabinets.   We now have an ivory counter, which looks good.  Should I stay light or go darker??  Thanks for all your comments on the Silestone vs Corian.


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## itchyfeet (Feb 26, 2006)

This is a very interesting forum that answers a lot of questions about kitchen remodeling: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath/
There is also a gallery portion which shows members' remodeled kitchens - lots of fun to look at the various styles.


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## Big Matt (Feb 26, 2006)

When looking at the floor-counter-cabinets you should be either dark-light-dark or light-dark-light.  Sounds like the lighter color would do the trick given your floor and cabinets.



			
				mrsstats said:
			
		

> After looking and pricing we have decided to go with Silestone.  Now we need to decide on the color.  We have a dark brown stone look vinyl with medium oak cabinets.   We now have an ivory counter, which looks good.  Should I stay light or go darker??  Thanks for all your comments on the Silestone vs Corian.


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