DIY Solid Surface Countertops?

[pgray007]

Anyone DIY a solid surface/corian-type countertop? I’m putting a bar in the room above my garage and dropping over a grand on a countertop+install seems a bit excessive. I’ve seen varying reports as to the difficulty so wanted to check and see if anyone has done something like this.

I’ve also thought of a wood block countertop, but I’ve got hardwood flooring and will be adding a wood barn door for the nearby bathroom so didn’t want to be accused of displaying excessive wood.


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[tjdux]

Well hey, if you can pull off excess wood then there sure are worse things to be accused of lol.

From my understanding you have to buy the corian from a manufacturer. I don't think you can make it from scratch at home.

Installing it shouldn't be any much different than installing a laminate countertop but im not an expert. I think around here manards can get it and you do your own install but the bigger expense is the counter itself.

 

[like2wheel]

I've done some projects with smaller pieces of corian, & found it very easy to work with. With carbide tools it cuts clean & polishes easy. I would not be afraid to tackle a countertop especially if there wasn't a seam involved.

Unfortunately my wife keeps mentioning granite...

 

[katilicous]

Granite and newer engineered quartz are so much harder than Corian and wood.
I always see bar sized remnants on Craigslist around here.

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[pgray007]

There seem to be a couple of online places that sell Corian and equivalents at pretty compelling prices. I need a 74” top so it’s something like $250 for a slab vs $50+/sq ft for quartz or granite.

This should be a pretty low use area. Biggest “stress” should be a spilled Manhattan or downed popcorn.

Only thing that really has me worried is trying to do an undercount sink. I don’t want it to look like **** so if anyone has tips there that would be great.


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[Zeke]

"Corian type" does not mean you have to buy Corian. Lots of alternatives. Woodworking tools including a router and you can do anything you want with solid surface materials.


BTW, Corian is acrylic and many of the lesser priced ones are polyester. Nothing wrong with the poly unless you want to put a hot pan directly on the counter.

 

[macgyver37]

I have been out of that area for awhile, but last I knew the adhesive for corian was the hard thing to come by without being certified. I do not know about knock off brands, but as I was told in the past the corian brand required a certification with training before they'd sell you any, so any of the shops that have gone through that process have that overhead that gets passed along to the customer and they aren't going to be very excited about selling you the materials to diy.

Depending on the size and such the $1k for an installed top out of solid surface is probably not far off market value.

If you can come up with some solid surface and can make the top from the thickness and overall size of the pieces you come up with without having to glue it together then it is really easy to work with and looks good. The problem is that it is typically 1/2" thick, so a traditional top would need a built up edge and the sheets are only 30" wide or less, so if you need it wider again you have to glue it up.

 

[astrohip]

A little background. I was in the countertop business for decades.

"Solid Surface" is a generic term for Corian and Corian type material. It is a softer material (relatively speaking), and can be worked with simple wood working tools. Easy to cut, polish the edges, drill holes, etc. Hi-Macs, Staron and many others make this type of product. It was the original alternative to laminate (eg, Formica).

If you're using a single sheet, it's not too hard to install. If you need multiple sheets, it needs to be joined, and that requires a special glue/solvent that isn't sold to the public. The glue makes for a seamless install.

The other popular material is generically called "hard surfaces" or "stone". Originally it was Granite. Then came the man-made granites--Silestone, Zodiac, etc. Whether granite or man-made, they all have similar characteristics. Very hard material, can only be cut using special stone/granite tools & blades. [Aside: seams are visible with these products.] I would not recommend doing granite yourself, unless you are familiar with it.

If you're handy, a DIY solid-surface install can be challenging but very doable.

 

[gungatim]

never worked with corian, but I had a friend install granite in his kitchen on the cheap. may be one option for you.

he bought the stock 24x24 granite tiles and pieced it together. used matching tinted grout at the few seams between the tiles, and had the cuts done at the box store. it looked surprisingly good when it was done...and only cost a couple hundred bucks.

 

[xyster101]

Nothing wrong with some wood. What about a live edge slab? Plenty of DIY on youtube with things installed in them. That liquid epoxy coat is pretty cool if you wanted to do something artistic like embed bottle caps, leaves, or other things inside it. Why not make a tray and put tools in it, then coat it with the epoxy?

Here is a video of a guy pouring the stuff on some weird things for his table.

I made a concrete counter top and did all the work myself. I think it was under $200 in tools and materials, then many hours but it came out great.

Made a form


Poured some 5,000 psi concrete from HD. I think you can order counter top concrete.



This was out of the mold and after polishing. I bought polishing angle grinder wheels from Amazon for $50



The coated it with epoxy from Amazon.

 

[Tim_P]

Just did my countertops, you can buy anything you need from Solidsurface. Com. No license or anything needed. Since your in Charlotte I could let you borrow the adhesive cartridge gun if needed.

 

[Moose364]

Live edge red ceder slab or one made from Old Barn wood. google both of them

 

[shelteredV]

We do a fair amount of solid surface and like it was said above, the materials are all easily obtained. The two part gun and adhesive is the trick to a good job, there is no getting around it, and not cheap. Sta-Put is the replacement for Plexxus and uses the same gun. Corian is making a strong comeback lately with the addition of cool new colors and textures.

 

[rlitman]

I was all preparing to do concrete countertops in my kitchen when I happened upon a deal on a bunch of granite on CL. Since I have a galley kitchen, the countertop sections are straight, and simple, and the diamond polishing tooling I had amassed for concrete worked perfectly on granite, with much less overall work on my part in the end.

As for Corian, I've worked some of it in my shop. It makes a KICKASS tablesaw fence material for example, and cuts beautifully, though the dust is a little annoying. I've found that epoxy is worthless for bonding to it (it may seem to stick, but eventually fails), but cyanoacrylate glues work well (for thin bond lines). Of course, for seamless countertops and undermount sinks, you'll want a real 2-part acrylic adhesive. But the warning here is that drips of Crazy Glue on Corian are REALLY difficult to remove without leaving a scar that needs sanding.

 

[pgray007]

The red cedar is pretty funky, and after watching a few videos of people working the solid surface stuff it doesn’t seem too daunting. This may be the dumbest question ever, but do sinks come with a cut template that’s made of something a little more robust than cardboard? The one really good video I saw of a guy doing an under mount suggested a laser-cut metal template, which seems like a bit of overkill. That’s the only part that has me worried, attempting to cut the sink cutout and jacking up the whole slab.

For now, I’ll probably get the cabinets in and decide on a countertop. I just hit the 2 year anniversary of my build start, so clearly I’m in no great hurry much to my own chagrin.


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