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DIY Solid Surface/Corian Countertops.  Save thousands of dollars, and still get a high end look with your countertops.

I’ll be the first to admit, some things are better left to the professionals.  Things like electrical issues, medical surgeries, and milking cows – to name a few.

When we came to the conclusion that we were ready to install some countertops in our kitchen that would last for years and give us a high end look, naturally we thought this would be a job for the pro’s.

So, we called the countertop professionals, had them sketch up measurements and give us price estimates for our 3 countertops of choice.

Marble/Granite – an estimated 4000-5000 dollars.

Corian/Solid Surface – an estimated 3000-4500 dollars

After my husband choked at those prices, I humbled myself and considered laminate.

Laminate – 2000-3000 dollars.

My husband and I looked at each other, looked at our bank account – and hung our heads.  Goodness.  We couldn’t even afford the countertops I didn’t want – the laminate.

So what is a d0-it-yourself couple to do?  Consider selling a child?  No.  Live with the concrete countertops that were falling apart, posted about HERE?  Uh-uh.

Cottage Fresh Kitchen, by TIDBITS

What we did do, was some research.  In our google search for finding prices for Corian, we came upon the site solidsurface.com.  We discovered they sell some of their overstock/surplus solid surface products for discount prices, and it was actually within our price range!  But wait – we’ve never worked with solid surface, and hadn’t a clue how to install it.  (By the way, I am not working in conjunction with solidsurface.com.  Just sharing a wonderful discovery!)

That’s when my husband talked with the countertop professionals.  They told him not to do it.  They told him, he would regret it.  They told him, they would not come and fix his mistakes.

And my amazing DIY cheap skate husband said – “I got this babe.”

Cottage Fresh Kitchen, by TIDBITS

He did some Youtube-ing, and some serious thinking and reading, and ordered all the supplies we needed.

For just a little over $1000.00, our new countertops were on their way to our doorstep.  And after a few days of work, our DIY solid surface countertops look absolutely A-MAZ-ING!  No professionals required.

We are so thrilled with the results, we wanted to share our experience and give others tips and advice if this is something they would like to consider doing themselves.  We came to the conclusion that corian/solid surface countertops is not easy.  But it isn’t rocket science either.  If you are familiar with woodworking, it will seem even more approachable.

Cottage Fresh Kitchen, by TIDBITS

I am not providing a step-by-step tutorial per say, but my husband and I will discuss the 4 things we did throughout our process.  These include:

  1.  The purchase
  2.  The Tools
  3.  The installation
  4.  The Tips

After reading through this you should be able to get an idea for what is included and if this is a good project for you (or if better left to the professionals – which is totally okay if you can afford it!)  I snapped pictures as my husband would tolerate and I will insert them and explain the process throughout.

Cottage Fresh Kitchen, by TIDBITS

Now – you’ve seen his amazing handiwork, but let’s give a big welcome to Mr. TIDBITS and his first written debut, here on this blog!  (clap, clap, clap, clap, clap . . .)


First and possibly the last.  However, I am glad I can write about our experience and I hope it will be of help to some of you.

The Purchase

First thing you need to understand when looking at purchasing solid surface material is that there are many brands to choose from.  Corian is the most common term used for solid surface countertops, but it is actually just one of the brands.  We have used the term “Corian” because most folks know these types of countertops by this name.  Solidsurface.com has many brands to choose from, so don’t feel like you have to go with Corian, specifically.  The website has several different colors and designs, each with their own sizes and thicknesses.  Once we decided white was our color I looked at the different brands and shades (yes, white apparently has shades). THIS is the one we chose based on the best price and availability.  I had to choose between 1/4″ or 1/2″ thickness and what size of sheets to order.  This wasn’t as easy as it sounds and to help me I used Google Sketchup, a free 3d drawing program, to do the layout of the countertops on the different sizes of sheets.  This ensured that I didn’t buy too much or too little.  I ended up with a size and thickness that would just barely match what we needed with very little room for error.

The Tools

Along with the corian itself I had to buy several accessories to finish off the project.  Here are the materials we bought from solidsurface.com.

  • Glue (each color of corian has a corresponding color of glue)
  • Glue gun (very expensive for just one use, if you know someone who has one all the better)
  • Glue tips (mixes the glue which is a two part epoxy, I ordered 2 more tips than what came with the glue.)
  • Sanding and polishing kit

I also went to a local hardware store and bought some interior Liquid Nails caulk to adhere the corian to the existing countertops.

I already had a router with a 1/4″ bit, a straight edge for straight cutting, clamps galore and an orbital sander for polishing.

DIY Solid SurfaceCorian Countertops

Just a quick note, solidsurface.com has to deliver to a business address for free shipping or you can pay the $90 or so delivery fee to a residence.

The Installation

Now that we had everything we needed I was ready to start.  After a deep breath and a mental pep talk I started to measure and cut the pieces.

{Here my husband was dry fitting a top piece to be sure his cuts were exact, before adding the edging}
DIY Corian Countertops

 Thanks to my previous drawing I had an exact plan of the cuts that needed to be made and which sheet they needed to be cut out of.  Using the straight edge and the router I cut out the pieces and started to dry fit them in place.  A word of caution, routers tend to want to travel and can really push on a straight edge and make a nice curved cut instead of a straight one.  I found that out the hard way.  Luckily Corian is fairly forgiving and I was able to cut out the curved piece from the waste material and “patch” the piece in.  From then on I braced the straight edge along it’s length to keep the router from wandering.

After all the flat surfaces and edges were cut, I started to glue the pieces together.

{He would leave a slight overhang, which would be sanded down to create a smooth edge, with a almost invisible seam}.
DIY Solid Surface/Corian Countertops

 The glue isn’t always a perfect color match so if your cuts aren’t exact or completely pressed together along the seam that is where you will see the line.  Another hard lesson learned, luckily in a fairly inconspicuous spot.

{He preferred to place the glue on the edge piece, and then attach it just under the top}.
DIY Solid Surface Countertops

 Remember you will need ALOT of clamps to make the seam look right and some denatured alcohol to clean any dirt off the conjoining pieces or it will leave a dust line.

{He would wipe each edge with a rag and rubbing alcohol before seaming them together.  The only seam that is obvious is his first one, where he did not do this.  Definitely practice seams before completing one in a main area.}
DIY Solid Surface Countertops

{The tops are clamped securely to the edges, until the glue is completely dry}.
DIY Solid Surface Countertops

Once everything is glued together the real messy part begins.  Corian is extremely sandable (just made that word up I think) and can be shaped to desired corner radii and to remove scratches.  The sheets we received had a glossy finish and look like they had been run over by a herd of elephants with all the scratches in the surface.  Cami wanted a softer finish so I re-sanded the entire surface to a matte finish that really turned out good and took out the scratches.  The best thing about Corian is it can always be refinished to whatever sheen you want as long as you can tolerate the mess.  I did put a respirator on and it helped to keep the dust out of my lungs, another lesson learned.   Blowing my nose was quite a shock afterwards.

{It worked best for Kevin to glue the tops inside, where he could have a clean work area.  This was essential to getting a clean seam and perfect fit.  Then he took the tops outside to sand – thank heaven’s}.
DIY Solid Surface Countertops

{Then he brought them back in and glued the Corian tops to the existing countertop}.
DIY Solid Surface Countertops

{Not sure if you are supposed to do this, but where the Corian meets the set-in sink, he added some of the glue, rather than caulk.  I think it looks better myself – and it worked}.
DIY Solid Surface Countertops

The Tips

If I ever have the opportunity to try this again I would definitely work harder on getting the pieces to line up better along the seams.  With wood I can normally make a 1/8″ gap disappear, not true with Corian.  The pieces must be as close to exact as possible.  I would also not do the sanding in my garage, I still have dust that coats most things in the garage.  When I said messy, I wasn’t lying.

Before starting this project I was told by a local store that I was crazy to try Corian on my own and that he wouldn’t come when I called him to fix it.  Now I can honestly say that with a little patience and forethought it is a project that can be tackled by anyone with attention to detail and some knowledge of the tools mentioned.


Wow!  That was great!  Big thanks to Mr. TIDBITS (aka – Kevin), for all his hard work!  He sure is a keeper – and no – you can’t have him.

I would like to discuss real quick, about how the Corian tops are holding up.  It has been over a month, and I have noticed/learned a few things.

Because Corian is simply a plastic material, I do not put anything hot directly on it and I don’t cut on it.  The only issue we have had is staining – but it is an issue we have worked with.

I first began to notice weird things would not wipe off, like maple syrup or soy sauce.  I was getting nervous, but tried to dab some bleach on a rag and wipe it off, and all the stains disappeared.  Phew!  The only thing I have not been able to bleach off is crayon marks.  However, what is great about Corian is you can easily sand a small layer off and the stain is gone.  These tops are not indestructible, and perhaps a little high maintenance with kids – but they are repairable which is good news.  We are also under the impression that had we choose a finish with a higher sheen than matte, the staining would not be such an issue.  But I do love the matte finish very much.

You may have noticed we did not do solid surface tops on every surface in our kitchen.  I wanted a butcher block section, so Mr. TIDBITS (that name is growing on me) built me one on a small section next to our oven.

Cottage Fresh Kitchen

Also, the computer desk section, we added a little interest as well.

Cottage Fresh Kitchen, by TIDBITS

I really do love a good mix and match design, if done right.

If you missed our full kitchen reveal, be sure to head over HERE for all the details and a complete tour around the most used space in our home.

DIY Solid Surface/Corian Countertops

 

Feel free to ask any questions or request clarification.

Now let’s go and give those countertop pro’s a run for their money!  😉


*Linking up to these parties, HERE.

**If you are liking Mr. TIDBITS work, he is sure to spit out more amazing projects.  Be sure to follow along by email, so you don’t miss a thing.



 

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23 Comments

  1. Hi Cami,
    Can you please tell me the color of white countertop that you used in your kitchen? It looks like a warm white which i am looking for. Your kitchen looks great!! It does not show the color anymore and there are a 1000 whites

  2. I LOVE your countertops. Since reading your blog, I decided to go ahead and install a fell Corian countertops myself in an old house I’m rebuilding. Question for you– the link you posted to show which color of Corian you have in your kitchen is no longer active. Can you tell me the name of the color you chose? Thanks!

  3. Hey Cami,

    Looks interesting! Would love to try something similar with this soon. Thanks for sharing.

    Cheers,
    Oliver

  4. FYI Diamond Surfaces has a solid surface that is full thickness so all you have to do is cut it and place on the cabinets. No substrate needed, no edge glue lines. Much easier.

    1. There is no such thing. Standard thickness is 1/2″ and will need substrate and edging.
      The edge banding can be built up to any thickness to achieve the desired edge profile.

  5. We are re-furbishing our large bathroom vanity (Corian), taking down mirrors, adding a back splash, etc. My question concerns the dull finish on the counter top. Is there a good product for polishing the slight scratches that mar the surface?
    I don’t think it needs to be sanded, in fact I can’t see the scratches but my wife insists they’re there.

  6. Hi Cami and Mr. – very helpful! We just installed Corian in our Airstream and couldn’t have done it without you. Much appreciated!
    All Best,
    JT and Kim

  7. Looks great. However, the price still high. I plan to make some by my own with my woodworking tools. Looking for someone share some ideas. Thanks

  8. Oh my goodness! My hubby and I are in the process of buying another fixer upper and the counter tops are going. We are huge DIYers and this tutorial is awesome! I didn’t even know this was possible. Thank you so much for the awesome tips. I’ll be sure to tag you in my post if I blog about it 😉

  9. We are very happy about it all, thank you! It is so nice to move on and feel so good in our kitchen. Thank you for stopping by and your sweet comments.

  10. Looks great, he did an amazing job! One question about the site you guys went through to order the countertops; did they provide samples to help you choose your color? Or did you have to just trust that your computer monitor is giving you an accurate color depiction? There are a few tops that I like on their site, but they have multiple pictures of the same samples, and the pictures look NOTHING alike (one has a greener tone than the other, etc). That’s a lot of money to spend, only to find out the color isn’t what you thought it would be. Tips?

    1. I am so glad you asked this question, and I can’t believe I didn’t mention it in the post. I will have to go back and add it in. You are right. Very difficult to know what you are truly getting, and you definitely should before you spend that kind of money! What we did was, we looked online at this site for all the colors and brands we liked and could afford. We made a list and took it to our local countertop store. They had almost every sample there for us to touch and see in the colors and brands we had listed. We even were able to bring them home and check what they would look like in our light. Then we knew what we were ordering. I am sure even the big box stores like Home Depot would have many of the samples as well. This method worked great for us. Thank you for asking!

  11. Found you from a tag on IG. I’m in LOVE with your home! You’ve done an amazing job, and I’m finding LOADS of inspiration for our new build. Just thought you should know 😉

    1. I am glad you did let me know! Your comment warmed my heart and put a smile on my face. Thank you!

  12. Wow! You certainly have a brave and talented husband. Mine would just make save up for the professionals to do it. (Which would take about 10 more years)

    1. Oh, he really wanted to just hire it done, trust me. But ya, would have taken us 10 years as well. The 1000 took us long enough as it was! Thanks for stopping by and leaving such a sweet comment.