corian worktops for the DIYer??

[DIYedboy]

My daughter wants a new kitchen which I can easily fit ,BUT she wants a corian type worktop, I have no idea about this type of worktop.........can I buy it? can I use TCT router bits to do the mitre joins? as Manuel would say 'I know noooothing'

 

[Norcon]

Yes it can be routed afaik.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Duplicated post

 

[Deleted member 174758]

corian type worktop, I have no idea about this type of worktop.........can I buy it?

You can't buy real Corian or some other solid surface materials such as Formica ColorCore unless you are a certified fabricator. Other similar alternatives such as Staron, LG-HiMacs, Wilsonart Gibraltar, etc can be purchased "over the counter", but none of these comes as ready-made worktop AFAIK

To buy solid surface worktop sections ready fabricated you need to start looking more to products such as Earthstone from B&Q, which is a solid surface type product

can I use TCT router bits to do the mitre joins? as Manuel would say 'I know noooothing'

I'd agree with that...... "Traditional" solid surface tops are always butt jointed and the edge profile (at least in the joint area) worked afterwards because it is the only way you can get that perfect seemless joint (the glue line must be level and as small as possible), although I can't say for the B&Q product.

If you rout or sand the stuff the extremely fine dust it produces is very nasty to breath and will give you one heck of a cough! Normal practice is to have all the power tools you use hooked-up to a vacuum cleaner with a fine filter (normally industrial). Routing it will ideally need a large (i.e. 2000 watt) plunge router (and even those can get pretty hot) and ideally you need 1/2in shank tools. One other thing to consider is that to get the perfect seemless joints it's normal practice to use a random orbit sander and sand the joints and the whole surface at the end of the install - can't say if that is how the B&Q product works, but it's what we always do with Corian

 

[DIYedboy]

Thanks Jobn...........Corian is out then, all the others are probably similar, I think it's easier to use real granite n it's probably not any more expensive!

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I think it's easier to use real granite n it's probably not any more expensive!

Granite is certainly cheaper a lot of the time - the Indians and Chinese have seen to that. The only place you see Corian these days tends to be in places like serveries and public washrooms, toilets, changing rooms where the high costs are justifiable