dumb question

[Mark Vaughn]

I've been commisioned to do two bathroom vanities, cabinetry is kind of foreign to me. Can anyone tell me the procedure for having a counter top made? She says she wants corian or similar material. Do I make the cabinets and then tell the "countertop people" what i need and they install it or do I install it?? and who are the "countertop people". Thanks for any help, Mark

[George Bregar]

They sell premade vanity tops in Corian. Pick one and build the vanity to fit what you select.

Here is an example http://www.corian-countertop.com/HTML2/vanity-countertops.html

[Mike Henderson]

Generally, people who do Corian (solid surface) countertops only do the countertops - they do not make the cabinets themselves. You definitely want to find someone before you start making the cabinets. They will welcome you when you contact them - working with cabinetmakers is the way they get a lot of their business.

The problem is that people who do countertops are like people who make cabinets - there are people who do good work, and there are people who don't do the best work. You need to do some research to find out who does the best quality work in your area. Bathroom vanties are generally fairly easy, however.

The reason you need to contact the countertop people before you start working on the cabinets is that they will give you a list of "requirements" for the countertop installation to go well. Make sure you understand those "requirements" and the installation will go smoothly. They will do the actual installation of the countertop after you install the cabinets.

Mike

[Ellen Benkin]

If the cabinet can be a standard size, do as George suggests and make the cabinet to fit a standard top. If it's an odd size, get a couple of counter people to get measurements and give you a bid after it is finished and installed. Don't try to do the measurements yourself -- counter people have their own way of doing it. She can live with a plywood temporary top until the final one is installed. The people who make the counter should also be responsible for installing it because if it is dinged or broken, that becomes their problem. Check the phone book and ask friends for references.

[George Bregar]

I would also suggest investigating Silestone. Much better product IMO. Premade vanity tops are also available.

[Mark Vaughn]

ok thanks for the help, this is definately not a traditional size though, its about 19X61 that i need.

[Joe Chritz]

+1 on Silestone.

Generally better in all regards.

Joe

[Jim Andrew]

Corian as a material is a plastic, similar to plexiglas but colored. The cool thing about it is when it gets a scratch, it can be sanded out, and then polished so that the scratch is gone. Some counter top shops build tops out of corian, not all. Find a shop that customers recommend. Then just build your vanities, have the shop make the tops, and if you are not confident of installing, have them do the install. In my case, I did not want to pay for them doing the installs, so I would just be very careful and installed the tops myself. Never did ruin one. The scary part is cutting the sink hole in laminate tops. Easily scratched and chipped. Probably the safe thing is let the shop do the install. Jim

[Dustin Thompson]

You can make a template for the countertop folks, but most I have dealt with prefer to make their own. Some manufacturers will only allow their products to be installed by "certified" installers. You can definitely save some bucks by buying stock tops, but it sounds like that won't work for you.

Depending on the weight of the top, make sure your cab can support it longterm, and also the floor below. The size you are talking about doesn't sound like much of an issue.

Post some pics when you are done!

Dustin

[Mike Henderson]

Corian as a material is a plastic, similar to plexiglas but colored. The cool thing about it is when it gets a scratch, it can be sanded out, and then polished so that the scratch is gone. Some counter top shops build tops out of corian, not all. Find a shop that customers recommend. Then just build your vanities, have the shop make the tops, and if you are not confident of installing, have them do the install. In my case, I did not want to pay for them doing the installs, so I would just be very careful and installed the tops myself. Never did ruin one. The scary part is cutting the sink hole in laminate tops. Easily scratched and chipped. Probably the safe thing is let the shop do the install. Jim
The makers of all Corian type material require that the installer be certified. Additionally, the installer is the one who has to stand behind the installation. Most solid surface materials have a 10 year warrantee. So if the customer calls with a problem within that 10 year period, the installer is called and told "You have a problem. Go fix it."

Now, you might wonder how the company knows who did the install. Each sheet of material is numbered and is tracked when it is sold to the fabricator/installer. So if the installer were to sell some of that material to a non-certified person, and the company got a call about a problem with the installation, the installer who purchased it will be the one called for the warrantee work.

So no installer will give you a countertop to install - they will require that they install it.

Mike

[Eric DeSilva]

I didn't think Corian was that highly regulated. A while ago, I was intrigued by the fact that Wilson produces some expensive speakers (the Watt/Puppies, clocking in around around $22K a pair) using Corian for the cabinets. In considering hacking up a DIY pair, I thought I found sources for buying Corian and even a Dupont brochure discussing how it was acceptable to use normal woodworking tools w/carbide blades to cut it. My memory is telling me there was also an extensive discussion of the strength of the joint you could achieve with their glue, showing the Corian breaking before a simple glued butt joint. I want to say the the brochure was trying to encourage the use of Corian by hobbyists and artists...

Now, my memory could be faulty and my quick Googling didn't bring it up, but I did see a lot of discussion about people working it themselves...