Corian can scratch and may stain but you can generally "sand" them out
(see corian site)
Are you sure granite or quartz is not the way to go?
Pricewise you may be able to get granite at about the same price as corian (quartz may be more expensive)
I don't understand the "weight issue"

Perhaps you can change my mind if you can calm my fears. I know that granite or quartz is what's used in most homes today. My son had quartz in Seattle & loved it. But I'm on a farm in Nebraska where practicality is important (we'll probably never resell). Both quartz & granite look beautiful but I prefer something with little or no maintenance--they both need sealing right?. The countertop dealer (50 miles away) said granite would also have seams. He'd been to one of their own installations where the woman complained about the edges being rough. He admitted she had a legitimate complaint but he said that's what you get with granite.

SunnyD, the weight issue is a personal concern of mine (probably paranoid) that I've grown up with. I read numerous places where a foundation must be properly designed to support the weight of granite, which we would have a lot of. Without details, we've had to correct numerous building concerns. I don't want to jeopardize structural integrity. Fortunately I haven't had any cracks in my walls & I don't want any. We had to replace one of our windows & the installer said he wouldn't place anything heavy in front of any of our windows (there's a 6' window by sink) due to the method of installation that was used at construction (what's that supposed to mean). Am I rational or paranoid?

I'm not a fan of Corian, and I doubt you'd have to worry about the weight of granite since the weight is distributed over the length of the counter. Your stove, refrigerator and even the weight of a large person sitting on a chair at your island would be more weight per square foot then the granite would be.

Many granites are "bullet proof" You need to find a sample of one you like and test it at home to make sure it dosen't stain. My granite has been in a year and NOTHING stains it. No chips or cracks of any kind. Sealing granite is not a large proces if you have a tough stone. Once a year you spray sealer on it, wait a minute or two and wipe it off. It's really no more difficult then wipping the counters down. As for day to day maintanance, I just wipe my counters down when they get dirty, just like any other counter. If you wipe them with micro clothes it prevents streaking. Some of the dark graites do tend to streak or show dust. If that's an issue with you pick a lighter granite with more pattern. I've never had a counter that looks this beautiful and is so, so easy to care for.

Granite is very nice and about half of my kitchens use it. The other half use formica. The price is about half and that usually drives the decision. When they ask what is the most user friendly, easy to wipe, maintenance free, as much as I like the granite I have to tell them formica.

On the seam issue you can get around that part. I can buy wilsonart lamintate in 5ft x 12 ft sheets. With your layout I would seam it once at the middle of the sink. All you see is one inch in the front and about the same behind the sink. You have to waste a little more material to cut it that way, but I don't like many seams and prefer none. I don't roll the formica up the backsplash. Tile makes a nice backsplash for formica. The buckle in your current one is probably more due to them using particle board for as a base for the formica instead of plywood. One more thing that would help would be to paint the underside of that section before putting the DW back in.

Back on the price issue, I have a lady trying to decide right now. Her bid for formica and tile backsplash is 2,400. The granite bid for the same home with tile backsplash also is 5.600.

Good luck and have fun with whatever you decide. Kenneth

Quartz doesn't need sealing or any particular treatment: just clean it with a soapy cloth.

Thanks everyone for your responses. Guess I'll reconsider the granite versus laminate now. Quite a difference in price, substance & quality. I'm torn. I just know that if I put in granite I'll want to replace my laminate flooring (it has it's own set of problems with minor peaking at the seams).

If I go with laminate, Kenneth do you know much about the undermount/incorporated sink? It's called Karran.
If I go with granite, any suggestions to go with the oak cabinets (they won't change).

Anybody who's gone from laminate & granite & regretted it?

I went from Formica to granite in successive rental homes, and found that I did not like the granite enough to want it in my own house. (Fair disclosure: was not thrilled with the Formica either because I couldn't smack hot pans right down on it. I'm doing copper now, something entirely different.)

The granite was too cold for me, and I was forever breaking dishes and glasses against the undermount sink edges etc. I also disliked that it always looked dirty because of the many fissures -- it was a high-gloss ubatuba or something similar, but the occlusions just made it look grimy between glossy bits.

My mom has WilsonArt and loves it, though she is a far neater cook and housefrau than I am, so staining etc isn't an issue for her.

Do what feels right and what fits best into your house.

We replaced our countertop a few yrs ago. We went through the same process. Laminate vs Corian vs Quartz. Though we liked granite it just didn't fit our life style. We got a quote for each material with new sink and faucet. The price of the Corian was only $200 more than the laminate we picked and the quartz was $300 more than the laminate. We ruled out the laminate because for a small up charge we could have Corian. We ruled out the quartz because of where the seam would be placed. We have Corian Mojave with a vanilla integral sink and couldn't be happier. The counter does scratch from time to time but I feel the scratches more than I see them. As for the sink, there hasn't been a stain that has not been easily removed with the back of a scotch brite sponge. The stainless sink we replaced was a nightmare. We were a slave to the rust and water spots. You had to wipe it down after you washed your hands or got a drink.

Hilltop, I can't help with an undermount on the laminate idea. If you REALLY want an undermount, I would suggets granite or solid surface, such as corian or wilsonarts version.

The reason being is the counter material is laid on a plywood, or in some cases particle board, surface. When you cut out the sink hole you have formica on top and then you see the edge of the plywood inside the cutout. Trying to make this not leak with an undermount sink does not make sense to me. There will always be folks trying it, but in the long run, I see to much potential for problems.

If you have a link to the sink you are looking at, maybe I will learn something from it. Take Care. Kenneth

I love my Corian. It's called Dusk (I think) and looks like salt & pepper mixed in a jar. It's so easy to keep it looking fresh. I have a large stainless steel undermount sink. We especially love having the sink mounted this way.

I grew up with formica, so I'm trained to put a trivet or pad under a hot pan. If I had a beautiful slab of granite, I'd probably still do it.

My mom has had bright red formica for 25 years, and it still looks adorable.

I'm not a fan of granite. It reminds me of office buildings.

Be playful with your decision!

Kenneth,
Here's a link to the "undermount to laminate" sink:

Karran.com

I saw a sample in the store & it looked nice; however I couldn't see how they could keep moisture away from where the laminate & the sink meet.

I really appreciate everyones responses regarding their countertop choices & opinions.

i have solid surface with an integrated sink, and i love it. so clean and sanitary, with no place for moisture or gunk to hide. as one poster mentioned, it does scratch, but not noticably and not much. i have the integrated sink in cream. i find it stains, but less than my old white ceramic sink. all stains are temorary, they come out with either the green scrubby or bleach. the seams on the counters are invisible and very solid. my mom had corian counters for years and they never looked worn. both of us cook daily and the counters get heavy use. having grown up with formica, grabbing a hot pad to put under a hot dish is automatic, and not a PITA, so i have no downside to complain about with the counters.

Ok, I am up to speed on the sink. I read the installation instructions and I do think it would work without being a leak problem.

The only downfall I see is if you want to or need to change the sink, you need a new counter. I have replaced sinks in counters before without wanting to change the counter. That would not be an option if you use this type.

Kenneth

I don't think you'd have anything to worry about with granite. We have no rough spots, no chipping, no raised seams, no buckling cabinets or cracked walls. The housse was not built with granite and we didn't have to make any modifications to install it.

BTW, I have roughly 10 sq feet less than you and did my counters in marble and a premium granite for less than your lowest bid. We had material left over, so we probably would have paid a few hundred dollars more to do an equal amount to yours and would still be under your laminate bid. I can't imagine paying more for laminate.

Regarding the weight issue, my architect noted that reinforcements should be added under the kitchen floor in case we decided on granite for the island, so I do think it is a valid concern if you've had issues in your home already.

Regarding prices, it depends on where you live. My "cheap" granite island top (uba tuba) was more expensive per sf than the "premium" corian color, yet I read here all the time that it is the other way around for some people.

I like my seamless corian counters but I won't have a white corian sink again because it stains horribly. My new kitchen will have corian on the perimeter and granite on the island, so the best of both worlds. :)

Thanks idrive. My concern regarding the weight issue mostly comes from tearing down old houses when I was a kid (for the lumber & the nails--times were tough) Anyway I realized then how quickly they can fall when enough weight/stress is applied to an area. Those were 100+ year old houses & mines only 12. The other issues we've had with our house have all been relatively minor & fixable frustrations.

Here's another thought you may not have considered.
Butcher-block. IKEA sells some that is reasonable. You can Waterlox it and your country kitchen would look more country than with granite in it. There are have been several threads on the remodel forum about how DIY people seam them together.
If you like your stainless sink but are concerned about grout/caulk issues, you can get integrated stainless sink with the counter. Maybe you have a local sheet-metal guy that will do it reasonably.
Good luck.

We went from laminate to granite and we are very glad we did! We actually had no problems w/our laminate...but I was careful not to put hot pots directly on it. My big complaint was the "look & feel" as well as the "feel" under the edge of the laminate....it was rough like a "torn" piece of particle board. It was even shredding in a couple of places. We had a gray speckled laminate so the stains we had did not show.

The granite has been great! No sealing ever required (we have Absolute Black Premium w/some silver inclusions....very few though). Yes, dust is noticeable if the counter is not wiped off for a few days, but since we generally wipe off all counters each day, it hasn't been an issue.

We also have a stainless steel sink. Our old kitchen had one as well....for 12 years. There was only one recent rust spot that I remember when a steel can was left in the wet sink overnight...but it was not that noticeable (I now know that Bar Keepers Friend would have removed that stain). It did, however have scratches....but after a year or two it developed a "patina" as the scratches melded together to form a "finish". It was very easy to keep clean! We decided to put another stainless steel sink in with the remodel and we have no regrets...undermounted this time!

As to "breaking dishes and glasses against the undermount sink edges"....most likely the sink had a "negative" reveal (countertop extends past sink edges so you don't see the edge of the sink) and, yes, I've heard that can be a problem w/that reveal--at least until you get used to it. We went for a positive reveal b/c of that plus I didn't want to have to feel or crane my neck to look under the reveal to see if there was any "gunk" under there. BTW...we have not yet broken a single glass or dish on our granite [knock on wood!]...and I was prepared to deal with it until we got used to it!

We ruled out Corian/solid surface very quickly as I think it looks "plasticy"...but that's only my opinion.

If you are that concerned about the structural integrity of you house...then I really think you should have a building/structural engineer (correct person?) look at your house to see if you have anything to worry about....and not just for granite (think of water in a bathtub!). You might also consider 2cm granite instead of 3cm.

This is your kitchen, though, so go with what you are comfortable with and like! Good luck!

This kitchen would take 3 1/2 to 4 sheets of solid surface, 105 to 120 square feet (some price by net size, not material size, but charge more per square foot).

Figure an very servicable but low price solid surface like Living Stone or Pinnacle, between $3570 and $4080 for a $34.00 square foot color, plus two to three hundred for a sink, plus $250 for tear out and sink hookup.

To go with a company like Staron, Avonite, or Meganite that has lots more color choices, figure from $4,200 to $8,400 for the most expensive colors, plus sink and such.

Granite might weigh 2,000 pounds, but it would be distributed around the room. If you have a solid foundation, I wouldn't worry.

Look around on Garden web for customer complaint, even google "customer complaint granite", of course do the same with the other products as well.

As to solid surface scratching, I have seen 15 year old corian that needed refinishing, but in the last seven years, we have been asked to do one solid surface resand, on 15 yea old corian! Different filler used, sanded really easily, newer stuff is much harder.

But, $150.00 later and the customer was happy as could be, had a brand new countertop and sink again.

Try that with any other surface... No dropping sinks, no worrying if the fabricator is going to rook you on quality or disappear with your deposit, no health concerns at all.

Since solid surface is available in half sheets, there will be little waste, and of course the seams should be 95% invisable (most are invisible, we we never say 100% invisible just in case). A "bad" seam can be seen if you look for it really hard, maybe a couple feet away. Sometimes the glue reflects light differently, so you can just see it at certain angles, but you can't feel it.

Shop around on that price before you buy. Look for the independent shops, many do the work for the big box stores anyway.