Granite Transformations

[mrb627]

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to visit the showroom for Granite Transformations in Atlanta. They seem to get good reviews on quick kitchen renovations. They have been profiled on a couple of different HGTV shows in the past year or so.

I am seriously considering a kitchen remodel to include cabinet refinishing, counter tops, back splash, and appliances.

Anyone else heard of or considered Granite Transformations?

Malcolm

http://www.granitetransformations.com

 

[gansky1]

Yes!  One of my accounts has dining tables topped with GT granite composite, a few counter tops including a restroom counter/sink combination.  The granite composite seems to be very hard and durable.   Subjected to regular knocks and dings, this hasn't seemed to affect them.   The only thing that isn't appealing  - from a normal kitchen to the club's heavy use is the maintenance of the resin-material sinks.  Just like I've seen with Corian and other similar resin products, the sinks stain easily, mar easily and are difficult to restore to like-new gleam.  Impossible from my experience really, once they get a few scratches & stains from normal to moderate kitchen use they look horrible. 

 

[mrb627]

Corian

Yes, I have Corian now. One of the biggest mistakes I made was installing it instead of granite. Looks terrible right now. Would never have it again.

I think I would opt for a heavy guage stainless steel sink. Possibly a double wide single basin.

Malcolm

 

[william637]

About Corian

I used to be co-owner of a countertop shop. We did everything - Formica, butcher block, DuPont Corian, granite, and quartz. I can't help you with granite transformations - I haven't had much experience with them. I will say though (after looking at your link) it looks like they are using a veneer. Granite and quartz are by nature fairly brittle materials. The impact resistance of them is directly related to their thickness. When you have something thin and brittle, you will need to be careful about dropping things on the countertop, or hitting the corners. If you are relatively easy on your kitchen, it shouldn't be a problem. If you really live in there, you may want to consider something solid.

The other thing I have to ask about though, is your experience with Corian. Is it really DuPont Corian, or is it another brand of solid surface? We took everything out of showroom except DuPont Corian because of cracking, staining, and warranty service issues. If your countertop is DuPont Corian (you can tell by looking underneath it - DuPont stamps all Corian slabs about every 3-4 feet), you should call DuPont. Staining is specifically covered by your warranty, and it should not happen. I have had Corian in both of my houses and love it (but, I also understand that countertop preferences are particular to the user). Never any staining problems - the sinks come clean without a hitch. My sister, however has Surrell (the Formica brand of solid surface). Her sink looks like the floor of a rest-stop toilet cubicle. It will never come clean!

Sorry - just had to ask about your experience. After all these years, I am still rather passionate about countertops.

Hope your kitchen renovation goes well!

 

[gansky1]

So you know what I mean then    I have a client that installed a corian counter & seamless sinks (merely pre-formed sink moldings glued onto the counter and polished smooth) and within six months they were sorry.  The counters are OK, dark brown speckled but the sinks are a mess.  The kitchen sink is the worst but the laundry room sink isn't far behind.  (Samsung front-load & dryer We've tried every product they could come up with to restore the cleanliness to no avail.  None of these products have worked on removing the white scorch spot where the coffeemaker sits either.   

 

Does your literature say anything about heat marks or burning on the GT product?  They aren't really in that environment at the club but I've wondered how resistant it is.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Corian

A friend gave me a cutting board he had made from scraps from a kitchen job. I always washed it in the DW so it did not stain. Another friend had the plug from the opening in the counter for the sink made into a cutting board. If he ever cut carrots on it, it had to be bleached to get the orange out. I don't use knives on the counter, only on poly-whatever cutting boards.

 

[countryguy]

I have Corian countertops and I love it. It is in a light cream colour. I've never had a problem with staining. I like tha fact that it is easy to clean, doesn't show every spec of dirt, etc. I don't cut on it - that is what a wood cutting board is for. I had the cut outs from the sink made into a cutting board which I have beside the stove to place hot pans on.

Gary

 

[whirlcool]

We had Corian in the last house we had. It was an Almond color with a dark brown checkerboard trim. We never had any problems with it. It never stained and any scratches came out easily when lightly sanded.

 

[william637]

Thanks guys

Thanks for your feedback guys. I would be willing to place a bet that the bulk of the people that have problems with what they say is "Corian" is not really DuPont Corian. It has been my experience that most (not all, but well over 95 %) of the people that are having problems with Corian don't really have Corian - they some imitation that has unfortunately ruined the name.

While most on this site can be rather particular in the way that people refer to appliances, I am particular in the way people refer to solid surface. There is only one Corian and it is made by DuPont. Back in the days of the countertop shop, we had to fight the notion that people used Corian as a generic term (kind of like Kleenex). I know from personal experience and the exeperience of many of my customers how different the acrylic formulation for DuPont Corian really is from all the others. It holds up completely differently from generic brands.

That's my rant for the day. Stepping down off the soapbox now. Thanks again for your feedback (and letting me vent..)

 

[william637]

Robert was nice enough

Robert was nice enough to give everyone a chance to preview their posts before they post it. I should have used that.

I meant to say ".....they have some imitation that has...."

 

[gansky1]

Excellent Point.

You're right about the "corian" - "kleenex" brand distinctions.  In one part of the building I was talking about earlier, there are true Corian counter & sink sets and these have held up noticeably better than the much newer acrylic sinks in the granite composite units installed in another area.  The other client with the stained sinks & scorched white area from the coffeemaker heating plate are also not true Corian but a knockoff brand.