| corian countertops [message #64338] |
Sun, 15 November 2009 11:22  |
hertfordnc
Messages: 1164
Registered: September 2009
Location: East NC
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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i thought I'd share my experience with a craigslist kitchen remodel. We got a good deal on some solid surface countertops. So good a deal I was compelled to figure out how to install them and it wasn't that bad. The industry does not make it easy but everything you need is at solidsurface.com and they are great to deal with.
People dump the stuff on CL all the time. It recycles pretty well.
I know it's not an optimal material for a MH becasue of the weight but I suspect a counter for the average GMC would only weigh 40lb
I'm not much of a craftsman and I hate this kind of work and i was still was able to get decent looking seams and make it all work.
There are some tricks for getting around some special tools and expensive consumables.
email me if anyone's interested, if there is demand maybe I'll put up some pictures.
If not I won't take up anymore bandwidth.
Dave
Dave & Ellen Silva
Hertford, NC
76 Birchaven, 1-ton and other stuff
Currently planning the Great american Road Trip Summer 2021
It's gonna take a lot of Adderall to get this thing right.
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| Re: [GMCnet] corian countertops [message #64352 is a reply to message #64343] |
Sun, 15 November 2009 13:26  |
hertfordnc
Messages: 1164
Registered: September 2009
Location: East NC
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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OK, hear goes- the following assumes a high degree of DIY skills.
CUTTING:
The stuff cuts like a VERY HARD wood. a 60 tooth circ saw makes a nice smooth cut. The cuts have to be about perfect to make the seams really disappear. My $29 saw was not perfectly square so it was installing a gap in my seams until i figured it out.
GLUE:
The glue for this stuff is a two part but it is not like epoxy- I think it may breakdown the material the way PVC cement does.
It smells like a serious solvent.
It's $45 a tube and the applicator is $100 but you can use a $5 calking gun, the kind that has a hook on the end of the rod, fabricate a rod from the end of the hook to the smaller of the two part tubes. with a little trial and error, you can get both parts to come out uniformly. solidsurface.com sells the mixing tips as well.
solidsurface.com will help you match the color- it's a bit challenging because they use silly home decorator words instead of the names of colors we learned in school. But there are charts to help you figure it out.
CLAMPING:
use a hot glue gun to attach blocks of scrap corian and clamp the seams together. then pop off the hot glued blocks
Afte a lot of difficulty getting straight cuts I did the same thing to guide my saw- i clamped straight strips of scrap corian to the counter i was cutting.
GRINDING AND POILSHING:
The tool of choice is a 5" hook and loop orbital sander (i love the Hitachi)
Go from 40 grit to 1000 grit. It was surprisingly easy.
1000 grit gives you a soft finish- 2000 grit is a semi to high gloss.
I could not find disks for my sander in any grit finer than 320 so I got the fine stuff from an auto store and glued it to used hook and loop disks.
THe fine stuff was available online but I didn't want to wait for it.
AQUISITION:
My wife and I watch craigslist constantly for home improvement stuff. Everything dried up this week. I assume a lot of rehab projects were on a Thanksgiving day deadline. Prior to that people would put up a whole kitchen of corian for a few hundred bucks. It retails for more than granite so it's worth the effort.
Mine came with a small bar sink- itwould be perfect for my motorhoame but alas, it is spoke for.
Good luck
Dave & Ellen Silva
Hertford, NC
76 Birchaven, 1-ton and other stuff
Currently planning the Great american Road Trip Summer 2021
It's gonna take a lot of Adderall to get this thing right.
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| Re: corian countertops [message #64397 is a reply to message #64338] |
Sun, 15 November 2009 20:45 |
whmckinley
Messages: 13
Registered: March 2008
Location: Mayfield Village
Karma: 0
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Junior Member |
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Having fabricated several solid surface countertops, boxes, toys etc. The best recommendation for seaming I can make is.
Safety First:
IMPORTANT: whenever cutting, routing are dry sanding any solid surface material USE dust protection, It will muck your lungs up.
Mental Safety, don't recommend seaming when the significant other is around , the adhesive STINKS.
1) Cut your pieces slightly larger than intended size.
2) Place the 2 parts you are going to seam on a sturdy WOOD surface approx 3/16 apart just like if you were going to seam them.
3) put a 1/4 carbide bit in your router, then using a straight edge guide center the router bit over the gap between the two pieces. Clamp down the guide. (Always use carbide cutters for the solid surface material, others just don't last)
4) Run the router down the straight edge increasing the depth until you are cutting the edges of both pieces.
If you take your time and run the router down slowly it will trim Both edges of the pieces at the same time and when the pieces are seamed, you should end up with an invisible seam.
BTW just a a tip, Got it from an old timer in the business, after you have sanded the countertop up to a minimum of 400 grit, buff it out with some Olive Oil using a scotchbrite pad. I have a dewalt 5 in orbital that I always use to run the scotch brite with. And Yes I did say Olive Oil, other vegetable oils may work, but I have ever tried them. Leaves a nice sheen to the finish. I have sanded mine up 2000 grit, but never could see the real advantage. I just want shean, not mirror.
I do not sell solid surface material, or fabricate for others. I am not a professional installer, just done a lot of it.
Bill
1973 Glacier
26ft bowling alley with wheels
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| Re: [GMCnet] corian countertops [message #64425 is a reply to message #64338] |
Mon, 16 November 2009 01:20 |
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ljdavick
Messages: 3548
Registered: March 2007
Location: Fremont, CA
Karma: -3
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Dave,
I'd love to see pictures of your work - even if it's in a Revcon!
I do enjoy seeing a do-it-yourselfer's handiwork almost as much as a
craftsman's.
Thanks for sharing - and oh boy! Is there demand!
Larry Davick
The Mystery Machine
On Nov 15, 2009, at 9:22 AM, dave silva wrote:
>
>
> i thought I'd share my experience with a craigslist kitchen
> remodel. We got a good deal on some solid surface countertops. So
> good a deal I was compelled to figure out how to install them and
> it wasn't that bad. The industry does not make it easy but
> everything you need is at solidsurface.com and they are great to
> deal with.
>
> People dump the stuff on CL all the time. It recycles pretty well.
>
> I know it's not an optimal material for a MH becasue of the weight
> but I suspect a counter for the average GMC would only weigh 40lb
>
> I'm not much of a craftsman and I hate this kind of work and i was
> still was able to get decent looking seams and make it all work.
>
> There are some tricks for getting around some special tools and
> expensive consumables.
>
> email me if anyone's interested, if there is demand maybe I'll put
> up some pictures.
>
> If not I won't take up anymore bandwidth.
>
> Dave
>
> --
> 1972 Revcon 250- the other front wheel drive motorhome. http://
> www.davesilva.com/revcon
> Parting out 1974 GMC 26- http://www.davesilva.com/gmc
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> List Information and Subscription Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
List Information and Subscription Options:
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Larry Davick
A Mystery Machine
1976(ish) Palm Beach
Fremont, Ca
Howell EFI + EBL + Electronic Dizzy
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