Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Corian® Problem

When we renovated our kitchen a few years ago, we chose a Corian® counter top.We were prepared for scuffs, chips, or burns, but we were not prepared for this:


After being away from the house all day, we returned home late in the evening. I went straight to bed, but my husband stayed up to watch a movie. In the middle of the night, he heard a loud noise. The counter top had cracked! Or, more accurately, the seam split. 

We put in call a to the store where we purchased the counter top, and a work order was sent to the contractor that did the install. Over a week went by before making another call to the store. A couple more days, and the installer finally called. The employee admitted she isn't very familiar with the installation or materials, but asked for photos to show "the guys in the back."


I'm no pro, but that looks like a failed seam to me, making this an installation problem.

What she told me about the warranty did not agree with what I read on the Dupont 10-year Limited Warranty. According to her, they only offer a one-year warranty on installation. Dupont's warranty states:
"The warranty covers seam performance"

We'll see what they respond with. I'm really hoping this is an easy repair. Wish us luck!



2 comments:

  1. Hi Leslie, I've worked with Corian when I was still making custom kitchens and bathrooms (I'm now into upholstery). We used to make our own counter tops from scratch, so I do know a fair bit about Corian.

    It is definitely a failed joint. The only thing that might cause this is either the wrong glue was used on the joint, or there is some sort of extreme stress within your cabinet installation, that literally pulled apart the seam (like if your floor was sagging severely, or if they torqued/forced the counter top in place, etc). More than likely they used the wrong glue, or didn't use ENOUGH of it.

    Corian needs to be bonded with a specialty glue that comes with the Corian. It's sort of an epoxy that's mixed in a 1/10 ratio in a special gun with a cool spirally nozzle. The glue comes pre-tinted in matching colours depending on what colour your counter top is.

    The good news, is that you can likely just have the installer come and putty-in some of this tinted glue, leave it to harden, scrape it, and sand it flat. It won't be 100% perfect, but it should be minimally visible.

    The other option would be that they need to take apart the counter, re-glue the seam, sand/polish it, and re-install it. This might be a pain, or nearly impossible if the piece is connected to plumbing, or passes under other cabinetry.

    Depending on how picky you are, and how much trouble the counter top company gives you, you'll need to decide if you want it fixed properly (the second option, which is the "huge pain in the ass" option), of if you'll settle for a patch job. Either way, it should be fixable.

    The other thing I should ask: was this joint bolted together and glued in place "on site"? If so, it's possible that the bolts underneath have popped or let go, which also caused the failed joint. If this is the scenario, then it would be pretty easy to fix (they can just unbolt, pop apart the counter, reglue, re-bolt, sand/polish and done!)

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  2. Whoa- awesome insight! Thanks :)

    It appears there are no bolts, and I'm definitely the picky type. I'm disappointed, of course, but eager to see what they respond with. I'll keep you posted!

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