Corian and Solid Surface Worktops: Costs, Care and Where They Win

What solid surface actually is

Corian is the best known brand, but the category also includes Hi-Macs, Staron, Hanex and others. All are roughly two thirds natural mineral and one third acrylic resin, cast into sheets and colour matched.

Two properties make it unusual. It can be heated and bent into curves, and two pieces bonded with a matching adhesive behave as one, so a run of counter can turn a corner or rise into an upstand with no visible line at all.

Costs, honestly

Prices vary with colour group, sheet thickness and how much fabrication the shape demands. A straight kitchen run is at the bottom of the range, a curved reception desk with integrated lighting is at the top.

Where it wins, and where it does not

Choose solid surface when the shape matters, when hygiene matters, or when the piece will take daily commercial punishment and needs to look new for years.

• ✓Wins: seamless joints, integrated sinks and bowls, curved and thermoformed shapes
• ✓Wins: hygiene, since there is no porous grout line or visible seam for bacteria
• ✓Wins: repairability, because scratches and scuffs sand out on site
• ✓Loses: direct heat, so a hot pan straight from the hob can mark it
• ✓Loses: scratch hardness against quartz, though the trade-off is that quartz cannot be repaired

Looking after it

Day to day, warm soapy water and a non abrasive cream cleaner is all a matt finish needs. Use a chopping board and a trivet, and wipe strong chemicals off promptly.

If it does get marked, that is the point of the material. Light scratches lift with a fine abrasive pad worked evenly along the surface. Deeper damage, burns or chips can be cut out and a new section bonded in by a fabricator, and once sanded back the repair is invisible.

Specifying it properly

Give your fabricator a template, not a drawing, wherever the existing walls are involved. Agree the edge profile, the finish level (matt, satin or gloss), and whether upstands are bonded or loose, before manufacture starts. Darker colours and gloss finishes show wear faster, which is why most commercial counters are specified in mid tone matt.