Radon from granite is a potentially serious problem if you happen to get the
bad slab. I wouldn't buy it unless it was tested according to recent
articles including one from a geologist who had the stuff ripped out of her
house after discovering the problem.
I had corian in my last house and we are putting it into our current house.
We never had a stain or crack or heat problem. Darker colors can show
scratches, We had white so it wasn't an issue. The corian sinks are
fantastic and we are currently installing a corian shower with molded corian
shower pan.
"dadiOH" wrote in message
.. .
infiniteMPG wrote:
We're pretty winding down on our new cabinets and we're seriously
seeking our best countertop choices (no, plywood is the temporary
choice until the real stuff arrives). We've heard stories of heat
affecting Corian and LG and things like if you cut on the countertop
itself it will scor or mark like a plastic cutting board. We've also
heard stories of everything from emisions of radon gas from granite
and the need to seal and care for the surface. We have seen granite
at places like Lowe's that is supposedly sealed for 15 years now,
too. We've heard good and bad about Silestone but then today someone
said it's just Home Depot's branding of granite.
We'd like to get to the truth of the matter but I'd rather throw it
out to the knowledgable public (i.e. alt.home.repair) then from some
vendor or distributor. What's the truth about these materials????
Also, we like the molded in sinks that come with Corian and LG but
heard that if they get damaged from dropping something in them, then
you have to replace the whole counter top and can't just replace the
sink. We don't really like the stainless sinks sitting under a
granite countertop as there is a slight mating 'crap trap' between the
sink and the countertop and although we know this is sealed, there is
still the mating recess between them. Doesn't seem to be something
I'd want.
So what's the truth?????????
Man made materials - Corian, Silestone, "Quartz", et al - are made by
embedding minerals in plastic. How soft and/or durable they are depends
on what *kind* of plastic mostly and which minerals secondly. And on the
ratio of plastic to minerals. Regardless, none of the plastics will
resist a steel knife. Nor high heat. However, they are resilient and
should resist damage from things dropping on them.
Natural stones can be formed either in a similar manner to the above or by
the interlocking of the crystals of the minerals of which the rock is
composed. Most limestone and sandstone are examples of the former,
granite an example of the latter. Again, their hardness and durability
depends upon the characteristics of the minerals comprising
them...limestone is soft, sandstone is hard (assuming it is comprised of
quartz sand). Their permeability depends upon how tightly the grains are
hooked together and the types of minerals. A few natural rocks - talc,
for example - have virtually no permeability.
BTW, "granite" has a fairly narrow definition petrologically. Most of the
"granite" sold for counter tops should more accurately be referred to as
"granitic". As far as radon from such goes, I would worry far more about
being zapped by a death ray from aliens somewhere in Andromeda than I
would about radon emissions from a granite counter top.
http://www.marble-institute.com/indu...-akron2008.pdf
Which to choose? Up to you. Personally, I think all of them -
particularly the man made ones - are way over priced so I like tile.
Sink-wise, I wouldn't want a Corian type sink...too easy to stain and
scratch. IMO, you can't beat cast iron covered with porcelain.
--
dadiOH
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