Corian vs. Quartz Countertops

The natural stone look for countertops has become increasingly popular over the last few years. While there’s certainly value to installing granite or marble countertops, for one reason or another, that doesn’t always make sense.

Enter Corian and quartz countertops. Both Corian and quartz countertops combine the use of natural stone and manmade additives to form a stone-like surface.

Corian is actually a brand name trademarked by DuPont, and is synonymous with solid surface countertops (like Kleenex with facial tissues). Quartz is a natural stone, and its minerals make up the vast majority of its surface. This article will examine Corian vs. quartz countertops in Midland, MI, and explore the different characteristics of each.

Makeup

Corian is a solid-surface material composed of 33 percent acrylic resins and 66 percent natural mineral materials.

Anywhere from 90 to 95 percent of quartz countertops are composed of hard natural stone particles. The other 5 to 10 percent are special resins used to bind the material together, typically polymers or cements.

Appearance

Because so much of it is synthetic material, Corian countertops are available in just about any color you might like. The seams of Corian countertops are integrated so well that they’re nearly invisible. This is the good news. The bad news is that if your goal is to mimic the look of a granite countertop, Corian can’t really do that.

Quartz is made almost entirely of natural stone, so it’s almost indistinguishable from marble or granite countertops. One drawback is that your selection of colors will be limited mostly to shades found in nature. The seams of quartz countertops are covered, but they are slightly visible.

Durability

Corian countertops aren’t technically fully heat resistant, and you shouldn’t put flaming skillets directly on them, but a warm pot every now and then should be fine. Scratches are a different story, however, and you shouldn’t ever cut anything directly on your Corian countertop, as it will almost certainly result in scratches.

Quartz is more heat resistant than Corian countertops, likely due in large part to its natural stone composition. In addition to being more heat resistant than Corian countertops, quartz countertops are more scratch resistant. With that being said, cutting directly on the countertop should be avoided if possible.

Maintenance

Because it is a non-porous material, Corian countertops don’t have to be regularly sealed like natural stone countertops would. Should your Corian countertop ever suffer any stains, scratching or heat damage, the surface can be sanded, rebuffed and repolished fairly easily.

Quartz is also a non-porous material, so it doesn’t have to be sealed every year or so like other natural stone countertops. While it’s not as easily fixed as Corian, its increased durability means that it’s less likely to suffer superficial surface damage.

Cost

The price of both of these countertop materials is comparable. There may be slight differences within each category or when it comes to installation, but you can let those other factors influence which material you choose because your budget likely won’t be affected.

Call about your countertop today

When you look at Corian vs. quartz countertops in Midland, MI, you can see that each material has its share of benefits and drawbacks. If you call the team at Nowak Cabinets of Midland, we’d be happy to help talk you through the process of selecting and installing your brand-new kitchen countertops.

Categorised in: Countertops

This post was written by Writer