Solid surface kitchen countertops have come a long way since the days when laminate was king. The combination of usability and design set a tone and a standard. Be it the classic elegance of granite or wood, a colorful solid surface or laminate, or the sleek feel of stainless steel, solid surface kitchen countertops abound with options.
The launch, announced last month, will offer opportunities to build a strong presence in the European market and to cross-pollinate the U.S. and European markets with each other's design, color and material trends, said company officials, adding the brand will be known in Europe as "Nevamar by Panolam."Michaela Harbert has perfected her own successful four-step technique for refinishing plastic laminate countertops, and now provides this service professionally in the Cleveland, OH area. She calls her process Countertop Transfauxmations, and she has produced and sells a DVD and manual that explains the entire process. The process involves faux finishing and is completed with hand tools such as rollers and sponges as opposed to spray guns. With proper preparation, her method can cover areas that have moderate burn damage as well as chips, nicks and gouges. I've ordered the DVD, which is available at ByYouLLC.com, and will report on the results in a future column.These products and services offer the promise that plastic laminate countertops that are moderately damaged or worn, or that no longer match the color scheme of the kitchen or bath, can be refurbished for many additional years of service.-Pick your colorsBurns from hot pots are a common form of damage to plastic laminate countertops, and this type of damage is usually too extensive to be repaired inconspicuously. Vance Industries in another company that has been offering a repair solution for decades. The Vance Built-in Surface Saver is a tempered glass cutting board with a stainless steel frame. The product is designed to be permanently installed as an insert into the countertop, centered over the damaged area. The product is available in two sizes measuring either 12"xl5" or 16"x20", and a variety of colors of both the glass cutting boards and the steel frames. Visit Vancelnd. com for more information.REPAIR OPTIONSCost, though not necessarily the most important factor, always plays a part in your final decision.As the years went by, I gradually added more products to the range of countertops my company services. Our first expansion was to begin repairing quartz countertops. Then we added butcher block, granite, marble as well as many other natural stones, in addition to concrete and recycled glass countertops to our product mix.I'm now in the process of re-evaluating that opinion. In a recession, it seems unwise to ignore any reasonable business opportunity, and consumers will often consider repairing a product they may have replaced when times were better. If you Google the phrase "recession shoe repair," you will find dozens of articles about shoe repair shops all across the country that are swamped with business in the form of hundreds of pairs of old shoes stacked up waiting to be fixed. Shoe repair is a perfect example of a countercyclical business - one that improves when the overall economy is poor. Perhaps repairing plastic laminate countertops is a similar market niche.- how durable they will beThe firm has hired a sales team in the United Kingdom and is in discussions with several distributors, officials noted. Plans call for a U.K. distribution facility to open in the spring of this year, Nevamar officials added.- how costlyOccasionally, we would be asked to repair a plastic laminate countertop, but in most cases, we declined. My perception was that the repair options were limited and the countertops themselves were relatively inexpensive. As a result, most customers would choose to live with minor damage, or they would complete a do-ityourself repair, or replace the countertops with new ones. None of these options involved hiring a professional repair service.Durable solid surface kitchen countertops typically carry a ten year limited warranty. If you plan to be in your current house for years to come, solid surface countertops may be your best choice.Do your homework, and the solid surface countertops you select will be the highlight of your kitchen.-Pick your featuresThomas' Kitchen Art is a division of Eagle Specialty Products, a company based in St. Louis that supplies ingrethents for manufacturers of paints, coatings, inks, caulks, adhesives and metal working fluids. Thomas' Kitchen Art has introduced two products that can be used for refinishing plastic laminate countertops. One is called Liquid Stainless Steel, which is a unique paint composed of microscopic particles of stainless steel in a clear, automotive grade acrylic resin. Marketed primarily for appliance refinishing, it can also be used to simulate a stainless steel countertop. Visit LiquidStainlessSteel.com for complete information.
Do your homework, and the solid surface countertops you select will be the highlight of your kitchen.
Author: Damion Rutherford
have to admit when I read the title of your post I though you were going to be talking about some of the solid surface sinks that have a back-lighting feature. I saw several of the at KBIS this year.
ReplyDeletelaminated surface has come a long way since "coral coloured swirls". SOme of the new Corian colours are "almost" stone-like.
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