Solid Surface Countertops: Basics to Know Before You Buy

Solid surface countertops have been around for decades and are a mainstay in kitchens and bathrooms. What might have once been considered trendy is now so established that few countertop materials, except for quartz, have managed to achieve the same status.

For homeowners on a budget who want a quality countertop, solid surface is a perfect midrange material for durability, beauty, and easy maintenance. Homeowners who want to upgrade from laminate—but who still want an affordable countertop—often gravitate to solid surface material.

What Solid Surface Is

Solid surface is a synthetic countertop material that contains both minerals and resins. It is a homogeneous, through-body material that feels smooth and silky. It can be buffed to a matte finish or up to a high gloss.

Visually, solid surface lacks the depth of natural stone or even quartz. Solid surface does resemble stone far more than laminate does.

The word solid in solid-surface reinforces the idea that this is a stable base, unlike bouncy laminates mounted on medium-density fiberboard. Also, unlike laminate, It is a solid color all the way through the material.

Solid Surface Material

Solid surface countertops are about 33-percent binding resins and 66-percent minerals. Those minerals are a bauxite derivative, aluminum trihydrate (ATH). ATH is a kind of fine, white powder that helps solid surface maintain its smooth consistency.

Contrast this with quartz counters, which are about 10 percent resins and the rest minerals. These minerals sometimes include marble and granite industrial waste and even ground-up mirrors and glass.

Solid surface materials began with DuPont's Corian. The idea behind its invention was to have a surface that looked reasonably like natural stone, but unlike stone, would be non-porous. When you slice granite open, you will see a wild, chaotic conglomeration of particles forming the slab. While this is beautiful, it offers multiple avenues for cracking and breaking.

But the term solid has another meaning. Dupont's true intent was to create a surface that was the same from top to bottom, a homogeneous product. This homogeneity is key in the high-abuse environment of a kitchen. With this, there are no layers of laminates that can de-laminate.

A cross-section of solid surface countertops shows that you can keep delving deeper into it and still get the same product. This is essential if you need to repair deep chips and scratches.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Nearly non-porous: No surface is completely non-porous, but tile, quartz, and solid surface come as close to being non-porous as any countertop material. Solid surface's extremely low porosity keeps bacteria away, promoting a cleaner and more sanitary countertop.
• Stone-like: While solid surface material will never be confused with natural stone, it's a close simulation due to the minerals mixed into the resins.
• Homogeneous: Unlike laminate or ceramic tile, solid surface's material goes all the way through, from top to bottom. As a result, it visually fares better after impact than a multi-layered product like laminate.
• Easy to repair: Solid surface will scratch if you cut on it. But with an orbital sander and fine grain sandpaper, even the homeowner can sand down scratches.

Cons

• Soft: Homeowners who have solid surface countertops should be extra careful to use cutting boards, as solid surface is relatively soft and can be scratched by knives and sharp utensils.
• Heat deformation: Solid surface can hold up against boiling water's temperature of 212 F. But some solid surfaces will begin to deform at temperatures not much higher than that (250 F). This means that hot, dry pans (such as a frying pan, which is typically hotter) and wet pans (such as a pot of pasta with boiling water) should not be placed on a solid surface counter.
• DIY-difficult: While easier to work with than natural stone or quartz countertops, solid surface material still isn't easy for most do-it-yourselfers to work with.

Solid Surface vs. Other Countertop Materials

Cooks are restless, always searching for the perfect countertop material. The stainless steel counters of restaurant kitchens are highly valued by professionals but are not cost-effective or practical in residential kitchens. Solid surface is affordable by a majority of homeowners.

Others such as wood and ceramic tile have limitations. Wood is porous, hard to clean, and can develop a slimy feel. Ceramic tile, on an individual basis, is hard and non-porous. But when installed in numbers, grouted seams make food preparation more difficult. Except for invisibly welded seams, solid surface is smooth all the way across.

Expensive and prone to cracking, even the popular granite and marble options are far from perfect. Solid surface will never experience the same through-body cracks that sometimes affect natural stone.

Laminate surfaces such as Formica are a sandwich of paper or fabric impregnated with resin, all of that glued onto particleboard. Laminate easily chips and its appearance lacks depth.

Solid Surface Maintenance

Solid surface material scratches relatively easily. But buffing out the scratches is so simple, that even homeowners can resurface it with just an orbital sander.

Fix and resurface solid surface counters by beginning with fine-grain sandpaper, such as #220, on an orbital sander. Work progressively higher to finer grains. Many fabricators like to finish by sanding with a Scotch-Brite pad.

Avoid high-speed buffing of solid surface as this can cause the surface to melt.

Solid Surface Countertop Cost

While solid surface countertops are not the most affordable countertop option, they are much more budget-friendly than luxury materials like granite, marble, and quartz. You can expect to pay between $10 and $80 per square foot for the material. Installed, you're looking at between $50 to $140 per square foot (labor + material). By contrast, granite and marble will cost around $50 to $200 per square foot with installation.

Solid surface countertops are a midrange option that offer a stone-like look without a stone countertop price.

Solid Surface Countertop Installation

Solid surface countertops are mostly installed by professionals, but they can be DIY-installed on a limited basis.

Professional Installation

After the technician measures the top of the base cabinets for a fit, the solid surface slabs are cut down to size. Sink cut-outs and range cut-outs are made with a saw or router. Then, the edges are sanded smooth.

Adjoining solid surface slabs are glued end-to-end. The top is sanded down and honed to the desired finish.

DIY Installation

For the most part, solid surface countertops are not very DIY-friendly. You need to be an authorized retailer to purchase many brand-name solid surface materials. Along with that, solid surface materials are difficult to fabricate without special tools and expertise.

However, some online companies act as resellers of discontinued and rejected solid surface materials, so they will sell to non-authorized buyers. Plus, some simple fabrication such as cutting straight lines or creating sink cut-outs can be done by do-it-yourselfers. So, some do-it-yourselfers should be able to install solid surface on a small scale, for bar tops or kitchenettes.

Joining solid surface slabs end-to-end is tricky, and that is why professional-grade solid surface is still best left in the hands of professionals.

Solid Surface Brands

When Dupont's patent expired, other companies rushed in to make Corian substitutes. Along with Corian, other popular brands of solid surface countertop materials include:

• Avonite
• Formica Solid Surfacing
• Gibraltar
• Staron
• Mystera