[Rich]

I’m a DIYer with a fair amount of woodworking experience. I’ve been reading up on solidsurface.com on someone like me doing an install. I’m sure I won’t get the results you pros would give, but I don’t have many options on my budget.

I’d like to do a counter top and a folded-slab table like shown in the attached photo. Color would be Corian “designer white”, Formica “sail”, or similar. I would think the leg-slabs and the underside of the table would be 1/4″. Would it be OK to use 1/4″ for the table surface? It wouldn’t get heavy use and would keep the weight down.

My other question is where to purchase? Solidsurface.com has a limited selection over 30″ wide and my table top is 36″x48″.

Thanks in advance.

[Sue Turner]

Rich, No. 1 You are only going to get 30 inch wide material.  So that means if you are going wider than 30 inches you will have to put a seam in it.  1/4 inch material is not, I repeat not recommended for kitchen or table tops.  But and it is a big But it can be done in your own home by you if you take some precatutions.  You can put 1/4 inch over a well supported sub-straight as long as you are not going to put any heat generating appliances on it.  You would anchor it to the sub-straight with silicone.

Trying to go wider than the 30 inch the material comes in with 1/4 inch can be tricky.  You would have to pull a seam and reinforce it with the same material and then hassel with the reinforceing strip with the sub-straight.  If at all possible stay at 30 inches.

[Rich]

Thanks William. Much appreciated. I will certainly heed your warnings.

I did a full-sized mockup at 30″ width and it was too narrow so I really need to go to 36″. As a DIYer I can’t imagine I’d get a decent seam with 30″ stock so I’ll go with the 1/4″ and used 1″ or 5/4″ plywood as a substrate and be sure to keep hot things off of it.

I’m all ears if you have any other suggestions/words of caution.

[Andy Graves]

Just use 1/2″ material. 1/4″ is flimsy on a countertop. If you plan on doing a leg like the one in the picture, 1/2″ material will be much easier to work.

On top of this, 1/4 is typically not perfectly flat. The edges tend to bow which makes it even more difficult to keep things straight.

If you can’t find what you are looking for at SolidSurface.com, you could try a local company that is willing to sell you some remnants.

To save money, look at Glacier White rather than the Designer White.

[Wags]

You may want to look at Avonite..they make both 1/4″ and 1/2″ in wider widths. I agree 1/2″ would give you a much more satisfactory result and, with much less stress in your life.

[Tom M]

Glacier White Corian is available in 36″ x 12′ widths/lengths. Use that. You may need to buy a full sheet anyway, so the leg gets included in the material purchase.

That’s where it starts. You have a lot more things you need to do for the fabrication if you are going to build the edges up. Glue cartridges, a dispensing gun to make it work, proper fabrication procedures, etc.

Good luck with your project. This is a wonderful material to work with.

[Author]

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