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All of you guys are raising valid and excellent points.
Wags refers to a’ builder program’ whose intention was to grab a piece of the laminate market. A few of us saw the error and adapted the program for a better fit, but the damage was done. Solid surface took a hit to its reputation as a premium surface.
As is typical in these cases, the manufacturer and the fabricator were at cross purposes. It was the manufacturer’s goal to increase material distribution, even at the expense of product reputation, and to some extent they succeeded. Nowadays, the other half of that equation is in play: the reputation has been damaged. Irretrievably? I don’t know, but I hope not. The Piper has been paid.
I always wondered why you have to be certiifed to install in residential but not commercial? who made this dumb ass rule…its no wonder why people see Corian in anegative way, airport bathrooms, fast food resaturants..where more people see SS it should be done by a certified fabricator..not just let any drywaller install it…
Solid Surface inst goin anywhere though..its what you can do with it that sells…sorry but cove isnt to big in my arena cause after its said and done it look like those post formed laminate tops…Stone never worries about cove..I think mixing ss materials and true seamless looks is what will bring it back and stop calling it Corian for one thing…people cannot get boring bland white outta their head.. Love this brain food….but dont hold my thoughts against me..later I’ll problay change my mind
and disagree with what i just saidGreenie,
The warranty is the number one reason cited for residential certification. The other is the price difference between residential and commercial projects.No, I don’t buy it either, but that’s how it goes down.
By the way. I finally went on gotgreencounters. Nice layout.
What manufacturer does the green recycled stuff mentioned on the page. I didn’t see the answer.
What manufacturer does the green recycled stuff mentioned on the page. I didn’t see the answer
Tom I dont get the questions..you mean on my website? or my Facebook page?
Do mean you want to give the names of the MFG materials? My website sux…it worx though..I just tell people its a gallery i done myself…I always have WebHamsters telling me to fix it and get the flying dust particles out of the pictures and yada yada ..I have a professional looking one being done but havent got around to sendint the guy all the professional pictures and all that stuff
Most of business comes from me feeding a squirrel on my website LOl..I thought I did good work..hell no
its the squirrelcool I got rid of the smokestacks on my avtar..now that awf the most wanted list I can show my mug shot
AHHH!
That pic – ummm… scared me a little.
I’ll get used to it. really.On your site, youse has a pic of a concrete product with green recycled glass – you asked the reader to guess which manufacturer is used exclusively for the content. I didn’t see an answer.
It has kept me up nights. The neighbors are asking questions.
granite is not going any where it never will it has been around for thousands of years as a building material and as a counter top and furniture surface. solid surface came along centuries after marble and granite. and granite will be here centuries after solid surfaces is gone as a building and surface material. and yes you are seeing granite in just about every application now as i said earlier the malls are covered in it as well as hotel bathrooms and every thing else. granite has a wider range of colors and textures than any man made product ever will. and there is always a market for high end stones with beautiful grain that just can not be reproduced by man solid surface looks like plastic seriously how can you compare these to things
you cant and solid surface only has one consistent argument. that is the seamless look. but with today’s granite seam technology the seams are as tight as razor blades and people love it they eat that stuff up top that off with a good surface polish and you have a seam that competes with solid surface
i did this seam buy hand no cnc and you can feel it and at firs look yo almost cant see it
this is our standard seam
adding a new color is not going to help solid surface now and issfa has done next to nothing for SS in years it has now jumped on the multi surface band wagon as well. i would say that adding textured finishes on solid surface may be one avenue. a brushed finish on the surface give it the old venero veining and it may look a lot like brushed marble or soap stone i used to get excited when i did a big custom SS job with cove or a thermoformed edge now i just looks like plastic to me. where did the innovation go? its kinda like those people you see walking around on the street that obviously got stuck in some decade like the 70’s or 80’s and never moved past it. you just want to grab them and say it’s 2010 get a clue man.
Awesome seam Eli..thats what people useta say about granite seams that they are silicone bread crumb catchers…I have seen some good seams in granite..look at Eli’s…I seen bad seams period…Ya see Kowboy’s repairs..looks invisible..I thinks its the fabricator/designer who sets the sizzle..Great material can look like crap and vice versa
Last year I hadta make this kitchen look like I pulled a slab from an eruptin Volcano..funny HUh? its solid surface..but I hadta do alot work to that edge to mimic natural volcanic rock LOL
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wacked HUH?
Tom the answer to your question was Heinekin and becks with a few Coronas
sorry for the delay my friend
Eli..your work is tight and awesome Im a fan dude..I cannot make fun of granite seams with you aroundI never thought it was about the seam. Each product has it pro’s and cons’ we can go back and forth. Do you have an answer to my question?Eli,
You know what else has been around a long time? Water. Oh yeah, and air too. Longevity makes not a good reason for countertops.If you have to add a bunch of chemicals to a product just to make it acceptable for use as a countertop, how truly practical a material is it?
Understand, I am not saying granite is a lousy countertop material, but the reasons you give to knock solid surface are specious at best. Have you considered that a customer might be drawn to a subtle aggregate rather than a screaming banshee of a pattern? Might a customer prefer a reliable and repeatable look for a business or a large kitchen instead of the uniquely different appearance of each and every slab? Methinks you doth protest too much.
Oh, and you blew out the borders on my screen, darn ya.
at what point did i ever knock SS my roots are solid surface. this was never about comparing what surface is better its about why is solid surface falling of as a premier surface and it is.. its not your fault and its not mine so there is no reason to all up tight about it
if i had there ear.. i would say dedicate some time and money on what it is they need to do to get back on the horse. i don’t care if solid surface disappears as a ” PREMIER ” counter top surface. i am geared up to do what ever is next what ever the customers choose is what i will fab for them. if they want freeze dried horse shit as a counter top and they are going to $200 a sq ft for it that’s what i will be doing. its my job to provide the customer with what they want its your job to make them WANT solid surface i don’t care if granite disappears as a “PREMIER” surface. im in business to make $$ and to cater to the higher end kitchen manufacturers.
Jon your right. It is all about perception and education. But, to capture the designers imagination the SS industry has to come up with something new and exciting. When the glass series came out, I introduced it to the A & D market by having red velvet “bags” with gold “rope” ties. I went through my presentation on SS and had those bags laying on the table. Then I would slowly open the bag and carefully handle the material like I was holding jewels. The reaction was amazing and almost universal. This is the sizzle that Joe has spoken about. Same with the metallic series, blue velvet bags for those, same response.
Just as solid surface would not of grown if the industry had not gotten past, White, off white and almost white, we need to get past the boring colors of yesterday. Even tho most of the specs I got with Avonite were typical colors, it ws the Wow Colors that sold the tan sheets. Which is why most mfg will have a few bold bright colors, its not because they think they are going to be huge sellers, but it gets the designers attention, then they specify brown.
So, which mfg are going to be the innovators? Who is going to expand what SS is ? Lets challenge the mfg, and then. lets reward them by helping them to promote the industry. Lets face it, WE have to assume some of the responsibility for less innovation. R and D costs.. we can’t expect to pay the least, buy the knock offs and then yell when they stop investing in R & D.
I received this in EMail form today. I think it shows why major mfg can not afford to spend $ for R & D.
I deleted the name, because it’s not important, many companies are doing this.
If we don’t wake up and support those companies that are bringing value to the industry in which we make our living, then we deserve what we get.What I find interesting about colors is most of what we fabricate is white,off white and bisque. It seems designers in New York love the solids.As a manufacturer of solid surface sinks and bowls in 50 colors including small and large particulate colors we always get the “WOW” response when we tell potential customers that there are alternatives to white and “Off” white colors. Usually, however, once the “wow” wears off the customer orders white or “off” white because it’s practical.
Approximatley 15 %-20% of our business is in “colored” sinks and bowls. I believe it all boils down to a decision about resaleability(if there is such a word)
“I’d love to put a Blue Willow sink in my Oceanic top but will it be attractive should I decide to sell my house?” One persons perfect color is anothers”what the hell is that? Practicality is always the determining factor. Most people are afraid of sizzle.
You may paint you walls bright Orange and love it, the next person will wonder what you were thinking, but you can easily paint over it. It is a little more dificult to replace your kitchen countertops and sink.We, as an industry, need to sell the practicality of solid surface versus the “other” surfaces. Repairability, non-porosity, hygenic, thermoformability, design options (like the work we see from Sterling) and the myriad other positves solid surface offers.
GEMSTONE
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