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In my little world Jon..Solid Surface is something that I still have to explain what it is..when I say corian like..it doesn’t get them excited until i explain what i can do with it…then when they see the price..its disappointment…Solid Surface like i said I never even call it that because too many other surfaces have those words in their patent papers…to this day I call it seamless surfaces…but black or darks..those only might get sold commercially where they dont complain to change out
Jon,
You are always the eternal optimist. I have to admire that!
They say I’m a glass is kinda half full guy. I snarl and say..”it’s half empty numbnutz”!
I think it will be the same or a little better – depending on whether the economy cracks apart or not.
I hope it will be stronger commercially and, if we do our jobs correctly, a little more accepted residentially. I still can’t forgive the manufacturers on how they let it slide into oblivion a few years ago.Tom, I just realized that has got to be the problem…these kitchen and bath magazines in the store..not the countertop magazines that preach to the chior..but the ones in shopping stores still show the mediteraenean design as if its the beautiful sign of success…if only they would show White SS into a clean bright refreshing look with thermoformed design…it would rock..
but no the wingnuts then show samples of SS what they call synthetic granite as if the cunsumers are cheap and it tagged ss as a knockoff to Stone…Like i said i try by calling it seamless..it makes the customer say what does that mean..of course I then tell them about shower surrounds, etc..If I sold SS as a MFG thats where i would advertise…most fabbers are not sales reps..we make whats in demand…and if they see..they demand…why try to change them…for what?Solid surface is still on the rise for me here in the little cosmic hamlet by the sea. I have been bidding both lam and SS. Once I explain the virtues of SS the sale usually becomes an SS job.
Doing lots of showers these days too. I think folks are tired of cleaning grout? With wall panels, A certain SS manufacturer needs to get their shipping methods in order….and another stopped offering colors with particles…what the huh? My customers love these shower systems.
All and all 2013 is looking good on the frontier. Im still trying to convince my pals the Kilchers (discovery channel) they need SS and not some old planks cut from the home stead to serve as counter tops to go on the cabinets we just built.i know I’m the outsider here, but we see 2013 as a real opportunity for us in Solid Surface. We partnered with a shop in Tennessee that does a lot of SS. It has opened my eyes to a market that I didn’t know existed. There is a strong commercial demand and there is limited supply compared to the stone market. And there are even fewer shops in our area that do both.
We are seeing steady projects that range from 10k up to 200k that require SS or mixed materials. I hope this proves to be a good year for everybody!
And the glass is half full! Always.
I see an upward
trend. We need to look at the design possibilities as a a selling point.
Miles keep on
posting. After you reach 1000 post Lenny will unleash his words of wisdom on
you.I’m an old stone guy that is just learning about Solid Surface. I used to sell a fair amount of it about 8-10 years ago but never fabricated. We were subbing it out and when we got busy in stone, we just referred all SS request straight to the SS guy.
Over the last 5-6 years, I kind of though that SS demand had dried up. But about a year ago, we partnered with a stone/ss shop about 100 miles from us. I have been amazed at the amount of SS work they do and the type of projects they are getting because of SS.
That has given us a new perspective for next year. Our market (Atlanta) has 125-150 stone shops. I would guess there are less than 30 SS shops (I could be wrong), but only a handful of shops that can do stone and SS in any volume. We see a lot of commercial bid opportunities for mixed surfaces.
We have just started exploring this market and I see a lot of opportunity. I also am amazed at the “new” colors (new to me) of SS as well as what you can do with it that you can’t do with any other surfaces. There is a very seperate market that’s not going away, IMO. I guess you guys know this already, but it’s something we’re excited about for the upcoming year.
Miles, just remember a turbo blade cuts SS and a 16g grinding stone is great for shaping radiuss’.
The sawjet would cut it like butter
Finishing up 250 sq/ft of 3cm SS for a church, hand fabbed all the sinks and the trash can holes.
In all seriousness, if you need any install help on large mixed materials commercial jobs, let me know.
AS far as the original thread, in our little town, we are seeing very little SS on the residential side. But that could be b/c those jobs are serviced by the same SS shops that have been servicing them for years.
Miles,
Howdy! Good to hear from you!
Look up in Lowe’s for my new SS designs. They be hitting US shores soon.
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