Replies

1. 
   user-14544 | Mar 26, 2006 12:05am | #1

   welcome to breaktime!

   a couple of questions....were you the original purchaser of the Corian?  And is it actually Corian or an off brand?  If so it may still be under warranty..although if I remember right it ends after 10 years.  Check with whoever installed the tops and see if it is still covered.

   if not, you could use an epoxy type glue to cover the underside of the sinks..but be aware this is just a band-aid.  Similar to a small crack in a windshield, this thing can be expected to grow.  I doubt it would crack all the way through unless you dropped something heavy in it, or it had a very quick temp change from cold to super hot (rinsing noodles for example) or hot to cold...

   I know when I was installing this stuff (about 10 years ago) there were a bad batch of sinks.  I ended up replacing several sinks...

   hope this helps

    

   knowledge without experience is just information.... Mark Twain

   http://www.cobrajem.com

1. 
   evarela | Mar 26, 2006 12:57am | #2

   Thanks, Charlie. I'm not the original owner and I believe the install is over 10 years old. But you raised an excellent point -- the kitchen counter and sink have "Corian" in raised lettering stamped into the surface (and are one integrated solid asssembly). However, in checking the bathroom, the counter appears to be Corian (without any discernible identification) but the bathroom sink, which is attached from below as a separate unit from the counter, has a label on it saying "Fountainhead by Nevamar". The genuine Corian sink in the kitchen, while it has a very faint hairline crack, is not leaking. The "Fountainhead by Nevamar" in the bathroom has the leaky crack --do you still give the same advice about repair? (I feel a little dumb about the brand confusion--my only excuse is that the stuff in the bathroom has the same color, appearance, and feel of the genuine Corian in the kitchen).

1. 
   DanH | Mar 26, 2006 01:02am | #3

   If it is true solid surface material the crack could be routed out and filled. This would be the most permanent fix but also the most expensive.

   If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people

   happy?

2. 
   user-14544 | Mar 26, 2006 02:09am | #5

   awww...Fountainhead!  that was the company with the bad batch.  they've even been bought out by another company and no longer are in business...

   Don't worry about the misuse of Corian..it's kinda taken on the entire brand name...like Band-Aid, Sheetrock, Crescent Wrench...all specific brands within their respective lines, but famous enough to identify the entire line with their name.

   you can try the epoxy method.  The best thing would be to drill a very small hole right at the start of the crack and fill it with a color matched glue. It would help keep the crack from expanding...kinda like a relief valve.  However, if not done right....you end up with a larger problem.  Check in your area for a solid surface distributor/installer.  they should be able to hook you up with some glue.

   hope this helps

    knowledge without experience is just information.... Mark Twain

   http://www.cobrajem.com

1. 
   evarela | Mar 26, 2006 02:40am | #6

   Charlie, thanks, I appreciate the help.

2. 
   EricPaulson | Mar 26, 2006 01:06am | #4

   I know when I was installing this stuff (about 10 years ago) there were a bad batch of sinks.  I ended up replacing several sinks...

   I'd say that is quite an understatement! I don't think I ever installed one that didn't eventually fail; and this went on for years.[email protected]

    

    

   It's Never Too Late To Become What You Might Have Been

    

    

    

1. 
   DanH | Mar 26, 2006 03:27am | #8

   We've got two 30-year-old Corian vanity tops with integral sinks. No cracks.
   If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people

   happy?

2. 
   Kowboy | Mar 26, 2006 03:05am | #7

   As a certified Corian fabricator and installer with over a decade of experience, I had only one warranty call for which  DuPont picked up the tab even though it was customer abuse. I've never had a Corian sink failure. Ever.

   I have had to reglue the overflow tube on some Corian vanity sinks.

   I have also been called to fix "cracks" that were scratches from customer abuse.

   Make sure the cracks really are cracks. It would be possible to repair, but you'd need a very experienced technician to make it look good. 

1. 
   ponytl | Mar 26, 2006 05:11am | #9

   hope you can help... i just got 2 brand new corian sinks (given to me) they were already made into a countertop (bath)  under mounted... both counters  must have had a large load stacked on the boxes  because both were busted all the way around the sinks... the sinks are still perfect.. is there some way i seperate the remaining countertop from these sinks? i wanted to under mount them on a concrete or maybe a steel countertop... or are they junk even thou the the sink part is undamaged?

   p

1. 
   DanH | Mar 26, 2006 05:49am | #10

   Depending on where the break is, you could at least cut out around them, leaving a lip, round over the edge, and have top-mount sinks.
   If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people

   happy?

1. 
   ponytl | Mar 26, 2006 06:01am | #11

   it was a almost black top with kinda dull/flat white sinks... now i have white sinks with a jagged 1/2" thick black ring around the top... i could undermount them as is with a little overhang it'd look like it was supposed to be that way... i just wanted to know if there was a way to break the bond beteen the sink and the counter top material... looks like white epoxie... they blended the top into the bowl so it appears seamless

   p 

1. 
   DanH | Mar 26, 2006 06:33am | #12

   Better to cut than try to break.
   If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people

   happy?

2. 
   JeffBuck | Mar 27, 2006 05:22am | #15

   just thinking out loud here ...

   cut an oval in some scrap ply.

   put legs of some sort on the ply ... now U have a sink stand.

   drop the sink into it.

    

   now ... build that up flush to the top of the sink ... cut a bigger oval ...

   I'm assuming the sink is oval shaped ... make that one outta 3/4 ply ...

   there's your base for the router to ride on.

   use a flush cut router bit ... set 3/4 below the base ...

   Now you are cutting at the bottom of the ply.

   run the router around the ring.

   cut all the crap off and U can run another bit around the make for a nice rounded lip.

    

   it'll work ... I can see it from here!

   just making a router skid.

   Jeff    Buck Construction

    Artistry In Carpentry

        Pittsburgh Pa

2. 
   Kowboy | Mar 27, 2006 12:00am | #13

   This is tricky, but you can cut the Corian off the sink flange with a table saw.

   With the bowl upside down on the saw, cut off any jagged edges so you will have flat surfaces for feeding the bowl through the saw on edge. 

   Raise the sawblade as high as it will go. Set the fence on the saw to about 3/8" or so with the kerf of the blade taking up the material almost up to the sink flange. Don't try to cut off all the material at once, leave a 32" or so to compensate for the inevitable tipping when you push the sink through the saw. You may want to make this a two-person operation, depending on the bowl size and your experience level.

   Secure the bowl to a bench and smooth out the flange with a belt sander. Check with a straightedge.

   I did this procedure about a month ago for a Corian kitchen double bowl with excellent results.

1. 
   user-14544 | Mar 27, 2006 01:55am | #14

   are  you strictly a Corian guy, or do you also carry other brands?  I know Corian used to look down on on shops that carried other brands...maybe that was just a supplier deal...

   so what has been your biggest blunder?  when you have time, I'll tell you about this big idiot that laid out a big island with a bar sink in it completely backwards...

   ...did I mention this idiot was me!?knowledge without experience is just information.... Mark Twain

   http://www.cobrajem.com

1. 
   Kowboy | Mar 27, 2006 05:39am | #16

   I no longer have any loyalty to DuPont or Corian. When I sold my business, they were pretty much done with me.

   My biggest mistake was thinking I would score big points bailing out a general contractor on a commercial solid surface job. The GC left a small brush on the jobsite and I picked it up. I figure I paid 10K for that brush. I still have it.

2. 
   ponytl | Mar 27, 2006 05:53am | #17

   cool deal...  like i said... they are new and they were free for the take'n  but i can picture exactly what you are telling me... i'm think'n maybe my shaper with a winged cutter... since i have a matched pair... i have pictured several uses...

   many thanks

   p