Solid Surface Popularity
Some cabinetmakers say stone and laminate are edging solid surfacing out. November 12, 2005
Question
I have a cabinet shop in the upper Midwest and it seems like solid surface countertops are becoming much less common than they were a few years ago. Locally it seems that it is either laminate, quartz, or granite, but I am not seeing solid surface. Is solid surface declining in popularity everywhere or just here?
Forum Responses
(Cabinetmaking Forum)
From contributor A:
In the high end homes built in Des Moines Iowa, we have not seen a solid surface countertop in years. For over 5 years it has been 100% granite or some other type of stone.
From contributor B:
I am in Texas and I have also noticed a recent drop-off in solid surface countertops. Most of my work is remodeling existing kitchens, and I have torn out many good working countertops to make way for granite or quartz. I haven't seen any put on my cabinets for about two years now.
From contributor C:
I'm in north rural TX and am doing solid surface for about 30% of all kitchens, about 10% laminate, and the rest granite. The last 3 kitchens I did used solid surface (Mystera), and next one is solid surface as well. It comes in spurts here. Granite prices just went up due to popularity, so I expect to sell a lot more solid surface.
From contributor D:
We have been putting solid surface on garbage cabinets for fast food chains. I imagine this puts off the people who can afford solid surface, and they are going with stone, concrete, or stainless steel, which is what we have put in kitchens in the last two years. We haven't done any residential solid surface in about 8 years. A friend who does solid surface is getting a lot of his work from the big box stores for their warehouse cabinets.It seems as if solid surface has dropped down to where laminate used to be in the pecking order, even though it costs as much as stone. Style is a funny thing, isn't it?
From contributor E:
Solid surface has dropped off here, too. Granite and quartz are comparably priced. Plastic makers need to get the message. If you want to sell your product, you must lower your price. Granite and quartz did, and they are thriving.
From contributor F:
My granite dealer/installer is experiencing a boom in sales. He says this is largely due to the availability of Chinese granite which sells for less than half the price of the old standards such as Brazilian, etc. Anybody with just a tiny bit of common sense will take the Chinese granite over the cheap looking US made solid surface stuff any day of the week, and for less money. Comparing good looking Chinese Granite @ $75 a foot versus Corian @ $100 a foot is pretty much a no-brainer. I think that the Solid Surface dealers are going to have to start giving the stuff away if they want to move some product.
