[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by HarryD

I would not go with Corian (or it's imiatators) or the Acrylic products. They do not last.

Either laminate, tile or some sort of stone (natural or synthetic).

If you price of a slab takes your breath away (it did to me when I did my kitchen), but you like hte look of granite, think about granite tiles. They come in two basic flavors: 12x12 squares and 18" wide x 26" long mini slabs.

We did our kitchen with 12x12 "Ubatuba" tiles. The material was on sale at Home Depot for 7$/sq and we hired a tile mason to set them. We installed about 100 sf for about 1/2 the cost of a granite slab.

My in-laws have Corian. They also have 10 kids. After 7 years of abuse the countertops in their kitchen still look good. We have tiles for our current countertop thanks to the builder. There is nothing worse than trying to clean a countertop that is full of seams.

Having installed solid surface tops, the install is EVERYTHING. Absolutely whatever you do, do not trust Home Depot or Lowes to install them. Their subs are the cheapest money can buy, you will not be pleased. You may save up front, but will pay long term.