Solidity
Solid Surface Specialists - 01628 532271
Design Tips
This contains only information specific to Solid Surface, it is not intended to guide a novice to design a great kitchen.
Hobs and Cooking Areas.
Excessive heat can damage Solid Surface worktops, this does not mean that you can't put a baking tray full of cakes down on your worktop. What it means is that things with lots of heat in them (such as pans straight off the hob or casserole pots straight from the oven) should not be put straight on to the worktops. The choices are to either fit a set of Hot Rods to the worktop of put the hot items on a trivet to protect the worktops.
Splashbacks Behind Hobs
It is important that pans being heated on hobs and flames from underneath pans do not directly contact your solid surface as it will scorch the surface and in extreme cases may cause joints to fail. For this reason we recommend that designers leave 50mm behind an electric Hob and 125mm behind a gas hob.
Upstands - Square
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Upstands - Coved
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Kitchen Wet Areas
Sinks
There are a huge range of sinks suitable for use in Solid Surface. From the ordinary inset type sink (as used for laminate worktops) to beautiful custom made seamlessly integrated ones like our own Quadro and Ultimate Quadro sinks.
Stainless Steel Under-mounted
Butler Sinks with perimeter drip groove.
Cast Sink Seamlessly Integrated
Available in Hi-Macs (Alpine White and Nougat Cream) or Corian (Glacier White, Cameo White, Bisque and Bone) in a range of sizes.
Lavanto Sinks
Seamlessly integrated sinks in any Hi-Macs or Corian colour with optional Quartz base in either black or pale grey.
Mixa Sinks - Corian Only
Seamlessly integrated sinks in any colour with Stainless Steel bases.
Quadro Sinks
Hand built by us to your specification with sharp internal corners.
Ultimate Quadro Sinks
Hand built by us to your specification with 10mm radius to internal corners.
Drainers
We can make any style of drainer that you would care to draw but we have listed the common ones here.
It is important to remember that water does not just run to the plug hole automatically, because of surface tension some water will remain in drainer grooves and sit on top of recessed areas.
The recessed areas are good at keeping water in a contained space but an inverted glass or cup will skate on the water trapped inside it. It is normal for our design minded customers who order this type of drainer to use a tea towel to stand their washing up on when not entertaining.
Grooved Drainer
Sloped Recessed Drainer
Flat Recessed Drainer
Front Edge Details
We can make the front edge any thickness and cut rounded over or bevelled edges.
Bottom left of the pictures below is a Waterfall Edge which is particularly practical when used along the front edge of sinks as it will stop water splashes running down into the cabinets below.
If you want to use 12mm thick worktops then special care is needed to make sure the hob will fit into the carcasses below.
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Chosing Colours and Finshes
Possible finishes: matt, semi-gloss (standard), gloss.
Dark, heavily pigmented Colours of solid surface, will show scratches, dust and ordinary wear and tear more readily than lighter, textured colours. We recommend that these colours not be used in applications where the surface is exposed to heavy use and contact (i.e. worktops). These colours are most suitable for applications where surface contact is light and for use as inlays and accent colours. For more information on selecting the ideal colour for your application, please consult with us.
Some Corian colours have veining in them, these veins are completely random and will highlight the joints.
Corian Ice colours have superior translucency to enhance the potential for lighting effects. This translucency again highlights joints and any structure supporting the surface.
Printed and Web representation of colours may vary from actual samples. Please contact us if you want to see colour samples.