Formica becomes Solid Surface! YEA! February 9, 2006

Your Raleigh DIY Diva has been out for a few days, with other things on her plate-- namely her REAL job!! But, here I am back in the swing of things, and ready to share more of The Adventures of This Old House! When we moved in, the kitchen (which is the bulk of our current project) appeared to have never been cleaned in the 25 years that it had existed. I took one of those super duper enchanted thingies called the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, wet it down, and swiped it across the formica island top. I was under the impression that the formica, original to the house, was a tannish color. However, the magic eraser revealed that the formica was actually more of an early 80's off white almond color! YUCKY! Here's a photo of the original counter top:

Granted, the drawers of the kitchen desk were out, and the formica backsplash had been removed. Also, the lovely top layer of peel and stick vinyl is still visible on the floor! Just before Christmas, I got what old timers might call a "windfall." No, I did not win the lottery or find a bank account I had forgotten about-- I had a conversation with a friend! She and her husband had decided to upgrade their kitchen counters to a gorgeous hand selected, imported Brazilian Granite. (If you saw it, you'd know why I capitalized both words!) I asked her about the Corian she was removing, and she said they would have to pay the builder to dispose of it. I told her I'd pay her for it, and she refused-- just telling me to come pick it up!! With the help of a co-worker and her husband's truck, I picked up the counter tops-- Corian sink included-- and transported them from Cary, NC, to North Raleigh in the dark and driving rain. Enter Rob, owner of Elite Countertops. What an awesome guy! Even though selling me

new material would be tons more profitable for him, he agreed to re-fabricate the Corian and install it in my much smaller kitchen. It looks GREAT! I chose a beautiful European styled Price Pfister Pfaucet (HA HA) and paid about 1/4 the price of the estimate I got for installation of NEW Corian!! Since it is solid surface and is completely re-usable, it looks like I am the first owner of it! Glacier White, and Gorgeous!! To thank the friend who gave us the Corian, we made a nice donation to Habitat for Humanity. She was thrilled!