Comments on: Pleseantly Pleased

By: Carol

Carol — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 22:17:53 +0000

The look is so right for your house. Again, not my choice, but handsome in context.

How does it stand up to heat, do you know?

By: Jason Hammond

Jason Hammond — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:48:02 +0000

J.Jensen,

The material is not in the countertop section at Menards. Rather it is located in with the finish grade plywood sheeting. It comes it various sizes from 2×4 to 4×8 in 1/2″ thick sheets of gray and or black (actually more charcoal) and doesn’t look like much off the shelf. If you are really interested I would suggest you talk to Eastvold Custom Woodwork out of Northfield. They did a fair amount of thinking behind the construction and played with several gluing options to get multiple sheets together in order to give it that thickness I desired.

Jason

By: J. Jensen

J. Jensen — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:31:32 +0000

I went to a couple of Menards localy here in the Cities to find this counter top. The only thing I found was something they call Corinthian. It was made of a plastic material, but had more of a satin finish vs. Matte.

Is this the product you are talking about.

Very interested in your countertop selection.

Thanks for your help.

J. Jensen

By: Jason Hammond

Jason Hammond — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 03:59:28 +0000

Scott and Weathurman.

I asked Matt Eastvold what the cost will be down the road after having done the initial exploration on my countertops and he seemed to think that they would be just a bit more expensive than laminates.

the material actually sands nicely to a matte finish with a fine grit sand paper. We may find that we are going to want to cover it with some type of clear coat finish to protect it but for now we are leaving it in the raw matte form.

Epicurean cutting boards are made out of this material as well as the Loll chairs, two great products.

Jason

By: weathurman

weathurman — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:29:59 +0000

From what I can see, you seem to be way ahead of the curve on this countertop material. I saw your post on the Live Modern web site asking about it - but it didn’t seem like you got any good answers there. Did you find answers to your questions elsewhere? I think I have some cutting boards at home that are made from HDPE. One disadvantage that I can see is that the material is not all that abrasion resistant, and if it gets scratched it may be very difficult to get it smooth again without using solvents or heat. Scratches afflict lots of countertop materials and can be minimized by using a cutting board, but in a kitchen some abrasion is unavoidable. Is your strategy just “be careful?” Also, I second the question of Scott about the cost. If you are the first to use this, is this going to be an expensive experiment?

Good luck!

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:00:34 +0000

Can you provide more details on what Eastvold did to make the countertops? I’m from Mpls and would be interested in doing something similar. Also, how did the end cost compare to other counter materials types?

Thanks for the information.
Scott

By: Jason Hammond

Jason Hammond — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 04:39:03 +0000

learning-thank you,

I found the material at a Menards Home improvement center but they are a largely Mid-western company so I doubt that you would find one in NY. The company however that makes the material is out of South Carolina called Plastik Lumber and you can contact them via their website at http://plastiklumber.com They should be able to provide you with a list of retailers in your area.

Jason

By: trudy

trudy — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 22:36:21 +0000

That is a really cool looking material.

By: learning-thank you

learning-thank you — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 14:42:07 +0000

HDPE sounds/looks like what I need.But in
checking it on Google couldn’t find anything that seemed specific.
I live in NY -is there any national web site or supplier you can direct me to?

Sorry to take your time - You have been so
helpful and your house is terrific.
Thanks