Heat Rings. Stainless Steel vs. Solid Surface part 2

Stainless steel heat rings are the preffered way to go if a heat ring is to be installed. The only reason to ever install a solid surface ring instead of a stainless steel ring is because the homeowner is just dead set against the appearance of the stainless ring.

In most cases, a heat ring will only be installed after a countertop has already been repaired at least once or twice and continues to crack. Also, cooktop rings are usually installed under a warrranty claim. I don't recall ever installing a stainless steel ring on a countertop that was not a warranty claim.

Usually, after the homeowner finds out about the extra expense involved with a cooktop ring installation they just opt to repair it as is and hope that it never cracks again.

A cooktop ring installation is quite expensive because it involes the cost of the ring itself, around $225-350, the cost to repair the crack or cracks, around $300-450depending on the amount of cracking, the cost of removing and reinstalling the cooktop, $150-225 depending on the model of cooktop, pop up vent systems, gas or electric etc. And there is extra labor involved in the preperation for the ring. The cooktop cutout has to be enlarged and then reinforced with wood, metal tape and or Nomex tape.

It is not uncommon for a job like this to end up between $800 and $1000.00 by the time everything is all said and done.

It is important that the customer knows ahead of time that the stainless ring is just way more durable and adds more protection than the solid surface ring. That being said, some people want what they want and therefore I will accomodate them.

I still have only ever had one solid surface ring to crack and the countertop itself did not crack so the fix was fairly simple and has held up ever since.

Stainless rings do not get damaged from the heat. Let me rephrase that. To my knowledge, stainless steel rings do not get damaged from the heat that a typical residential cooktop will create. I have never had a complaint about the stainless ring failing.

I did have one customer that had a stainless steel ring installed and they called back about 2 years later and said that the ring was rusting. Of course since it was stainless steel I knew that it wasn't rusting. During my on site inspection I was able to determine that it was not rust but a build up of grease around the cooktop that had just not been cleaned good enough.

After a good cleaning they were happy and off I went.

Here are some photos of stainless steel cooktop ring installations.

This coooktop has 2 very small cracks, they hardly show up in the picture. This top had been repaired by two other fabricators in the past so Dupont decided to put a stainless steel ring around the cutout this time.


Notice the tiny crack in the front. I should have outlined it with pencil so it would be more obvious in the picture.


Finished repair.


As you can see, this cooktop area has extensive cracking around the cutout. It has also bee repaired in the past and Dupont has decided to have me install a stainless steel cooktop ring.


Finished repair.


Here is an example of a stainless steel ring that is just stainless and not painted.



Finished repair


IF YOU NEED SOLID SURFACE OR STONE COUNTERTOP REPAIR AND YOU LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA CLICK HERE!

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First in North Carolina

I started Complete Solid Surface Refinishingin 1998. At the time I was the only repair only fabricator in the state. Since then, other repair companies have come and gone. For 10 years CSSR has been in business on a referral only basis. During that time, the referral network has changed, some companies that used us have gone out of business or been bought out by others and then moved out of state.

The one thing that has not changed is the quality of our work. We always strive to be the best. One of the great things about CSSR is the fact that the owner is also the person that does most of the repair work for you. Not only is his company reputation on the line, his personal reputation is on the line for each and every job. Your kitchen will not serve as a training ground for the newest job applicant. You will only have the best, most experienced technician working for you.

Solid surface countertops are not cheap, they are an investment. So as an investment they need to be maintained and when any corrective measures are taken it needs to be done with the utmost attention to detail. It doesn't hurt to do it as "painlessly" as possible.

That means taking every measure to control dust and mess at the job site, to do an outstanding job on the repair itself, and to do it with the least amount of downtime in your kitchen or bathroom or anywhere else you may need solid surface repair.

Our pledge is to do the most undetectable repairs in the business. To do them with the same care and detail as we would do on our own home and to be as accomodating as possible with schedule and job site demeanor. Heck, we will even help ya carry in your groceries.

IF YOU NEED SOLID SURFACE OR STONE COUNTERTOP REPAIR AND YOU LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA CLICK HERE!

IF YOU NEED SOLID SURFACE OR STONE COUNTERTOP REPAIR AND YOU DON'T LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA CLICK HERE!

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Heat rings. Stainless Steel and Solid Surface: part 1

Here are some examples of solid surface heat ring intallations. Heat rings are used to further insulate the countertop from heat generated by drop in cooktops. Mostly they are made from stainless steel but sometimes they are made from solid surface material. Stainless steel rings are the preffered material because the steel itself is not prone to cracking. Some homeowners do not want to have a stainless steel ring because even though they can be painted to match the cooktop, they just do not like the appearance of the ring and would prefer to have a solid surface ring.

The solid surface rings allow the actual cooktop cutout to be enlarged which makes it further away from the heat source. (cooktop) It is important to note ahead of time that the solid surface ring may develop a crack and would need to be replaced or repaired again at that time. I have installed a dozen or so solid surface rings over the past 10 years and have only ever had one of them to fail, or crack. None of them have resulted in a recracking of the countertop itself.




This is the one that recracked.


We will show some stainless steel heat rings in part two of the subject.

IF YOU NEED SOLID SURFACE OR STONE COUNTERTOP REPAIR AND YOU LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA CLICK HERE!

IF YOU NEED SOLID SURFACE OR STONE COUNTERTOP REPAIR AND YOU DON'T LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA CLICK HERE!

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Odd dye lot repair

Having repair material on site that is the same dye lot as the countertop that is being repaired is the key to making the least detectable repairs possible. This material can be in the form of cutting boards or heat trivets that are made from your sink cutouts or stove cutouts. It may also be in the form of a piece of material that was left over from you original fabrication.

In the event that the homeowner doesn't have any dye lot matching material, a repair can still be made but it will have to be done out of a non dye lot match.

Often, the repair is still not very noticeable to a person that was unaware that the work had been performed. If however, someone did know the work had taken place they would be able to more easily detect the repair.

When doing a repair that is not a dye lot match it is important that the customer is informed ahead of time that the repair has a better chance of being detected than it otherwise would have.

If you are repairing a solid surface countertop that is acrylic, such as Corian or Wilsonart Gibraltar, as opposed to polyester, you tend to have a better color match with non dye lot repairs than you do with the polyester blends.

Often, a homeowner may have moved into a home that already had their tops installed and they do not know who the original fabricator was or what brand of material they have. It will be up to the experience of the repair technician to do some investigating in order to try and figure it out.

If the countertop has a color pattern it is easier to identify it. If it is a solid color such as bright white, off white, bone, or almond it can be a lot more difficult to determine exactly which brand it is.

Here are some examples of non dye lot repairs. The material pictured is polyester and not acrylic. Right now I do not have any photos of acrylic non dye lot photos.





IF YOU NEED SOLID SURFACE OR STONE COUNTERTOP REPAIR AND YOU LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA CLICK HERE!

IF YOU NEED SOLID SURFACE OR STONE COUNTERTOP REPAIR AND YOU DON'T LIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA CLICK HERE!

Learn to lay tile in 6 days with these simple to follow videos!