Author: Christen Cloutier
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The Sustainable Choice: Why Solid Surface Is the Eco-Friendly Countertop for Your Home
Choosing a “green” countertop can be confusing. Every material makes a claim, but true sustainability goes deeper than a single label. It’s about the entire story of a product; from its origins and manufacturing to how it performs in your home for decades, and what happens at the end of its life. When you look Read more
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From Lab to Countertop: A History of Solid Surface and the Craftsman’s Journey
Understanding the history of solid surface first requires a look back at its forerunner. The first industrial laminates were developed as early as 1907 at Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where they served a purely functional purpose as electrical insulation casing, manufactured in a simple caramel brown color derived from phenolic resin. In 1913, two Westinghouse Read more
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The Dust Hasn’t Settled: Why Australia’s Silicosis Crisis Is Coming to America
The Price of a Countertop In February 2024, federal safety inspectors entered Florenza Marble & Granite Corp., a countertop manufacturer in Chicago, and found a workplace shrouded in a haze of dust. They discovered that employees were laboring with improperly used respirators amid silica dust levels measured at nearly six times the legally permissible limit. Read more