smorgasbord said:
Looks great.
Just a semi-related question: Is the Corian of today better than the Corian of 30+ years ago? In that the old Corian would yellow over time. I'm the cracking I've seen in Corian countertops were fabricators not knowing what they're doing.
I would say that it is, DuPont does not "sit on their hands", even on existing products. There are so many more colors than there used to be. White is always popular, there are several whites (or variations) but the patterns have gotten way more intricate. Back in the day, there were a few solid colors and the others just had "particulates". They varied in size, but that was about it. Now they have patterns with lines/veins, more like real stone. There is even one with a woodgrain pattern.
I think is has gotten somewhat less brittle, not that it appreciates an impact, but it does seem to take it better.
It is somewhat thermal reactive. It can shrink/grow quite a bit, in extreme conditions. This can cause cracking if it is overly restricted. That is the reasoning behind using silicone to adhere it to the substrate. It can stretch with the product, then more back without being destroyed.
The lower section (lighter gray) is bolted through the Corian, on the higher inner wall. It has enlarged holes, so that the bolts are not a constraining factor. The piece can move without being bound up.
When we bent the part around the face of that lower left end, my apprentice was shocked by how much it had expended, and that you could literally hear it pop/tick as it shrank back while cooling. It stayed about 1/8" taller, after returning to original temperature. He has been working with solid surface, for a couple of years now, but never in a situation where you could see it do that. It takes a lot of heat to do that though, in everyday conditions, it wouldn't even be measurable. The most likely problem would be if a building lost heat, for more than a few hours.
Cheese said:
Really nice job... [thumbs up] [thumbs up] ...as large and ungainly as it appeared to be when naked, once finished & installed it fits right in-place. [big grin] It looks really good.
I noticed all of the holes for electrical runs in the first series of photos and thought "well that's nice." However, I forgot that this desk is a commercial installation so there still had to be electrical boxes, conduit and wires being installed at the same time your people were trying to install the desk. Hats off to everyone on this job. [big grin]
Thank you. Part of the ungainly look is the blocks. Every project I build is sitting on 10"x10"x20" blocks, so they appear much more "in your face". It does create a trade-off problem on walls like this. That high center section is 52" high. Up 20" more requires some extra effort but laminating that lower face any closer to the floor is worse.
The one "mistake" I made, from the beginning, was to have it a little too close. That back wall was less than 3 feet away. It wasn't worth the time/trouble to move it, but we did have some clearance issues walking around it a few times. It's a long way around that thing and I did it many times. [scared]
I was sure hoping that they got the laser measuring right. Those four posts and the large column all had to fit perfectly. (it must have gone well, I would have heard about big problems) I haven't seen the install crew in person since though. They did an amazing job, sticking with it to the end.
We always put at least 2 rows of holes in the studs. It is apparently "best practice" to keep the line voltage wires away from the low voltage cables. Sometimes there are more, but those are spec'd by the architect. Once in a while, there are oxygen lines, or soda dispenser lines, just depends on the job.
Imemiter said:
Sure doesn't look like a rush job. Well done CRG!
Thank you.
It definitely was. Under normal circumstances, that never happens. I generally get things done well under the estimated time. Sometimes they have to rush the office guys, to get me something to do, because of that. Then I get jobs that are not as "complete" as usual, from the engineering dept. Sometimes that creates extra work for me, but not always, it works out. These stack up problems don't happen often.....thankfully. The helper was quite the bonus. It could never have happened this quickly without him. (the main solid surface guy has been out sick for the last 2 weeks) He will be back and have missed this entire mess.
I started assembling the frame on Monday the 20th. The other guy in my department did the small L shaped section, so I never touched it, except for a test fit on Friday. The apprentice/trainee took on the Corian parts. I was off for a Dr appointment on the 22nd. All 3 of us were on it from there; Thursday, Friday, 5 hours Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, done and apart on Wednesday.
So, 7 1/2 days, quite a thrash.
Supposedly, we got this job because someone promised it by a certain day, but they didn't know how much extra time the 2nd bullet resistant security desk would take. They were already rushing me at that point.
