Sterling Surfaces Gets a Little Greener!

Earth month is here and we have a great way to celebrate. We are happy to announce that Sterling Surfaces / Kitchen Associates is now an official electric vehicle charging station! We are located at 76 Leominster Rd. Sterling, MA.

Come by and charge your electric vehicle for free as you browse our beautiful, 2 story kitchen and bath showroom. The charging station is located on the left side of our building and will be available during normal business hours. Just help yourself to the power!

We are happy to be able to provide this service for our friends and customers and at the same time do a little something to preserve our precious environment.

View us on PlugShare.

Germs Hate Solid Surface!

photo credit: www.renewingwellness.com

Germs! We do everything we can to avoid them. From a pesky cold to a serious bacterial infection, the problems resulting from picking up some unwanted germs are not fun at all. 

Did you know that Solid Surface materials hate germs too? In fact, germs also hate Solid Surface. Why such animosity? Solid Surface is a nonporous material. Unlike granite and other stone surfaces, Solid Surface materials have no nooks and crannies for germs and bacteria to hide and grow.

Coved backsplash. photo credit: Jeff BaumgartThis characteristic of Solid Surface is great on it’s own, but coupled with several fabrication techniques, germs just don’t stand a chance. Solid Surface can be fabricated in a way that there are no sharp inside corners for germs to hide out in. For example, a countertop with traditional loose backsplash and a caulked seam that will eventually break down is like hanging out a sign saying, “Attention all germs and bacteria, free room and board!”. In contrast, Solid Surface can be formed or fabricated with coved inside corners, leaving a smooth, easy to clean surface that tells germs to “Get Lost!”.

Integral sink. UMASS Medical Center. photo credit: Kyle CaldwellAnother favorite place for germs to hide is at sink edges, where the sink meets the countertop. Again, caulked areas can break down providing a tempting residence for all sorts of nasties. These possibilities are eliminated with the use of an integrated Solid Surface sink that has a smooth transition to the countertop. 

Solid Surface materials are also easy to clean and maintain, providing further measures against the outbreak of germs and bacteria.

With these factors in mind, Solid Surface is an obvious choice in healthcare and food service applications. It is vital that these areas be kept free of harmful germs and bacteria, and all of us as patrons and patients appreciate any steps taken with our health and safety in mind. 

Whether you are a homeowner, designer, or architect, why not consider the health benefits of using Solid Surface in your next project.

Healthcare cabinetry. Irvine Medical Center, CA. photo credit: Jeff Baumgart

Food service counter. Syracuse University, NY. photo credit: Jeff Baumgart

Solid Surface Snapshots With a Corian Camera

photo credit: Baumgart Creative MediaAs a Solid Surface fabricator at Sterling Surfaces and having a love for photography, it only made sense to make a Corian camera.

Pinhole photography has been around since the early 1800’s, even earlier if you count the Camera Obscuras of the Middle Ages. The principle is pretty simple. All you need is a sealed, dark container to hold the film (yes, film), a tiny hole to let light in, and a way to open and close that hole. When the hole is opened, light comes in and exposes the image onto the film behind the hole. Pinhole cameras can be made from anything from matchboxes, oatmeal containers, soda cans, and even pumpkins.

Being part of the Sterling Surfaces crew taught me that anything can be made from solid surface. I found some Glacier White Corian scraps around the shop and got to work, at a designated break time of course. It is basically a box made up of two halves with a flange where they meet in order to prevent light from leaking in. Two compartments inside hold the film rolls. One roll is a fresh one, while the other is an empty roll that the fresh one gets wound into. For the film advance knob, I used a metal leveling foot left over from a past project. The entire inside was spray painted flat black. There was no way of making a hole in the Corian small enough to create an image. Instead, I drilled a larger hole, and then from the inside, attached a small piece of thin sheet metal with a very tiny hole made with a sewing needle. On the front is the “shutter”. This allows the hole to be opened for a designated period of time to expose the image onto the film. On the bottom, I inserted a standard 1/4 20 nut so I could mount it on a tripod. Because the hole is so small, exposure times are very long, so the camera needs to be stabilized to get a relatively crisp image.

You are probably wondering, "Can you actually make photos with that thing?". Yes, it really works! It took some trial and error to get the size of the pinhole right, but it does work. Below is a photo made using the camera in downtown Sterling, MA.

photo credit: Baumgart Creative MediaI probably won’t be using this on a commercial shoot, but it’s fun to play around with, and it was definitely fun to build. Not that this project really pushed the boundaries of solid surface materials, but it definitely is outside of the box, actually it is a box, but you get the idea. Solid Surface is such a versatile, easy to use material. Wether it is glued, thermoformed, or CNC machined, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination! 

- Jeff Baumgart

photo credit: Baumgart Creative Media

photo credit: Baumgart Creative Media

photo credit: Baumgart Creative Media

photo credit: Baumgart Creative Media

Corian Goes To School!

photo credit - Kyle J Caldwell

In yet another display of solid surface's unlimited versatility, Sterling Surfaces, and its partners have collaborated to help a forward-thinking architectural team bring out the best attributes of CORIAN in eye-opening fashion at an Ohio college.

In the process, everyone has learned a little more how architects and advanced fabricators working together, can take solid surface to the head of the class!

photo credit - Kyle J CaldwellOutstanding features of this project in the Lorraine County Community College iLoft , Elyria, Ohio include among other things: 

• Two flexible bars- continuous tri-level, multi-functional bench and worktops 
• Fourteen in-wall thermoformed CORIAN seating alcoves 
• Eight stand-alone powered work desks 
• A seemingly endless serpentine wall cap & worktops lining the loft's floating island

 The seminal conversations about CORIAN took place long before the fabrication and installation, with Sterling Surfaces collaborating in exploratory meetings with the architectural team at Sasaki Associates in Boston. Katia Lucic, Principal, and the team asked probing questions about the performance of CORIAN and its ability to be formed and perform in these unusual applications. 

"We were more than happy to collaborate up front, even before contract, exploring how to fabricate and install the CORIAN. Collaboration included working out the challenging details on  paper, support requirements, installability, and the install sequence. Those  early meetings left Sasaki's team with the confidence to design the technically demanding applications into the project"

Grant Garcia, Managing Director/Sterling Surfaces.

From a fabrication perspective, the collaboration only gets better. With the job bid, won and now under contract, the project schedule afforded Sterling the opportunity to partner with key fabricators to share project responsibilities. The nod went to Advanced Surfaces, Inc. of Corry, PA. and Kornibe Designs of Glasgow. KY. The three-way fabrication partnership allowed each company to bring their strengths to the table, completing the project on time.              

Every advanced fabrication project contains inherent learnings. The iLoft demonstrates that even 40 plus years down the road, CORIAN is still going to school!

For more information or to arrange a collaborative meeting about your upcoming project, please contact us at info@sterlingsurfaces.com

More information and photos about the Sasaki-LCCC iLoft project.

photo credit - Kyle J Caldwellphoto credit - Kyle J Caldwellphoto credit - Kyle J Caldwellphoto credit - Kyle J Caldwellphoto credit - Kyle J Caldwell

A Sad Day For the Sterling Surface Team

Yesterday was Jon Olson's last day with us, before starting with his new employer, Dupont Corian as a Residential Account Representative in CT and Western MA. Jon’s involvement in our company and the wider solid surface industry is well known. As our personal friend and colleague for 3 decades, we are quite excited for him, as this represents a great step forward; an opportunity to experience the industry from a whole new vantage point. We think Dupont chose well and we’re excited that Jon will be able to use his knowledge and integrity to further enhance the reputation of solid surface.

We are sad to see Jon leave, but on a happy note, Rick Lasell marks his one year anniversary with the Sterling Surfaces team in 2013. Rick’s addition has brought to Sterling a wealth of knowledge, 30 years of architectural millwork and solid surface experience working in various positions, for various companies in the Northeast. As a Project Manager/Estimator we have already seen a positive impact on our company and appreciate his meticulous expertise managing project details.

Sterling Surfaces remains a very fortunate company. We are 30 years young, and vibrant with an average tenure per employee of over 15 years, one of the most knowledgeable teams in the industry!

Our list of contacts:

Dealer/Residential Sales - Ginger Fage - ext 235 ginger@sterlingsurfaces.com

Estimating/OEM/Project Manager - Ken Graves - ext 243 ken@sterlingsurfaces.com

Production Manager - Eric Kemp - ext 241 eric@sterlingsurfaces.com

Estimating/Project Manager - Rick Lasell - ext 249 rick@sterlingsurfaces.com

Sales/GM - Grant Garcia - ext 234 grant@sterlingsurfaces.com

Production Assistant/Estimating - Mike Pandiscio - ext 236 mike@sterlingsurfaces.com

Accounts - Adam Gagliardo - ext 229 adam@sterlingsurfaces.com