Laminate is inexpensive, comes in hundreds of designs, and makes a convenient work surface. Best of all, you can install it just six hours. Edit Article wiki How to Install Kitchen Cabinets. Six Methods: Preparation Hanging Upper Cabinets Installing Lower Cabinets Counter Tops Caulking Final Steps. How to Put Laminate on a Counter Top (with Pictures)1. Spend some time planning your project. For areas where a backsplash is required, a post- formed factory built countertop may be more suitable, but for many applications, a do- it- yourself top will work well, offering you more flexibility and the satisfaction of doing the job yourself. Here are some things you will need to know before beginning. Decide how large the counter top or work top will be. For example, a work- counter in a craft room may need to be 2. Look at the colors and the effect they will have on the surface. Dark wood or stone designs are pretty to look at, but if the lighting in the area you will use them in is not sufficient, a lighter or brighter color may be more suitable. Look at the exposure the surface can expect. For areas near sinks or where water or other liquids may be spilled, post- formed counter tops will help manage spills since they have an integrated back- splash and slightly raised front edge to decrease run- off from the surface. Choose the type and finish of your material. Plastic laminates come in an almost limitless selection, from solid colors to realistic wood or stone designs, either very smooth and glossy, or embossed and textured to more closely replicate the material they resemble. ![]() Choose the material you will glue your laminate to. Plywood or MDF (medium density fiberboard) are common materials for a laminate substrate, and each has advantages and disadvantages. Here is a limited comparison. Plywood has a somewhat higher structural strength, and weighs less than its fiberboard counterpart. It can be purchased in thicknesses ranging from 1⁄4 inch (0. Laminate countertops are an old thing that is coming back. Find out the reasons why people are choosing this type of countertops over other materials. I don’t have a website but I like what u did with the counter top n im trying to do the same my question is what type of concrete u used and how did u do the sides? Plywood with exterior glue will be somewhat more resistant to moisture, as well. MDF board is less inclined to warping, since it has no directional grain. Its surface is more dense, so it takes the glue a bit better than plywood, and the glue will not dry quite as quickly. Typically, MDF board is about 2. Choose that plastic laminate you will use for your project. There are a number of grades and brands available at building supply stores and home improvement retailers, so you can plan to spend some time researching and shopping for the product you will use. Plastic laminate comes in sheets, normally measuring 4. Match the contact cement to the laminate you choose. Many retailers sell laminate with a thermoset glue already applied to the back of the sheet, but if you buy one that does not have this feature, you will have to glue up the laminate yourself. This is the process we will be looking at in this article. You should find two basic choices in adhesives, either a solvent based (very flammable, very fast setting) or water based (non flammable, slower setting) contact cements. Generally, you will need about 1 quart of adhesive for each 4 X 8 sheet or 3. Purchase disposable paint brushes or a paint roller with a close (short) nap to spread your glue. Assemble the materials in a workshop or other location with good ventilation and lighting, relatively little dust, and plenty of workbench space. You will also want to make sure you have the tools you will need to perform the work. Cut your plywood (or MDF) to the size you want. If this is going to be a close fit project, you may want to make it slightly larger than you will need so it can be scribed and trimmed to fit. This is especially critical if you are fitting against an abutting wall or between two walls, as they may not be square (at a true 9. Rip a strip of your plywood about 2 inches (5. Screw (and glue, if preferred) this strip along the front edge of your top. Make sure the edge is square and perfectly flush, sanding if necessary to perfect the fit. Cut the laminate to fit the top. Usually, you will allow about 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 inch (0. Lay your plywood on a set of saw horses, and place the cut sheet of laminate, bottom up, on a workbench or other surface so you can apply the glue. You will want to be very careful to keep the plywood and laminate clean after you begin to apply the glue. Roll or brush a thin coat of contact cement on both the plywood and the back of the laminate, making sure no runs or thick splatters form on either surface, as excess glue will cause a dimple or bump on the finished surface. Allow the adhesive to dry until all the gloss, or wet appearance disappears. The glue will cease to be tacky, or wet, to the touch. Carefully lift the laminate and place it on top of the plywood, aligning it as it is placed along the front edge and ends. Once the glued surfaces make contact, repositioning them is almost impossible. Use a soft cloth to press the surface of the laminate, working from the center towards the edges. This will prevent buckles or bubbles from forming. Ideally, when the laminate is pressed down, you will have at least an eighth of an inch of overhang all the way around the top. Cut a piece of laminate for your edge band. If you are using 3⁄4 inch (1. Ideally, you will also want a factory edge to tuck underneath the top laminate at the corner, but if not, you will need to pre- fit the band and trim it so it fits tightly. Glue the edge band on each exposed edge, applying the contact cement to the plywood edge and the back of the laminate as you did with the top sheet, and allowing it to dry. Use a router with a laminate trimming bit to trim excess laminate on all edges. Be careful, if using a tapered trimmer, not to set the bit so deeply that it scuffs the laminate below the thickness of the surface material. Clean up any glue spots on the surfaces, and fit your countertop into position. Why Laminate Countertops Are Making a Comeback. After years of being vilified, laminate countertops have surged back in popularity. There's no secret to this. At one time, laminates held a firm position as the manmade materials countertop of choice. But this position was challenged with the introduction of solid surfaces (i. Corian). Why finish your kitchen off with laminate's layers (more on this below) when you can have a surface that is solid- -homogeneous through and through? Due to this stiff competition, laminate counter makers stepped up their game, and now this material- -once a staple of ultra low- budget remodels- -is being found in higher- end homes. Will it find a place in yours? Let's demystify laminate countertops by looking at the manufacturing process, installation techniques, prices, and major manufacturers. Would You Believe They Aren't Plastic? Laminate came of age in the 1. Certainly, laminate must be a modern plastic substance that is environmentally evil? Wrong. A familiar name to all of us, Formica, began operations in 1. And don't even dare use the word plastic. Laminate is not plastic. In today's age, when paper countertops are all the eco- rage, laminate counters have always heavily sourced from paper- -not plastic. Laminate, from top to bottom, looks something like this: Melamine Resin - Transparent. Protects everything else below it. Overlay or Wear Layer - Paper similar to the paper used to make coffee filters or tea bags. Also, carries some melamine resin and aluminum oxide with it. Decorative Layer - This is the layer that has the color and design. Kraft Paper - Similar to paper in grocery bags, the Kraft paper layer forms the core of the laminate surface. This paper is hardened with resins. Installation Choices (You Can Even Install It Yourself)Unlike difficult- to- install materials like slab granite or solid surface, the laminate can either be DIY- installed or professionally installed. DIY Install Pre- Fabricated Counters: You can purchase pre- fabricated laminate counters online or from home improvement stores. These counters have the laminate surface already applied to the base and with edge treatments added. Your range of looks is limited. Home improvement stores tend to only carry 3- 5 styles in stock, though you can special order other styles. DIY: Make Counters Yourself and Self- Install: To increase your style options the entire world of laminates, you can create laminate counters from scratch. Sheets of the laminate are glued to particleboard, with laminate forming the edges, too. A router rips off excess laminate and gives you a smooth, straight edge. Handling the router with laminate is tricky, as even the slightest nudge is enough to nick the laminate and ruin your edge. This option has a significant learning curve. Rolled edge treatments are not possible with homeowner- created laminate counters. Pro- Installed: Your pool of sizes and styles is expanded to the maximum. As noted in the previous step, the installer first lays down the particleboard base, then applies your choice of the laminate surface with a strong adhesive. Excess laminate is routed off and edge treatments added. Prices. There was a time, long ago, when laminate counters were inexpensive- -all of them. Laminate is still one of your cheapest countertop options. But with premium and designer laminates available, you need to keep an eye on the price tag. Raw Laminate: 4' x 8' sheets of laminate from home improvement stores begin at about $1. Remember, this does not include the slab base, baseboard, or peripheral materials, such as an adhesive. Laminate Slabs: A decent laminate slab (laminate on 1/2" particleboard, with a rolled front edge and attached backsplash) begins at $7 per square foot from Home Depot. Pro- Installed: Professionally installed laminate counters start at around $3. If you want custom edge treatments- -and this is a time- intensive task that drives up the price- -expect to pay upwards of $5. Laminate vs. Other Materials: Which Would I Personally Choose? Laminate is distinctly different from other types of countertop materials: Solid Surface vs. Laminate - If the laminate is ever confused with another countertop substance, it's usually what we call solid surface. Solid surface (i. Corian, etc.) is solid all the way through. Laminate is typically cheaper than the solid surface and somewhat easier to fabricate. Between the two, I would choose solid surface. Quartz vs. Laminate - Stone can be either slab of natural stone or quartz (engineered stone made from stone particles bound by adhesives into slabs). In either case, the stone is solid all the way through, unlike laminate with its particleboard base. Stone is vastly more expensive than laminate and is difficult to fabricate and install. Between quartz and laminate, I would choose quartz. Between natural stone and laminate, it's a toss- up, as I do not relish maintaining my countertops by regularly sealing them. Tile vs. Laminate - Tile, either ceramic or stone, is a little like laminate in that it is a thin layer installed on a wood base. The difference is that tile's base will usually by plywood, whereas laminate's base is particleboard. Tile counters are comparable to laminate in cost. The main downside of tile counters is the huge number of seams. Between tile and laminate, I would choose laminate. Manufacturers. The big names in the laminate are Formica, Wilsonart, Pionite, Bevella, Hartson- Kennedy, and Nevamar.
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