Friday 2 August 2013

Installing a New Kitchen Countertop

Installing a New Kitchen Countertop

Types of Countertops

    There are many options when it comes to countertop materials these days. Laminate and tile countertops are a weekend project that just about any do it yourselfer can accomplish. Both types can be matched to any decor and give your kitchen a face-lift that can make the whole kitchen look like a new room. Tile for countertops can come in ceramic and some types of stone. You can make your kitchen look ultramodern or give that warm old-world feel. Most of the tile is reasonably priced and easy to install. However, when you go to the solid surface stones, these are much better left to a professional installer. The natural stones include granite, slate, marble and soapstone. There is also a new kid on the block for solid surface countertops, the engineered quartz surface. Quartz crystals are mixed with a bonding agent and coloring and formed into an impenetrable surface. It cannot be penetrated by water or any other moisture, making it a great surface for a countertop. Of course, as with any of the solid surface countertops, they can be very expensive.

Preparing a Laminate Countertop

    You can purchase premade laminate countertops that can be installed in day without too much trouble. Countertops are heavy, so you may want to line up some help for the day of installation. If you are replacing an old countertop, then the first thing on your list would be to remove it. Take out your sink and faucets first. Make sure you unscrew all of the screws and cut the caulk at the top and sides of your backsplash so you don't damage your cabinets while taking it out. If you are reusing your sink, you can use the old countertop cutout for a pattern to cut for your new countertop. If you installing a new sink, it should come with one. The most difficult thing about working with laminate is trying to cut it. Laminate cracks and chips very easily. If you must cut the length to fit, put masking tape on the edge at your cut line and use a fine-tooth handsaw, cutting when you stroke down. This will give you the least chance of damaging the laminate surface. A step that is most commonly missed by most homeowners when installing laminate countertops is not scribing the back to match the wall. Unfortunately walls are not perfectly flat and even all the way across your kitchen and your countertop will not be even if it is not made to fit the imperfections of the wall. To do this, run a piece of masking tape along the back of the countertop. Sit the countertop in position against the wall and use a scribe/compass to make your marks on the tape. Set the compass to the widest gap between the wall and the countertop and run the point along the wall while marking the tape with the pencil. This will show you where you have to sand the back of the countertop to fit the wall. You can use either a belt sander or a block plane to remove the edge whichever you're more comfortable with. Once this is finished you should be ready for installation.

Installing the Countertop

    Put a bead of sealant along the back of the countertop and put it into position on your base cabinets. Attach the countertop from the braces in the cabinets. Be sure to get into the core of the countertop but don't use screws that are too long and will come through the top of the countertop. Don't overtighten the screws as most of these type countertops are made with particle board and you can damage it. Cut out for your sink by drilling a hole to give a place for your blade to go. Use a fine-tooth blade on a jigsaw and stay just inside your line. Go really slow so you don't chip the laminate surface. Reinstall your sink and faucets. If you have bare end, you will need to use an iron on piece of laminate to finish it off. They end kits come in a separate package that matches the countertop. Follow the manufacturer's directions for ironing it on.

No comments:

Post a Comment