Do It Yourself Counter tops

[Stimw]

I recently posted about RTA Cabinets (ready to assemble) and found them online and have them installed now in my total kitchen remodel.
I started pricing counter tops and found they want STUPID money for the granite/quartz/solid surface.
I needed 90 sq ft total and the cheapest was some thinner stuff for $3500. What I really liked was $7800.00 !!!!!
I then looked at Formica/Laminate, them fabricate, i install- $2000. They fabricate and install- $2600.
I started watching laminate u-tube videos (there are a bunch of them) and I jumped right in!
I bought the laminate online, 5 sheets of partical board,gal of contact cement- Lowe's and a Router and Belt Sander- HF.
Total was under $600.00 !!!
I had to move into my shop because the board was sagging from the heat outside.
The 3 pieces turned out perfect so if you have some skills watch the videos and jump right in!
Plus I now have a Router and Belt Sander! I don't think the other guys would have given me those!

 

[deanocraft]

Those look good. Nice job!

 

[SJay]

Looks really nice - I love the orange saw horse in the background :laughing:. Make sure you file or sand the bottom edge of the face- it can be as sharp as a razor, I also touch the top edge where it meets the face edge - I lightly file that also, removes any sharp 90's

 

[MossRoad]

When my father built his own house, he went with Formica and did it himself. Of course, that was back in the late 50's, so it looked like this.... :laughing: Orange boomerang pattern.... still a classic!

 

[SandburRanch]

Excellent Stimw.

I have a sis that lives in a million dollar house. She had her kitchen re-done with Formica when the house was purchased. Said she would never have anything else for ease of use and care no matter what the trend was.

Ours is 33 years old and needs replaced. The areas on each side of the range was not too good for that sticky feeling because the wife cooks with a full throttle fire. Nothing in the normal cleaning market would seem to remove the residue so out from the shop comes drastic tools for drastic measures. WD-40 and 0000 steel wool, removes 33 years of stuff nothing else would touch. The Formica once again looks like new and smooth as glass in that area.

 

[aircommuter]

I like the natural look of granite, but I couldn't afford the labor prices. I bought 3-5' x10' sheets of granite slabs from
India and made a roller bearing frame for my worm drive saw and a some tubing for water. Then I used two pieces of 1"x2" tubing with rubber glued on the bottom as guides for cutting. I bought a diamond wheel and a set of diamond pads in several grits. All together about $2500.00. Check out the photos.
The next ones I did in my houseboat, but I needed to keep the weight down so I used solid surface(acrylic) calle Topstone, colors match close to Corian. Much easire than the granite but no as durable or nice looking.

 

[dragoneggs]

Stimw, nice job... like the range hood too.

aircommuter, that was an ambitious job! Not sure I have the patience for all the sanding to get the cut edges to a polished state!

 

[aircommuter]

Most of my work is the work of a crazy man! I used teak for the cabinets with the granite and natural cherry for the other ones. That was a bit of work in itself.

 

[Stimw]

Looks really nice - I love the orange saw horse in the background :laughing:. Make sure you file or sand the bottom edge of the face- it can be as sharp as a razor, I also touch the top edge where it meets the face edge - I lightly file that also, removes any sharp 90's

Watching all the u-tube videos really helped and they covered filing and sanding both edges.
When I moved the 6' X 6' island counter in the house I didn't have any help so that orange (Red really) saw horse came in handy!
I bubble wrapped one edge and slid it in the house, not fun.

 

[fried1765]

I recently posted about RTA Cabinets (ready to assemble) and found them online and have them installed now in my total kitchen remodel.
I started pricing counter tops and found they want STUPID money for the granite/quartz/solid surface.
I needed 90 sq ft total and the cheapest was some thinner stuff for $3500. What I really liked was $7800.00 !!!!!
I then looked at Formica/Laminate, them fabricate, i install- $2000. They fabricate and install- $2600.
I started watching laminate u-tube videos (there are a bunch of them) and I jumped right in!
I bought the laminate online, 5 sheets of partical board,gal of contact cement- Lowe's and a Router and Belt Sander- HF.
Total was under $600.00 !!!
I had to move into my shop because the board was sagging from the heat outside.
The 3 pieces turned out perfect so if you have some skills watch the videos and jump right in!
Plus I now have a Router and Belt Sander! I don't think the other guys would have given me those!

I really like the electrical work,.... over by the fridge!

 

[Stimw]

Aircommuter, that was a lot of work, my fear would be I screwed up the granite. At least with their high price comes their responsibility for mistakes.

In one of the videos the guy used metal shears for initial trimming, others had laminate shears. I have several air shears so I tried it and it worked great.
I used a 1/2" router bit with the ball bearing on the bottom for final trimming after gluing.
Also another trick is to glue edge on first then top which gives an even edge.
That partical board is very heavy! I never realized how heavy it is.
Belt sander was great for truing up the board edges where I glued strips to get 1 1/2" size.
I bought the laminate online and with shipping was $408.00. I figured if I screwed up an area with all that I saved I could still come out ahead. Laminate came with a tear off plastic that really helped protect it during fabrication.

 

[Stimw]

I really like the electrical work,.... over by the fridge!

Don't need no stinking licence!
The white extension cord has an off/on switch in it.
That is temporary, you can see the handy box in the ceiling over the island for the new lights. I got a 3 pendant light bar to go there.

 

[ustmd]

Looks great.

I have tried Formica a couple of times and I always end up with tear out (chipping) when I use the router to trim after the glue down.

 

[Stimw]

From the videos- You need to run the router counter-clockwise to the work.
In other words you want the blades turning into the work not going backwards.
Not sure if this was your problem. ??

 

[dragoneggs]

Aircommuter, that was a lot of work, my fear would be I screwed up the granite. At least with their high price comes their responsibility for mistakes.

In one of the videos the guy used metal shears for initial trimming, others had laminate shears. I have several air shears so I tried it and it worked great.
I used a 1/2" router bit with the ball bearing on the bottom for final trimming after gluing.
Also another trick is to glue edge on first then top which gives an even edge.
That partical board is very heavy! I never realized how heavy it is.
Belt sander was great for truing up the board edges where I glued strips to get 1 1/2" size.
I bought the laminate online and with shipping was $408.00. I figured if I screwed up an area with all that I saved I could still come out ahead. Laminate came with a tear off plastic that really helped protect it during fabrication.

Very nice looking marble pattern! I love granite except the price but I can see going with laminate if you just can't stomach the cost. And it is extremely practical. Carbide router bits w/bearings and a decent sized router base helps a lot for edge work.

 

[TnAndy]

Solid surface (Corian) is easy to work with. Way more so than laminates.

I bought some knock off Samsung brand from a local salvage materials place cheap....came in 3/4" x 4x12' sheets. Saws, routes and sands easy. Only thing I needed to buy additional was a dual barrel caulk gun for the matching epoxy glue to make up the thick front edge, and joints where you turn a corner.

 

[toyotadriver]

I've done a few laminate Formica type countertops....several in my house and several in friends' houses. They have all been super easy. I build them with Advantech subfloor because it's stiff, flat, and water resistant. Makes an awesome countertop. Heavy though.

 

[ray66v]

Nothing about working with laminate, justifies the high cost of having counter tops fabricated.

If you have basic wood working tools to make the bases, and you can get a laminate router, a slitter, and a couple of the right rollers, it really becomes a piece of cake.

When I work with the shinny laminates, I cover them with self adhesive plastic, carpet protector, while I machine, and install it.

The smooth, shinny laminates do scratch, so I would be careful using them in high use areas.

 

[MacLawn]

Good job, Stim. I love Formica, not expensive and has stood the test of time! Granite is already going out of style, very dated now.

 

[RNeumann]

I recently posted about RTA Cabinets (ready to assemble) and found them online and have them installed now in my total kitchen remodel.
I started pricing counter tops and found they want STUPID money for the granite/quartz/solid surface.
I needed 90 sq ft total and the cheapest was some thinner stuff for $3500. What I really liked was $7800.00 !!!!!
I then looked at Formica/Laminate, them fabricate, i install- $2000. They fabricate and install- $2600.
I started watching laminate u-tube videos (there are a bunch of them) and I jumped right in!
I bought the laminate online, 5 sheets of partical board,gal of contact cement- Lowe's and a Router and Belt Sander- HF.
Total was under $600.00 !!!
I had to move into my shop because the board was sagging from the heat outside.
The 3 pieces turned out perfect so if you have some skills watch the videos and jump right in!
Plus I now have a Router and Belt Sander! I don't think the other guys would have given me those!

Can you list the brand and source for the laminate? The glue brand would help too.
Thx for posting! Keep um coming!