How to install laminate countertops

January 13, 2014

I got a ton done again this weekend, but like the other projects I’m working on lately this one going to be a multiple step thing. This was step two of who knows how many but I’m excited about the progress! I like to share the process with you all instead of before with nothing and an after with it all done, cause obviously that’s not how it happens.

When we finished the basement last year we knew we wanted a kitchenette down there somewhere. It’s not a HUGE space though so we needed to make it work in a spot that wouldn’t take up a lot of room. We decided on a small wall in the family room, just outside the laundry room:

basement kitchenette

I shared that pic late last year after the cabinets were installed. What you don’t see is there is a rough in for a sink – the part I’m most excited about. :) But today we’re talking counters and paint.

I’ve gone back and forth on the counters for months now. My original plan was butcher block with an undermount sink, but then a few weeks ago I found a laminate counter I loved at Lowe’s. They didn’t have the one I loved in stock though, so I went back to my butcher block idea.

But getting the block means a long trip to IKEA (which I’m planning on doing today, but whatever, it was last minute) and I already need to get some butcher for the mud room bench, so getting two was going to get expensive. And then last week I was back and Lowe’s and the counter I loved was in stock and I noticed it was only $34! Thirty bucks people, seriously…I couldn’t believe it!

Laminate means no undermount sink but I’ve lived with a regular drop in sink for all of my 38 years so I think I’ll survive.

I tackled the installation of the counter last week and for the most part that’s easy – but I had to deal with the rough edge on one end:

installing laminate countertops

Thankfully there’s little kits that are sold right by the countertops for just this problem. It was nearly $20 so that cheap countertop get a little more expensive, but still, pretty good.

It comes with wood pieces and laminate for the edges:

installing laminate countertops

First you take those nailed in jobbies in the photo up above out, so the edge is flat. Then you nail the little bitty piece to the back to fill in that part:

installing laminate countertops

And then you’re supposed to do the same underneath with the long piece. This is all so the laminate edge has something to stick to. Well, this wall and the cabinets were pretty much exactly 72 inches (which I don’t think we did on purpose, but it was a nice accident so cabinets and counters were easy to find), but this meant there wasn’t enough of an overhang to add that piece of wood underneath the counter. So I just didn’t add it – we’ll see how this hold up without it.

The next step was a little scary – you take an iron and use it to “glue” the laminate on the edge of the countertop. I didn’t get pictures of this cause I was sweating, but I put the iron on medium heat and used a lot of steam (just as I do with webbing tape when “sewing”). I just steamed it like crazy and was careful not to hold the iron down on the laminate too long:

installing laminate countertops

It worked great! There’s stuff on the back of the laminate that melts and glues it right on. (You can hear it “crackle.”) I couldn’t get it to budge once it was dry. But as you see above, it’s not a perfect fit. The next step was to use a wood file and knock down the excess laminate along there.

I didn’t have a wood file and thought I could just file it down with a chisel. I was wrong. :) It didn’t work. It was about 9 p.m. and I so didn’t want to run out to get the annoying wood file, so I started trying anything I could find. It went…OK. ;) These heavy duty scissors worked for cutting vinyl tiles so I figured they would work for this and they did:

installing laminate countertops

But I couldn’t get close enough to the edge to get it flush. I was also afraid I was going to damage the counter by messing with it so much, so I put a line of my Frogtape along there to protect it:

how to install laminate countertops

Then I went back at it again – this time with tin snips. :) With those I was able to get much closer to the edge. And then I got it real flush by ending with my original plan, the chisel:

installing laminate countertops

You can see there why I put the tape down – it really did help and the counters are just fine even after all that abuse. :) After all those tools and the time it took to get it all done, I just should have made the run to the hardware store, but whatever. I was already in my pj’s and not going anywhere.

The counter is actually quite cool, I love the way it looks! It’s got the “3D” look to it – it has a very minor texture that’s supposed to look like granite. We have similar counters upstairs and they get mistaken for granite on first glance all the time. They’ve also held up GREAT, so I know it will be perfect in the basement:

dark laminate counters that look like granite

So I know we still need to cut the hole for the sink but I wanted to make sure it was staying put for the time being, so I got some pillows to lay on and got underneath and secured it to the cabinets using screws:

photo 2 copy

Nice picture thanks to the Bub. ;) It was not the most comfortable thing I’ve ever done. Remember when doing this part to use screws that aren’t too long so they don’t go through the top of the laminate! Yikes.

Then…it was time for paint. Why must EVERY SINGLE PROJECT involve so much paint? WHY. I’ve done a coat of primer and one coat of glossy white on everything so far:

basement kitchenette

Yes, the kitchenette also serves as the basketball court. :)

The cabinets still needs another good sanding and one more coat of paint, but I was tired people. So. much. painting. 

Next steps are to install the hardware on the cabinets, continue the baseboard around the bottom, install the sink and then decide what I’m doing on that wall above. First I need to decide on uppers or no uppers – I wasn’t going to do any but more storage wouldn’t be a horrible thing, right? I’m thinking maybe skinny ones one easy side of the lights, then maybe shelving between. Or just shelves and no cabinets? No idea. It will come to me eventually.

So it’s not quite a full after yet, but a halfway after still makes me very, very happy:

basement kitchenette

We are just giddy about the thought of a kitchen sink down there. I swear we’re all just moving down to the basement. We’ll be back upstairs for the summer. Or not, it’s nice and cool down there in the hot months. :)

Have you ever installed countertops? Do you have this granite lookalike stuff? My dream one day would be soapstone counters, but until then the laminate holds up great! Hopefully I’ll be able to show you this space with a sink soon!

P.S. This color was called Labrador Granite.

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Comments

  1. I have granite-style laminate too! I would eventually like to upgrade to some real stone one day, but for now I really dont mind the laminate because of the nice pattern! Only issue with mine is that it is chipped on the edge- HOWEVER is it brown coloured and the wood underneath is brown so no one but me has ever noticed ;)

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  2. I love the countertop pattern, it really is pretty. The basketball court gets moved around in my house ;)

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  3. Looks great Sarah. We semi-finished our basement ourselves a couple years ago and used laminate counters in two rooms. They have held up extremely well. Oh and I cheated, I glued the end strip on with wood glue (still holding strong!).

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  4. Looking really good!!! Yes, the painting. UGH! I am hopeing to surprise my husband (who is gone for the week) and have the top of our board and batten painted in the entry and hall. However, I have a cold and tax stuff to get together for my shop this week. Hmm.... maybe not. :(

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  5. It looks so great! What kind of primer did you use on the cabinets?

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  6. Looks great!! I do have one question though and it seems like I always have this question when I see bloggers doing things to their cabinets. Wouldn't it have been easier to paint the cabinets prior to adding the counter top? As I said, I see this a lot so I was wondering if I'm missing something. If there is some reason you should put counters on before painting. Thanks.

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    Replies
    1. You know it would have been easier to just do it before but I spaced it. :)

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  7. It looks great Sarah! We added a hickory cabinet in the laundry room putting a drop in laundry sink, adding the finished edge to the side like you did. Tapped into the plumbing in the wall to hook up the sink. I love having it in there. We added upper cabinets above our washer and dryer too. That hickory is some pretty tough wood!! If I remember right, when drilling pilot holes to screw the cabinets together in the front, my DH broke his drill bit.

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  8. We put faux marble laminate in our kitchen this summer and I LURVE it.

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    Replies
    1. What type of laminate did you use? I am in search of options to present to my husband, have to convince him somehow!

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    2. Here's a link to this one if it helps Anon!

      http://www.lowes.com/pd_351867-1110-369246B10_4294696736__?productId=3343554&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=

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  9. We have laminate in our kitchen. When people first saw it, they thought it was granite and I honestly wasn't even going for a granite look. I love laminate. Someday we hope to put in a solid surface with undermount sinks but I'm quite content with what I have now.

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  10. I am so excited for you! It looks gorgeous so far!

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  11. It's looking great Sarah! I have a basement kitchen too that is in need of a LOT of painting. Quick question though, what paint did you use? Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Vel! I just used a Kilz primer and then some glossy white paint from Lowe's for the rest.

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  12. This looks great! It would be so nice to have a kitchenette in the family room, especially for Movie nights and football games.

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  13. Oh Sarah, now I'm all itchy-twitchy to get moving on our basement project! But for now I guess living vicariously through yours will have to do! ;)

    It's coming along beautifully! (And I vote shelves, if you wanted to know, ha ha!)

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  14. what a difference paint makes! can't wait to see what you decide on for uppers

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  15. We used the exact same cabinets in our basement bar area! I lived without uppers for about a year until we just added them last year. I say go with the added storage! They look great and I love the white against the dark counter tops!

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  16. At our previous house we installed laminate that looked a lot like natural stone...and we really loved it! People asked what kind of stone it was. :)

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  17. Your basement is just beautiful! We used the exact same counter tops on our basement bar, but we had a neighbor install them (we're not nearly as handy as you). After about two years of use, the counters have held up great!

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  18. I can't believe what a bargain that is! It looks really good. I can't imagine tackling that myself though. No way. I'm excited for you though. Great job!!

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  19. I am just wondering exactly what this laminate is... brand, color, etc.
    It is beautiful and I would love something similar in my kitchen!

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    1. The color was called Labrador Granite -- here's a link:
      http://www.lowes.com/pd_351867-1110-369246B10_4294696736__?productId=3343554&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=

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  20. Wow! It's going to look great! I am impressed that you are installing it on your own!

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  21. How awesome that you're going to have a sink! Looks so great already!

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  22. Great job. Not a fan of laminate, but that counter looks awesome. The cabinets being painted white makes a huge difference. It looks like a professional job. Congrats.

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  23. That laminate looks great. I'm trying to talk my husband into putting it into our kitchen but he thinks it'll look too cheap. I'll have to show him this. Maybe the IU basketball goal will seal the deal. I knew we were technically both Hoosiers but after seeing that you're TRUE Hoosiers, I might like you all even more. HEHE! GO IU!

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  24. I have laminate counter in my kitchen and love it. It's so dang cost effective and it looks beautiful to me! As for the edge kit, that sucker was not easy and you made it look nice. What really makes it look nice is a file they call a "rat tail bastard" -- no kidding. It's round so it files in those rounded corners nicely. They also suggest using a router to route off those edges...but that scares the bejeezus out of me. Our basement remodel is next on the list. Pray for me. :-)

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  25. I've never done counters or laminate. I just wanted to put my vote in. I would think just shelves above the sink would look great. I was thinking glass, but with the basketball court right there...maybe wood would be better? Maybe PAINTED white? bahahaha Truthfully, I think cupboards would be too much. Maybe cubbies with bright fabric storage baskets in them, or whatever matches your color scheme? Where are you putting the mini-fridge?

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  26. You have such impeccable taste, TDC! I have the Labrador Granite laminate on my kitchen perimeter counters (the island has granite) and in my laundry room. I got the non-shiny version that is textured. Love it SO MUCH!

    I would put cabinets above the sink for storage, but I'm not sure if you have enough space to open them with those pendant lights? Open shelves are trendy, but do you really want to wash the dishes/glassware on them every time you want to use them? Those open shelves are just dust collectors. They may look great, but they are so impractical.

    Sue

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  27. Can I just say that the pic of you under the sink is a flattering one!!!??? ha ha (Not in a stalker-weird-girl-crush-kind-of-way I swear!)

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  28. Love this! It looks great; even in the not quite done stage. Oooo.
    Well done, Bub on the Mommy under the counter photo! Haha.

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  29. Just wanted to give you a THUMBS UP! Searched thru Google, Pinterest, etc., but all the posts were by men...SOOOO... need this tool, that tool, blah blah blah. Your get it done attitude and instructions totally make sense to this old lady and here I go....

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