I am going to redo the kitchen countertops in our house with new wilsonart laminate or something similar. Is it required to remove the old laminate from the countertop, or can one just glue the new Formica type surface on top of the one that is already glued to the substrate after roughing it up?
Thanks,
R
Standard installation procedure is to remove the old countertop first and lay new countertop across the supporting cupboard tops. This way your new countertop remains at standard height.
You can put the new on the old, just be sure the old is firmly & completely attached.
I have done exactly what the OP proposes to do at two different homes. Works perfectly fine. Just be sure to get the cement/glue on evenly. If the extra 1/8 inch height of the new countertops is bothersome, whomever it bothers has a lot more problems than the countertop height.
You could do that if like dadiOH mentioned the present counter top is still firmly attached to its plywood or chipboard substrate...
It is a lot easier to work on such things when you have removed the counter top from the cabinets since the contact adhesive used has ZERO forgiveness, once it touches its stuck...
Removing the counter top to work on it where you can use sticks to separate the two contact adhesive coated surfaces on all sides and edges of the counter makes the project easier, also rolling it flat to make sure all the air pockets are eliminated with a J roller is easier when you do not have overhead cabinets to work under...
Removing the counter top from the base cabinets will also allow you to assess whether or not you should reuse the existing substrate or build a new one, water damage around sinks is fairly commonplace with older Formica counters and adding a new layer on top of a rotted out base is just asking for problems later on...
My experience w/ Wilsonart is such that I would _strongly_ suggest the other product instead...
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I have the countertop off and it is in great shape except for being PINK. No rot or water damage. I would do it off the cabinets then reinstall it. dpb what is the other stuff and why is Wilsonart a bad experience?
ROn 7/1/2012 5:54 PM, Roanin wrote: ...
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Formica is the key player in the laminates market.
Wilsonart in my experience is _extremely_ brittle in comparison and not nearly as wearing afterwards assuming one can get it installed w/o chipping or cracking it.
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Thanks, that's what I thought.
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