Installing Your Kitchen Countertop
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Installing Kitchen Countertop Guide
Worried about installing your kitchen countertop? DIY it with this easy guide to building your kitchen countertops yourself.
Make your kitchen look better without a load of expense and hassle...
Guidance and tips for installing your own new kitchen countertop.
Building kitchen countertops yourself is easy, inexpensive and can make a big difference to the look and feel of your kitchen - I'll show you how!
The first element of our own kitchen makeover was to change the worksurfaces / countertops.
This actually made a huge difference to our kitchen - and we wished we'd done it far earlier, rather than lived for so long with a countertop we didn't really like.
Installing a kitchen countertop is a great way to get a fresh new look for your kitchen - and you can do it without the whole expense and hassle of changing the base-units and cupboards.
Even just using new countertops in your kitchen remodelling can drastically alter the look and feel of your whole kitchen - and give it a fresh new feel.
Our previous countertops for our kitchen were a dull, matt, mushroomy color - they wouldn't have been our first choice, but were fairly innocuous, went with most things and were pretty inoffensive - so they got left through several re-decoration projects.
New countertops for our kitchen were first on the list, though, when it came to our kitchen makeover. Building your kitchen countertops is a job that can be done quite easily with just a little DIY experience and know-how, and kitchen countertops in laminate can actually be very reasonably priced.
- Countertops for your kitchen can come in:
- granite (very nice, but very expensive and need to be professionally cut and fitted)
- tiled (ideal for DIY - see some tips for tiling a countertop, here... )
- marble, stone or quartz (again very nice, but very expensive and need to be professionally cut and fitted)
- real wood and 'butcher's block'
- acrylics
- composites (such as 'corian')
- laminates
More ideas about style and design for your kitchen fixtures...
- Laminates are a good and easy choice to fit yourself, and are usually the cheapest option.
I'll be showing you some tips and guidance for installing a kitchen countertop in laminate - this is a basic swap over, and not part of a complete kitchen build.
- Always follow any manufacturer's instructions supplied
Installing your Kitchen Countertops
Skip straight to watch the video guides to help you along...
Written Guide to Installing Countertops for Kitchen
- Firstly, remove the old countertops
- Switch off water, gas and electricity and make safe before you start.
- Remove fixtures such as hobs, sinks, taps etc.
- Unscrew all the fastening bolts from underneath
- If your wall-tiles are fitted over the top of the countertop, you may like to score the joint with a knife, or remove some of the grouting to make removal easier and lessen damage to the tiles.
- You may need to hit with a hammer from underneath to loosen the countertops before lifting off
- Measure the space for the new countertops carefully. You may be able to use the old countertops as a template.
- Take especial note of areas where corners and walls might not run perfectly true.
- Mark the measurements on with pencil
- Using a work-bench, cut carefully along your marked line with a junior hacksaw. Take care to keep the cut straight, checking frequently.
- Offer the cut countertop up to the cupboards' top, and carefully fit in. If you have measured accurately they should fit perfectly, if not, now's the time to make adjustments.
- Fasten the screws underneath
- Fit joining strips where you join 2 countertops together, in a straight line, or at right angles.
- Fit an end strip to cut ends - or use the special end laminate strip that is often supplied with the countertop.
- If a hob or sink is to be fitted, now measure, and mark the positions carefully in pencil.
- We fitted a small, circular sink to replace our big, old-fashioned farmhouse style sink, for a more modern look.
- With the countertop in situ, drill a hole with a 20mm drill bit close to (inside) the edge of the circle (or rectangle) you are going to cut.
- Use this hole as your starting point, to cut the circle (or rectangle) carefully with a jigsaw.
- Seal the cut edges carefully with a waterproof sealant.
- Lower the sink into the hole, and fasten with the clips supplied.
- Our new tap fitted straight to the countertop, rather than to the sink itself.
- Measure the position and size of the hole(s) required carefully.
- Drill the holes with appropriate sized drill bits
- Seal the cut edges carefully with a waterproof sealant.
- Fit the pipework through the holes, and connect to the water supply.
- Fit the tap onto the pipes.
- If you are not competent at plumbing work, get a qualified plumber to complete this part of the kitchen makeover.
- We bought a new ceramic hob in white, that enhanced the pale color of our white countertops.
- With the countertop in situ, drill a hole with a 20mm drill bit close to (inside) the edge of the rectangle you are going to cut.
- Use this hole as your starting point, to cut the rectangle carefully with a jigsaw.
- Seal the cut edges carefully with a waterproof and heat proof sealant.
- Lower the hob into the hole, and fasten with the clips supplied.
- Reconnect to the electricity or gas supply. If you are not competent at electrical or gas-fitting work, get a qualified electrician or gas-fitter to complete this part of the kitchen makeover.
- Complete installing your kitchen countertop by sealing the back-edge - and/or complete tiling behind - to seal the gaps.
Installing a Kitchen Countertop Sink
To Cut a Hole for a Single Tap
Installing a Kitchen Countertop Hob
Watch these short video clips to help you along with your kitchen countertops remodelling project...
Simply click on an image to start the player...
Even though we haven't (as yet!) completed our full kitchen makeover, just building new kitchen countertops has made a big difference in remodelling our kitchen.
The new kitchen worksurfaces look fresh and new, and as they are white, they really reflect the light, and make the whole space feel larger and lighter.
We chose a contemporary looking kitchen countertop in laminate white, with real metal flecks, that reflect the light and really sparkle. It has a contemporary, squared profile, and although it really is a laminate - making it super-easy to fit yourself - we think it does have the look of a more expensive composite, or even granite worksurface.
We are very pleased with the look of our new kitchen worksufaces - and hope that the rest of our kitchen makeover goes so smoothly.
UPDATE: We have now completed our kitchen makeover... click here to see the results of our retro wallpaper inspired kitchen makeover...
Tips for tiling a countertop, here...
More ideas for kitchen style and design
More practical kitchen decorating tips for your makeover
More photo inspiration and ideas for your kitchen decorating themes
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