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Posted by Dave Balderstone on April 4, 2006, 10:32 pm
The formica countertops in our kitchen are ugly and have some stains.
Replacement is not in the budget.
Is is possible to lay new formica over the existing? I'd want it to
last 5 years.
If possible, what's the procedure? Remove caulking, sand with 80 grit?
60 grit? Apply contact cement, laminate, roll, then trim edges?
Advice is appreciated.
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Posted by mrsgator88 on April 4, 2006, 11:02 pm
There are ways to get out or reduce many stains in laminate. A lot of elbow
grease (and I think baking soda) is involved. Also, what do you mean by
"last 5 years" - does this mean in 5 years they're ready to be thrown out,
or in 5 years they're just starting to show wear? We sell a lot of Formica
furniture where I work, and putting new laminate over old is a definite
no-no.
It used to be you could go to a home store and buy pre-made laminate
countertops pretty cheap and cut and joing them yourself. Thats probably
the best way, because you'll be paying full retail for raw sheets of
laminate anyways. And also, if you have bullnose edges, you'll need a
special machine to heat and bend the laminate, but this heat would also
cause the original layer of laminate to come off. Have I talked you out of
it yet?
Steve
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Posted by Dave Balderstone on April 4, 2006, 11:20 pm
> There are ways to get out or reduce many stains in laminate. A lot of elbow
> grease (and I think baking soda) is involved.
Not worth it in ths case.
> Also, what do you mean by
> "last 5 years" - does this mean in 5 years they're ready to be thrown out,
> or in 5 years they're just starting to show wear?
In 5 years we'll likely be selling or ready to rip the whole place
apart and do a total remodel. If we sell, the new owners will either
want to rip it all out or will be willing to live with whatever's
there.
> We sell a lot of Formica
> furniture where I work, and putting new laminate over old is a definite
> no-no.
Why? What are the issues? Furniture is different than countertop, no?
I was told at a local home reno store (Rona, here in Canada) that it
was sand and go. I'm (obviously) asking for a second opinion.
> It used to be you could go to a home store and buy pre-made laminate
> countertops pretty cheap and cut and joing them yourself. Thats probably
> the best way, because you'll be paying full retail for raw sheets of
> laminate anyways. And also, if you have bullnose edges, you'll need a
> special machine to heat and bend the laminate, but this heat would also
> cause the original layer of laminate to come off. Have I talked you out of
> it yet?
Not yet. <g>
No bullnose edges, everything is square.
I can replace the counters myself for the cost of 3 sheets of 3/4 inch
MDF, 2 sheets of formica, and a couple of weekends. Maybe $300 Canadian
for materials.
Should I plan to apply heat and lift the old laminate, then sand and
apply the new stuff? That's feasible... It's a small kitchen and I
could probably lift the old stuff in a long day.
Thanks for your feedback and advice, Steve.
djb
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Posted by mrsgator88 on April 4, 2006, 11:30 pm
>> We sell a lot of Formica
>> furniture where I work, and putting new laminate over old is a definite
>> no-no.
> Why? What are the issues? Furniture is different than countertop, no?
No its the same. Too many issues to spell out at this hour. For your
situation it should be fine however.
> No bullnose edges, everything is square.
OK, then we can talk about it.
> Should I plan to apply heat and lift the old laminate, then sand and
> apply the new stuff? That's feasible... It's a small kitchen and I
> could probably lift the old stuff in a long day.
Yes thats the right way. Plan to go through a lot of sand paper, the glue
might gum it up pretty good.
> Thanks for your feedback and advice, Steve.
> djb
Your welcome!
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Posted by Dave Balderstone on April 4, 2006, 11:46 pm
> > Should I plan to apply heat and lift the old laminate, then sand and
> > apply the new stuff? That's feasible... It's a small kitchen and I
> > could probably lift the old stuff in a long day.
>
> Yes thats the right way. Plan to go through a lot of sand paper, the glue
> might gum it up pretty good.
Based on your info and the feedback from bambam, I'm thinking at this
point to lift the old formica with heat, scrape the old glue to a
reasonable point, then glue/screw 1/8 inch hardboard or MDF (instead of
the 1/4" bambam suggests) and reapply new formica over that. Not a big
increase in cost, but (it seems to me) a better adhesion on the new
cabinet top.
Waddayathink? A weekend's work (in this kitchen, two countertops), and
maybe $350 in material.
If I'm off-base I'd love to hear why. No sense wasting time and money...
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> grease (and I think baking soda) is involved.