Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - Removing Laminate countertops

I have been thinking about installing granite countertops in my kitchen. However, it is not clear to be how to remove the old countertops which are laminate. Would the countertop have screws under the laminate.

Open your cabinet doors and take a look from underneath. Screws, if used, are probably in the corner support blocks on all for corners of each cabinet.

You may also encounter glue/construction adhesive being used to hold down the top.

Is the backsplash molded into the countertop or a seperate piece?

If it is seperate, it is probably glued and will have to be removed first as it is holding down the back of the countertop. You will most likely have to pry off the backsplash. Just be careful to put some type of scrap wood against the wall when you pry to avoid damaging the remainng wall.

Thanks – I will take a look under. As for the backsplash – I’m not sure how that been done. In one place there is a seam where two separate pieces of laminate have been used. In another place one piece goes from the countertop to the backsplash.

The other thing which puzzled me is that it an open kitchen so in addition to the main countertops, there is a raised segment forming a sort of bar. This countertop sits on a half wall made of drywall so looking underneath is not an option. I was wondering how this was attached. If it is indeed glued on how can I remove it without damaging the wall.

It is also possible that not only are the splashes glued but the tops may be as well. By now you probably already know.

If not, and if they are glued, good luck. Be caeful not to "tear" the top rails on the cabinets. sometimes a hacksaw blade will help. you may need to use some solvent as well.

The bar top was likely glued or screwed

If you look under the top, you may see that a sub top was attached to the top of the kneewall first. If so, it was probably screwed down or glued an screwed. Then the Bartop may have be placed over the sub top and the sub top was then screwed to the bartop. Gee I hope that all makes sense.

It may also have been that the laminate was applied on-site and the top is screwed into the kneewall under the laminate.

no way to know.

good luck

I renovated a kitchen where the laminate countertops were clued and screwed to the cabinets. So were the backsplashes. The countertops were screwed from the top and then the laminate applied over the screw heads. The backsplashes were screwed from the back to the countertop and then screwed to the wall. You can imagine how we removed that stuff. Serious demo!

Fortunately, we weren't trying to save the cabinets (although I had plans to take some for my shop) but we all wondered why anyone would put something together like that.

I have not done anything yet - I was just in the process of investigating the whole job as well as talking to the Granite fabricators and getting pricing and so on. I will be doing the install but the fabricator will be supplying the slabs cut to my specs and with all the finish work like bullnosing.

I was thinking about using a heat gun to peel the laminate and see if I can spot any screws. I can also try inserting my borescope (there are a couple of places where I think I can get access) and see if I can spot what is going on.

But it seems like talking to various people about this - when they install a countertop it seems like it is assumed that you would never want to replace them.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding your post, but you said the fabricators will be making the slabs to "your specs".

Does this mean you will be giving the dimensions to the fabricator? If so, this could be a costly mistake. If you are off just slightly, you'll have to pay for a new granite countertop to be cut and this may mean a whole new slab so everything matches.

The fabricator should do all the measuring and cutting so that if there is an error, it is on them. You should just give them the cabinets in place minus the old laminate tops.

Yes, that's correct. I need to understand exactly how that will work but I'm planning to get the granite from a retailer who simply supplies the granite pre-cut to specs. They are not installers. My expection was to give them slightly oversized dimensions and then I would grind down the edges to the exact size. I have measured and given them initial dimensions which should be accurate to about 1/8" but I would be rechecking the numbers before a final order.

As for the laminate countertops - I'm now falrly sure it has been glued on. I peeled off some of the laminate (which came off quite easily to my suprise) and I cannot see any screws. I was able to look underneath the cabinets and also under the bar area with my borescope and in places I can see some brown globs so I assume it is adhesive.

Any good ideas on how to losen this as I plan to keep the existing cabinets and do not want to wreck it during removal.

It seems like the backspash is also a separate thing so I guess it is glued to the wall.

RAv12 - I think you could be making a potentially expensive mistake with the granite. I'm a serious DIYer and not afraid to takle just about any project, but I left the granite countertops for my kitchen to the pros.

Messing up a 30-40 sf slab can really hurt.

Please whatever you do .DO NOT give dimensions to a fabricator. DO NOT expect to "grind" the granite to fit.
At 35-50 per sq ft or more, you will end up with a huge problem that will cost you even more to rectify.

No responsible fabricator would make a granite or corian countertop for themselves to install without making a template first. The template should be an EXACT replica of the proposed finished top. No responsible fabricator should agree to make a top without a template. That is unless their ruthless.

A responsible fbricator will make the template, fabricate the tops and install them. If there is an undermount sink they would install the sink - not the plumbing.

They would epoxy the seams to make them as tight as possible and color macth the epoxy to the granite.

If there is a bar top where the splashes need to be taller than the rest, they will typically make them after the tops are installed to make sure they fit.

They will mark on the template what edges get a profiled edge, which edges get a flat polished edge and which edges remain raw. They will mark the center of the sink and should either take the sink with them or the tempalte of the sink.
They will mark the location of the faucet holes, They would determine the best place for the seam, while maximizing the yeild on the slab and lstill imiting the number of seams. Make sure they put "plugs" so that you can attach the dishwasher.

The bottom line is this is not a DIY project.

I was a Corian and laminate fabricator for 20 years. I would not even consider grinding granite. Hell, I am reluctant to drill holes in granite for the faucets. By the way a diamond core hole bit costs about $60 wholesale. Try drilling a hole in 3/4 or 1 1/4 granite without it.

Get quotes from several relaible fabricators, depending on where you are, installed granite should only cost 35-55 per square ft. the sink cut out should be between $75 and $150 , the faucet holle may be a little more.

What about radius corners on the exposed corners you could hit your hip into or a child could bust their head with.

Sorry to go on and on, but I just don't want you to make a humumgus mistake.

Good luck.

Thanks for the feedback guys – appreciate it. Having said that though I’m not sure why everyone thinks that Granite is not a DIY project. Sure there are risks but provided it is carefully planned for I think it should work out fine. I’m definitely a serious DIYer and have done several projects that people have told me are for not for DIYers – for example designing, re-routing and laying gas lines as well as diagnosing, repairing and rebuilding automatic transmissions.

I don’t think it is as a big deal as people have said. Having said that obviously I will be working on this with care so as to minimize any screw-up’s. I just ordered some DVDs to learn how to fabricate and install Granite.

Should be a fun project.

My conscience is clean.

LOL...Let's see how this turns out. I will post back once the job is done.

Everything MissTFried said is true, except he forgot to mention that granite has fissures and is very easy to break. Also be sure to wear goggles to protect your eyes and a dust mask to protect your lungs. Silica will enter your lungs and settle to the bottom. Silicosis is nasty.

Sure thanks - I'm big on safety so I would definitely be wearing protection. People reading this thread might be interested to know that I posted this question on another forum and heard from two people who have fabricated and installed their own granite and from what I hear it is not really that difficult.

The other point I really have to make is when people make a blanket statement saying that something is not really a DIY project. It really depends on the skills and ability of the individual person. What may be DIY for one may not be for another.

This is an old thread but in the light of the discussion here where everybody appears to think that granite is not something for DIY I decided to try my hand at fabricating some granite from a blank panel. I visited my local granite slab yard where they very kindly gave me a remnant piece free for my “experiment”. I replaced the wooden counter on a cupboard in the hallway with granite.

Overall it went very well. I am posting a slideshow showing how the counter was fabbed from a blank.

Maybe this will give some other confidence in trying their hand at granite also to remind people not to make blanket statements about what is possible for a DIYer to do.

You will need the latest edition of Flash to view this.

http://s207.photobucket.com/pbwidget.swf?pbwurl=http://w207.photobucket.com/albums/bb240/rperinpa/Granite%20Counter/45ede97f.pbw