Remodeling a kitchen can be costly. Yet even in today’s economic environment, it is one of the most efficient ways to add value to your entire home. And thanks to modern advancements in laminate technology, you can get the high-end look of granite, soapstone, marble or agate countertops — along with great durability — for a much friendlier cost. Here’s how.
Laminate basics
A laminate countertop consists of a plywood, fiberboard or particleboard substrate covered by a thin layer of high-pressure decorative laminate (HPDL), a material made by saturating sheets of decorative and core paper with resins and then pressing them under high heat to fuse the layers into a single sheet. (Despite its appearance, a sheet of HPDL is mostly paper; only 18 percent is plastic resin.)
For decades, laminate was an uninspiring countertop choice, but today a few manufacturers (such as Wilsonart) have created laminates that mimic the look and feel of high-end materials. Created with technology developed for the creation of durable laminate flooring, these products create an illusion of depth, texture and sparkle that had traditionally been impossible to achieve in a man-made material.
For example, Wilsonart’s new WilsonartHD High Definition Laminate is made with a new manufacturing process that disperses aluminum-oxide particles into the melamine resin that’s applied to the surface of the overlay. The result not only mimics the look of stone but also offers abrasion resistance that’s four times the industry standard, according to the manufacturer.
Because of the unique manufacturing process, WilsonartHD countertops are often produced in one piece, eliminating the 45-degree corner seam visible on traditional laminate countertops. And as an added benefit, these laminates never need sealing, unlike actual stone.
Typical installation
When you order a custom laminate countertop, an installer will take very precise measurements to ensure an exact fit. (For WilsonartHD countertops, installers use a laser system that electronically measures and records dimensions, and that data is fed into a CNC machine that mills the countertop to exact size.)
Though the supplier performs most of the installation, you can speed up the work (and possibly save money) by removing the sink and, ifpossible, the old countertop. Laminate countertops are often both screwed and glued in place, so you may have to break the old countertop apart to remove it.
Once the existing countertop has been removed, the installers will apply a bead of glue along the top edges of the base cabinet and set the new countertop in place. Then they’ll drive screws from beneath through the top rails of the base cabinets and into the countertop substrate, which helps to hold the countertop in position while the glue dries. Finally, they’ll cover any exposed ends with carefully trimmed lengths of matching laminate. Any final trimming will be done with a laminate router, and then all that’s left is to let the glue cure.
SOURCE
Wilsonart (WilsonartHD High Definition Laminates)
800-433-3222
www.wilsonart.com/hd/default.aspx