How to Add to a Laminate Countertop
- 1). Use your palm sander to dull the surface of the countertop, taking off any shine or grime. Completely clean up the dust.
- 2). Measure each area of the countertop. Mark the measurements on your laminate sheets, making them about 1 inch bigger all around than the countertop measurements.
- 3). Lay the laminate sheets face-down on spread-out newspapers. Use your brushes to completely coat the backs in contact cement. Do the same to the countertop surfaces. Let the contact cement dry to the touch (generally about 15 minutes).
- 4). Hold the laminate piece for the front strip out in front of the area where it's supposed to go, overhanging by about 1 inch all around. Position it exactly before allowing the two cement-coated surfaces to touch. When the piece is correctly positioned, press it to the surface all at once, which should bind it instantly.
- 5). Run your j-roller over the laminate strip to flatten and secure it. Run your router along the edge of the countertop, cutting off the overhanging laminate.
- 6). Set your dowel rods on the countertop surface, facing from front to back, spaced about 1 foot from each other. Set your large top piece of laminate over the rods, which keeps the two cemented surfaces separated from each other until you have the top laminate positioned exactly right.
- 7). Pull the dowel rods out one by one from the center, pressing the laminate down to the surface as you go. Continue until all the rods are out, and the top is completely in contact with the counter. Run your j-roller over the surface. Trim off the edges with your router.