Laminate countertops
 

Hi everyone, I need new laminate countertops installed and Home Depot is saying it would be 6 weeks before they'd be done. Has anyone gotten them installed way faster? Thanks for any advice.

Have you considered Granite or Quartz, especially Quartz? Replacing laminate countertops seems like waste of money to me.

I am assuming that these are custom made for your replacements, so 6 weeks is reasonable. If you can use stock sizes and have your installer trim to fit you may be able get these quicker. I am also assuming that you will need the holes cut for the sink, etc. Around a year ago I looked at these at Lowe's and they had various counter tops in stock, no idea if any of these will work for you.

No need to be a countertop snob. Laminate can be a good choice, not “a waste of money.” Countertop choice depends on what the individual wants and/or needs.

As one who spent good money on granite a couple of houses ago, I can tell you that I am so glad we don’t live there anymore. Kitchens were in their “Tuscan Phase” and I was, too. I just loved my Tuscany Tones. It did not matter to me that if my vitamin and my dog’s arthritis pill were loose on the counter, trying to find them was like looking for Waldo. But then I got tired of that look BECAUSE that is exactly what kitchen designers want us to do.

Granite dates fast. And don’t get me started on that silly waterfall look — served no purpose other than parting people from their money.

I could write a therapeutic (for me) big long thing about my life with countertop choices through 10 houses, but I will spare you.

That being said……c’mon, retiredguy123, don’t judge someone’s financial decisions by their countertop choice. Laminate could be a very smart financial decision — and comes with a whole lot less labor and guilt, if you want to change it later. (That is a fact that can definitely apply when buying a resale, too.)

Boomer

PS: But. . .I will not judge you as someone who judges people by their countertops. Your financial judgment, as shows in your posts, is usually quite sound. And you do not come through as one of those types who actually goes around judging people by their countertops.

But usually I do judge people who judge other people by their countertops. :)

Not an unreasonable amount of time in the least.

You got it, Boomer, well said.

I could write an essay on the irrational psychology of countertop choices, I've been watching it for a couple decades now.

It's "the power" of HGTV and keeping up with the Joneses, it seems, that people who previously never gave countertops a second thought would rip-out ones still in good shape to spend many thousands on new ones which provided virtually no added utility - it was all for aesthetics. But, they still lived in a modest-priced house or it was dated through-out the rest of it. Nutz!

People pour a bowl of cereal or make a salad the same way no matter what the surface is.

I did not intend to sound like I was judging someone by their countertops. I definitely don't think of myself as a snob. I just tend to look at upgrades in terms of resale value. I have laminate counters in my house and they are fine. But, if I were going to replace them, it would be with Quartz because of the resale value. I think granite is out, Quartz is in. Most of the replacement cost for countertops is for the labor, not the material. I would not want to waste money on expensive labor to install a material that will not do much to increase the value of my house. All laminate is made of plastic, but some people think that there are different grades of laminate. But, it all has basically the same durability, or lack thereof. I don't have any statistics, but I think that the vast majority of people who replace their laminate countertops, will upgrade the material to a stone type counter.

Actually, I know what you were thinking and why. But in between the either/or of laminate v. stone v. quartz, there is a lot of territory.

You see that I gave you a pass when said I do not judge you as one of those people who judges people by their countertops. You do not seem to be a snob, at all……..

I was just using your comment to fire for effect, not directly at you, but at those people who really do judge people by their countertops. There are a lot of those around and I find them tedious. As that old southern expression says, “They make my azz tired.”

Anyway, retiredguy, peace.

Sincerely,
Boomer

PS: I kinda luv it when a thread jumps the track a little. My people call it conversation. But I hope our OP gets her answer. (Btw, my guess is that 6 weeks lead is the standard answer, but I would be checking around, too, just in case.)

Sorry to hear 6 weeks is reasonable. The problem is that I'm getting new cabinets which will be without counters for a long time. The new cabinets are not exactly the same size as the previous ones so I don't have the option of putting on the old counters on top temporarily. Especially the sink cabinet that will need a smaller sink, I know, why downsize, don't worry about it, there is a reason for it! I could put a piece of plywood in the meantime, that might be my only option.
Tinker, I have looked at the stock counters in Home Depot and Lowes and they're not what I'm looking for, but that was a good suggestion.
I've got a lot of counters to replace and since I am not planning on reselling, I'm quite content to go for the cheaper option that I wouldn't feel devastated if anyone damaged them by mistake. But maybe I will get swayed to stone so they get done faster!

M-
I replaced my new Villa's laminate with quartz recently. If you want any info feel free to contact me. L

Stone will not necessarily be faster, unless what you happen to choose is in stock, and the installer has the time. Our neighbors replacement counter tops took several months. If you can get by with some plywood, go for it, just apply several coats of polyurethane (water based) and sand between coats. This will give you a durable waterproof coating until your final counter tops arrive.

Re-doing Laminate counter tops is a very simple job, most any handyman can do. Laminate can be applied directly over your existing laminate and it's very inexpensive to buy. All you need, is a can of mastic adhesive and a router to do the edges and it will look brand new.

If you're doing something new and don't have any counter tops to do over, they're not hard to build from scratch, you just can't do post-formed very easily.


If you can't find someone to do them and you're in TV, go talk to someone at the Woodworking Shop.

Why not wait to replace the cabinets until the countertops are ready?

My quartz countertops were quoted at 6 weeks but they came in at 2. Got them from Roberto's.

Great advice again Tinker.

I did my own with my dad when he was still alive and it was fun! But I'm not set up with all the tools needed and I don't see the need for having to buy them all and store in a small shed at this point. My existing counters were water damaged from previous owners so I can't simply re-cover them, and they'll be the wrong size for my new cabinet design. But thanks for your input.

The countertops can't be ordered until the new cabinet design is set up, so they can get an accurate template. I'm going to have to fiddle with some fillers when I assemble them to make sure everything is symmetrical.

Wow, lucky you!!

I agree with some of the other posters looking into an alternative to laminate.
Not that much to save time, but there are many options that are easier to take care of.
Just shop around look at price and time and see if an alternative will work for you.
Good luck.

Countertops
 

I have not used them but have gotten a strong recommendation for Solid Surfaces in Leesburg. They may be able to accommodate your time frame.

Some years ago, I was thinking of quartz and wanting to replace the builder grade laminate but my other half said, "will our food taste the same if we change?" I would go for "high definition" laminate now...not sure how that compares in cost. We have had laminate in ALL of our homes. We built houses too so they weren't old. Being grateful and satisfied is key and not trying to keep up with the "Joneses" as my parents used to say. HGTV is fun to watch but for many it's caused dissatisfaction. Young folks want/desire what their parents had....just watch sometime. A bathroom (single), 3 bedroom starter is what many of us had back in the day. The family I grew up in were 6 in number---we lived in a bungalow that had 2 beds, one bath on the main floor. My dad finished the upstairs to make one closet and 2 bedrooms to accommodate the family. One bedroom on the 1st floor became a "study".

You make a very good point. Growing up we never gave a thought to what type of countertop someone had in their kitchen. Lol.

I have white laminate countertops, I love them. I was quoted $4,000.00 for quartz, counters were $200.00. I got them at IKEA, my handyman cut and installed them for me. 9 years later I have never regretted getting them, never wish I had gotten quartz. I like them because they don't have the laminate edge...... you couldn't give me granite, I have never liked it..... I have never seen a granite counter I didn't think is ugly.

I like laminate. There are some really attractive ones that I’ve used. I like marble and granite, but they are much more expensive than laminate. I could use that money elsewhere. I hear that quartz is losing its popularity. To me it just it looks sort of tacky, like glitter.

I believe a previous poster was actually referring to Solid Image in Leesburg, www.solidimageinc.com , not far from the Villages off Rt. 44.
I recommend that anyone doing a countertop project go and see them before going with anyone else.
We recently did all our kitchen, bathrooms (2) and laundry room countertops with them. All their work is done in-house, very reasonable pricing, excellent selection, great workmanship, quick installation and just nice people to work with. Go see Karen the owner, you won't be disappointed.

I like laminate too. I have marble (too much up keep) in one kitchen, quartz in another (too smooth and cold to touch) and laminate in my TV home. It is soft, I like it. But it does peel away with moisture at the seams. Now for counter top judges, I just don’t let them in my kitchen…. Lol.

And 6 weeks seems to be typical, a couple of my neighbors changed their tops, I forgot to ask to what, but took about 2 months.

I would stay away from Home Depot with their contracted installers, and go with a local firm who also does the installation. They make their living and reputation on their sales and installation, and will most likely do a better job than a low cost contracted installer.

Just my experience for this type of custom high visibility to you job.

No comments on laminate versus others, as it doesn't add value to the OPs question.

YMMV

Ah, but we learn from each other, sometimes we don’t even know what we don’t know. So some people answer “above and beyond”. At university we sometimes used to say, it is answering the question that is under the question.

butcher block counters
 

Just wondering if anyone has considered (or had experience with) butcher block and/or 'faux' type. I too am redoing my kitchen counter tops and have already ruled out the quartz/granite options. Sorry to get off the main subject but butcher block is a possible option to either laminate or the other. Any thoughts?

I love our laminate countertops with the beveled edges. When we sold our last house after 17 years the laminate countertop still looked great.

I also had butcher block a long time ago. The cons are: difficult to match color floor and cabinet. Too much upkeep (for me). I can live with it but not my preference specifically.

Very nice! In my opinion, you just can't go wrong with clean, uncomplicated surfaces. And, ten years from now they will still look exactly that. An owner can always use painted walls and fabric in the kitchen to add color and pattern. Those are easy and inexpensive to change in the future, if desired.

I've never liked granite either - much too busy for my tastes but, I did see two versions I liked in houses of people I know. Both were a subdued, mossy green with light veining atop warm brown, wood cabinets. Quite classic. And in houses of their price points, it made sense to install an upgraded surface.

Granite is not as tough as it sounds, in fact it can be quite brittle.
Knocked a water glass over on a granite top we inherited with a previous house, and the glass chipped a lump off the granite edge.
Glass was unharmed.
Have Quartz now, mainly because I have a nasty habit of putting hot things on laminate.:shrug:

Quartz does not like hot things being placed on it. However much more user friendly than Granite

I've had granite in two homes (current one for 10 years, previous home for 5 years). I've literally placed pans and pots (right from the oven and cooktop) directly on them with absolutely no issues. Of course, others might have different experiences.

Definitely takes heat better than laminate!

I currently have granite. Quartz looks nice, but it is starting to get a bad reputation.

Quartz countertops linked to deadly lung disease in workers who fabricate the material

Quartz countertops linked to deadly lung disease in workers

Never had a problem with granite and heat as its a natural stone.
Liable to chip or crack if hit in wrong place.

We had a similar experience with them.

maybe, but lets not insult the OP's intelligence by ignoring the fact that owning a house in TV, being of retirement age in today's world, and have life experiences, that the OP hasn't considered other types of countertops. To me, too many people insult other people's intelligence by answer the question with other options, as if the person just dropped in from siberia and has never seen anything modern on TV, in other people's houses and in stores in a 50 mi radius of their residence.