Things You'll Need:
- Belt sander
- 80-grit sandpaper
- Tape measure
- Laminate sheets
- Razor knife
- Contact cement
- Brush
- 12 1-inch dowel rods
- Laminate roller
- Router with laminate bit
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Step 1
Clean the countertop surface. Check for stability; if the laminate is coming up in spots, glue it back down with contact cement. Go over the whole surface with a belt sander and 80-grit sandpaper. Sand it just enough to rough up the surface and take off the shine of the old laminate, but don't take it below the top layer of laminate. Thoroughly clean up the dust.
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Step 2
Measure the top and front edges of the countertop. For each span, cut a corresponding piece from the laminate sheets, using your razor knife to score the sheet and then snapping it at the line. Make each piece one inch bigger all around than the surface that it's going on.
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Step 3
Spread out newspaper on the floor. Lay your cut laminate face-side down on the papers. Spread contact cement on the back each piece with your brush, coating each piece completely. Do the same for each span of the countertop. Allow the contact cement to dry to the touch. It won't feel sticky to the touch once it's dry, but it will bind immediately to other surfaces treated with contact cement, so don't let any of the pieces touch each other.
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Step 4
Affix laminate to the vertical front edges of the countertop first, carefully holding the first piece in place in front of the surface and then pressing it on all at once. Use the laminate roller to roll out any air pockets. Run your router with the laminate bit along the edges of the countertop to cut of the overhanging laminate, trimming it right at the corners. Repeat for each of the edge pieces.
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Step 5
Lay your dowel rods over the surface of the countertop, parallel to each other and spanning the width, so the bottoms face you as you're standing in front of the countertop. Space them about every foot. Carefully position your laminate piece over the dowel rods, making sure it doesn't touch the countertop. Once it's in position, pull out the first few rods from the middle and press the laminate down to the countertop surface. Roll it out with your roller, taking out the dowel rods one by one as you do. When the rods are all out and the laminate is down, trim off the overhanging edges with your router.
