How to Install Kitchen Countertops

Updating your countertops adds to your kitchen's visual appeal.

Even a minor kitchen remodel can have a return investment around 92 percent, according to Remodeling magazine. Not only is a small remodel like updating your kitchen countertops a wise financial investment, it is something you can enjoy right now. Updated countertops increase the visual appeal

Things You'll Need

• Flathead screwdriver
• 4-foot level
• Hammer
• Shim
• Electric drill
• 2-inch diamond hole saw attachment
• 2 ½-inch deck screws
• Tape measure
• 2 2x4 boards
• Circular saw with diamond blade attachment
• Masking tape
• 3 clamps
• 2 sawhorses
• Jigsaw with metal cutting blade
• 1 piece of scrap wood
• Random orbit sander
• 100-grit sandpaper
• 220-grit sandpaper
• Silicon sealant

Instructions

1. Prepare the cabinets. Use a flathead screwdriver to remove the cabinet's toekick. Remove the drawers and set them aside.

2. Place the 4-foot level across the middle seam of the first two cabinets. If one cabinet is sitting lower then the other, level the two cabinets out by pushing a shim underneath the foot of the lower cabinet. Using an electric drill, place 2- to 2½-inch-long deck screws through the stile of the cabinet located near the drawer to hold the two cabinets in place. Repeat this process for every cabinet.

3. Use a tape measure to measure the length and width of the entire countertop area, making sure to account for any overhang distance you wish to add.

4. Place the uncut countertop on two 2x4 pieces of board. Cut the countertop to the measurements using a circular saw with a diamond blade then cut the countertop to the depth you desire.

5. Measure the distance between the end of the cabinet and the beginning of the sink using a tape measure. Measure the total width and length of the sink. Mark these measurements on the countertop using masking tape.

6. Using an electric drill with a 2-inch diamond hole saw attachment, drill holes inside the corners of the sink on the countertop.

7. Place two 2x4 boards on to two saw horses. Place the countertop over the 2x4 boards. Secure the countertop in place by clamping it to the 2x4s.

8. Cut out the two shortest sides of sink following your drill markers hole using a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade.

9. Support the cutout to prevent it from falling and damaging the countertop. Cut two large holes in to opposite sides of the sink cutout using the jigsaw. Place a piece of scrap board that is longer then the sink hole underneath the piece you are cutting and clamp it to the countertop through one of the holes.

10. Cut the two remaining sides of the sink hole using the jigsaw.

11. Use an electric screwdriver with a diamond hole saw to cut holes for the sink fixtures, such as the faucet, if these fixtures sit above the sink in the countertop itself.

12. Sand the edges of the countertop using a random orbit sander with 100-grit sandpaper, then smooth the edges using 220-grit sandpaper.

13. Lay the countertop on top of the cabinets, making sure the countertop rests comfortable along the back wall and does not hang to far over the edge of the cabinets.

14. Place the sink inside the sink hole. Press silicone underneath the flange. Place the sink in place and push down firmly until it is secure in the countertop.

15. Seal the countertops by applying silicon sealant between the bottom of the countertops and the top of the cabinets.

References

• Remodeling: 2004 Cost vs. Value Report
• This Old House: How to Install a Soapstone Countertop; Sal Vaglica