# Stock Countertops too Short



## Janis (May 23, 2011)

My father recently moved to a senior retirement center and I am in the process of semi-renovating and then selling his house.

One of the items I'm replacing is the countertop in the kitchen. It's an old hard plastic straight-edged old-fashioned counter. I found some fairly attractive stock laminate granite-look countertops at Lowes for a reasonable price.

My problem is this - the longest stock countertop is 10'. My longest counter is almost 12'. The stock counters can't be joined together, so I can't buy two smaller ones and then just glue them together.


The one long counter starts on the left with about 14' of space, then there's a cut-out for the stove/range, then the sink and then nothing until the corner.

I was wondering..how odd would it look if I replaced the small 14' space on the far left end of the counter with a heat resistant material like slate or stone or butcher block? It would be separated from the rest of the counter  by the stove and would offer an area where the cook could put a pan or pot when it's removed from the heat.

Would that look ridiculous? Would it look like I couldn't find the right size countertop? Is there a way to make it look planned??

I could order custom countertops, but it will take at least 6 weeks and I need to get this house fixed up and on the market before summer hits in full force.

Thanks for any advice..


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## Passepartout (May 23, 2011)

You don't need to order custom countertops. Most home centers have Formica in sheets. Unusual patterns/colors come in in days from a distributor. A competent countertop contractor can make a new top in any shape you want and cover it with laminate. Instead of putting a joint at one end of a counter, the customary place for a joint is at the narrow space in front of and behind a sink or cooktop cutout.

Custom counters are more expensive than those pre-made ones, but they look it too.

I did this work in a former incarnation.

Jim Ricks


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## Kel (May 23, 2011)

Could you maybe do something on two ends of the counter instead of one end?  It might give it more balanced and a more planned look.  I'm kind of guessing since I don't have a full visual.


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## Elan (May 23, 2011)

Passepartout said:


> You don't need to order custom countertops. Most home centers have Formica in sheets. Unusual patterns/colors come in in days from a distributor. A competent countertop contractor can make a new top in any shape you want and cover it with laminate. Instead of putting a joint at one end of a counter, the customary place for a joint is at the narrow space in front of and behind a sink or cooktop cutout.
> 
> Custom counters are more expensive than those pre-made ones, but they look it too.
> 
> ...



  What Jim said.  A decent contractor should be able to lay new laminate down in half a day.


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## easyrider (May 23, 2011)

A common place to seam or butt roll formed stock countertops is at a sink cut out.


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## Janis (May 23, 2011)

Elan said:


> What Jim said.  A decent contractor should be able to lay new laminate down in half a day.



I want to make sure I understand...

Are you saying that I CAN put two pieces together and then just join them behind and in front of the sink? Can this be done with the stock pieces or do I have to have a contractor build a custom top to fit?

The guys at Lowes did mention that my contractor could build a countertop and glue the laminate to it But, I really liked the beveling that was available on the stock pieces.


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## Passepartout (May 23, 2011)

You CAN butt 2 pieces of pre-made countertops but that's what it would look like. My opinion is that the correct way is to cover custom deck with laminate. I doubt the cost is a lot different. 

I use the expression "Looks like mud flaps on a Rolls Royce" when something just isn't done right. 

OTOH, if you are just doing a 'fix-up to sell', and the real estate competition has similar re-do's, go for it.

Jim


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## MichaelColey (May 23, 2011)

Janis said:


> I was wondering..how odd would it look if I replaced the small 14' space on the far left end of the counter with a heat resistant material like slate or stone or butcher block? It would be separated from the rest of the counter by the stove and would offer an area where the cook could put a pan or pot when it's removed from the heat.


I assume you mean 14"?  I think slate or stone or butcher block is a great idea there.

I would try not to put too much money into it.  Most remodels don't increase the value anywhere near as much as they cost.


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## Rose Pink (May 23, 2011)

I feel for you, Janis. I've been in charge of updating  my FIL's house and it is a lot of work and money and time.

I'd do what Jim suggested.  You can usually choose the edge you want as well.  I think it will look better than if you choose two different materials.

It may not increase the value of the house but it may make the house more appealing than one with an old, outdated or mismatched kitchen.

I don't know what the housing market is in your location but it is completely a buyers market here and they are not buying.  We tried to sell my FIL's house with only minor repairs but even after drastically lowering the price, it didn't sell.  So, we took it off the market and are doing major renovations.  People just don't seem to want to do the work themselves.  And why should they when there are ten to twenty houses on the market for every buyer?


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## easyrider (May 23, 2011)

Passepartout said:


> You CAN butt 2 pieces of pre-made counter tops but that's what it would look like. My opinion is that the correct way is to cover custom deck with laminate. I doubt the cost is a lot different.
> 
> I use the expression "Looks like mud flaps on a Rolls Royce" when something just isn't done right.
> 
> ...



There is no such thing as a 14 ft. lenght of Formica. Any long Formica counter top would need a seam. The seam should be in a place where its not noticeable. Usually a sink hole leaves less than two inches of seam in the front and two in back. This type of counter top is not easy for a diy project because of the tools and contact cement used.

Pre-formed countertop is seamed with a dowel in the back splash or just glued. The small seam can be caulked with color. This is very easy for a diy project. Talk to the guys at Lowes and get an installation brochure. Lowes will give you an estimate of how much either would cost.

The difference in cost is about half. I guess $800-$900 for the Formica instalation and $300 - $400 for the roll formed installed. That would only include the counter top installation. Removal , prep and disposal are extra.

The cost of material if you can diy is about $100.


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## pjrose (May 24, 2011)

I prefer the beveled stock ones to the laminated sheets.  I hate the 90 degree edges on the front.  

I like the butcher block idea.  In fact we did just that in our first kitchen!  We got a 24" butcher block with a backsplash at Sears, and plopped it in.  We didn't even screw or glue it down because we figured that after years of use we might want to reverse it and use the underside (the backsplash could be removed and flipped).


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## Teresa (May 24, 2011)

*Check out Daich products*

You might be able to get away with 'painting' the counters with a Daich product.   I haven't tried it myself but am going to on a rehab within the week.   Just an idea.


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## Rose Pink (May 24, 2011)

Teresa said:


> You might be able to get away with 'painting' the counters with a Daich product.   I haven't tried it myself but am going to on a rehab within the week.   Just an idea.


I've seen them paint over laminated counters and over tile on some of the home remodeling shows.  I've always wondered how that held up.  I guess with the right prep and the right primer, most anything can be painted.  I'll be interested to know how your project turns out, Teresa.  Please come back and let us know.


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## rickandcindy23 (May 24, 2011)

I would do tile counters, right on top of the old stuff somehow.  We just spent $7,900 on a quartz product for our kitchen, and it's being installed 6/8.  That was a lot of money to pay.


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## eal (May 24, 2011)

We bought a house last year with tile counter tops and I thought I would change all that very soon.  But it turns out I love the tile - you can put anything down on it and it cleans up like a breeze.  It might be your best bet.


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## ronparise (May 24, 2011)

Speaking as a real estate agent. I think a semi-renovation is worse than no renovation at all. Your buyer will probably want a solid surface and rip your stuff out in their first week in the house. I would either do it right (granite or corian) or not at all. 

However

Dont over-improve. If everyone else in the neighborhood has laminate, your HomeDepot job will be fine. 

Ive seen granite tile done nicely. Consider concrete. and something I never considered: plywood


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## Rose Pink (May 24, 2011)

ronparise said:


> Speaking as a real estate agent. I think a semi-renovation is worse than no renovation at all. Your buyer will probably want a solid surface and rip your stuff out in their first week in the house. I would either do it right (granite or corian) or not at all.
> 
> However
> 
> ...


Good reminders.  Our realtor told us that fixing one part of the house would make the unfixed parts look even worse by contrast.  We only went whole hog after the house had been on the market for 8 months with hardly any traffic at all.  Now it's new windows, new flooring, new interior and exterior paint, pulling down ugly sheds, etc.  Keeping my fingers crossed that this will work.

Janis, you may want to look at stone companies and see if you can find closeout or discontinued granite slabs that you can get for a bargain.  Like Ron says, if your competition all has granite you may need to do that.  If your competition is mostly laminate, the granite could be the selling point if you can find an affordable piece.


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## vacationhopeful (May 24, 2011)

Rose Pink said:


> Good reminders.  Our realtor told us that fixing one part of the house would make the unfixed parts look even worse by contrast.  We only went whole hog after the house had been on the market for 8 months with hardly any traffic at all.  Now it's new windows, new flooring, new interior and exterior paint, pulling down ugly sheds, etc.  Keeping my fingers crossed that this will work.
> 
> Janis, you may want to look at stone companies and see if you can find closeout or discontinued granite slabs that you can get for a bargain.  Like Ron says, if your competition all has granite you may need to do that.  If your competition is mostly laminate, the granite could be the selling point if you can find an affordable piece.



My neighbors put granite in their KIT. Craigslist - actual store was using it as free advertising. Lower price than if you walked in off street by 40%, as the company KNEW you were told CASH ONLY on CL.


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## easyrider (May 24, 2011)

Laminent counter tops are the #1 material used for kitchen counter tops because of the durability and afforadability. 

My experience in house flipping for profit is that laminent means profit. New counter tops, sink and fawcet are real eye candy to a prospective home buyer.

Also pull out all of the appliances if they are old and the kitchen will look much bigger. Let the buyer get new stuff on their dime.


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## DebBrown (May 24, 2011)

ronparise said:


> Speaking as a real estate agent. I think a semi-renovation is worse than no renovation at all. Your buyer will probably want a solid surface and rip your stuff out in their first week in the house. I would either do it right (granite or corian) or not at all.



I sold my mom's condo last year.  We painted her old wood cabinets, put in a corian countertop and new faucets.  The corian wasn't all that expensive and looked great.  We also updated the bath, painted, installed new carpet and tile in the entrance and hallway.  I spent about $5k and two months of spare time.  It sold in about 45 days.  Other units in her building were on the market for months and months.

Deb


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## Janis (May 25, 2011)

Thanks for all of the advice - I'm working w/the contractor and my realtor to figure out what will work the best and make the house attractive to buyers


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