My latest project: Redoing my kitchen island countertop...DONE

My latest big project is DONE! Redoing my kitchen island countertop took a lot of time and a lot of watching Youtube DIY videos, but I'm proud of how it turned out! Now our family of 6 can all sit at the same counter and all have leg room underneath.

The laminate I bought is called "Cafe Azul". I wanted something that woul bring out the silver colors in the kitchen (like our fridge and knobs and sink). Turned out really nice.

Squaring up the laminate with wooden dowels between the laminate top and the particle board countertop base. The dowels keep the glue on each surface from touching until I'm ready to press and stick the surfaces together.

Clamping the edge strips of laminate after gluing them on. I also had to add two legs to the two counter corners as we realized that the corners were sagging a 1/4 inch and would probably sag more in the future if we didn't support them. Hence, the tall butcher block table legs.

Using a paint roller to apply the contact cement (glue) to the underside of the laminate. I also applied a coat to the top of the countertop particle board. The glue adheres to itself when the two pieces are put together.

My 10-year-old sat on the countertop to put pressure on it while I drilled screws up into it from inside the cabinets. My 7-year-old made sure I was supplied with ice water while I sweated my way through the process. It took a lot more arm and shoulder muscle to drill upwards than it would have drilling down and having my body weight to help. Whew!

I gave my old coffee table a face lift with some of the leftover laminate.

 

Placing the particle board countertop on the cabinets. Squaring it up took a while before I was satisfied enough to secure it.

The piece of laminate I cut, propped up by the old countertop and waiting in the shop until I was ready to glue it to the new particle board countertop.

Using painter’s tape is a good way to keep the laminate edges from cracking or shredding while cutting it with the circular blade.

Thanks to my mom and dad who gave me their old router, I was able to trim the laminate egdes. It sure made a mess of my floor, though, sending shreds of laminate everywhere. I think I spent a good half hour vacuuming and sweeping every bit of it up after I was done.

Yep, I made myself a "plumbob" to help me line up the edge of the counter with the line on the floor. The weights in the background were to keep the cabinet from shifting around while I was moving and squaring up the countertop.

A view of the underside of the particleboard countertop I made. I love having a shop to work in.