Fitting Laminate kitchen worktops
Well, the wall units are up, the base units are fitted and youre probably
stood there, tools at the ready and chomping at the bit to fit your new
laminate kitchen worktops. You can now shout back into the living room. Well
see whos bloody useless. Then throughout the day, throw in a couple
of those old DIY-disaster favourites; Rome wasnt built in a day
you know and when youre a perfectionist it takes a bit longer
than usual. Its also useful to add a couple of technical terms
that no one else will understand but will make you look good. The wall
contours are misaligned but I can get around that. These may have
the desired effect and allow you to regain some semblance of respect from
your family - either way you have my sympathies and I hope that by reading
this your troubles will soon be over.
The tools to use
Kitchen Worktops are available in a variety of materials but I shall be
concentrating on fitting laminate kitchen worktops as they
are the most widely used. For kitchen worktops materials such as, granite,
corian and stainless steel that are fitted by specialists, this will be
a useful reference, as templating is required for them all and many of
the rules for the fitting of laminate kitchen worktops will be appropriate.
Here are the tools you will require for the installation of laminate tops
Jigsaw
Circular saw
Plane or Electric planer
Combination Square
2 Saw Horses
Clamps
Worktops Template (for Mitres)
½ inch Router and straight blade
Masking Tape 50mm wide
Silicone Sealant of a best match colour
10mm spanner
Worktops bolts
File
Varnish or PVA Adhesive (for cut-outs)
Tape
Pencil
Compass
Tin of contact adhesive
Protective wear (goggles, dust mask etc.)
Measure up!
It is important to maintain an even overhang from the front edge of the
cabinets and this is the target to aim for in the correct fitting of all
laminate kitchen worktops. As an example, a 600mm worktops should overhang a 560mm
cabinet by 40mm. It may not always be possible to achieve perfection in
this respect and + or - 5mm is acceptable. For the purpose of this article
I will assume a three-sided application that requires two laminate worktops
joints are required. Decide first which way the joints should run. Remember
at this stage to avoid joint proximity to a sink wherever possible. Laminate kitchen worktops should be cut 50mm oversize and, when taking into account the
20mm overhang required at the end of the cabinets, you should add 70mm
to overall cabinet length.
How to ensure an even overhang
Next task is to scribe the kitchen worktops to fit the elevation to which
it is to be installed. You must first scribe the depth (front to back)
if fitted up against a wall. Remember first to check you have an even
overhang along its length and if at this stage if the overhang is greater
than what is required due to unevenness along the wall length, dont worry,
this will be dealt with next.
To scribe kitchen worktops, I find that a compass gives the best results, particularly
the older type metal one with a long unobstructed point. You may purchase
them at a good stationers but I find they are best acquired from your
childrens pencil case. Masking tape will prove invaluable if your worktops
is a dark colour but I apply it every time now regardless of the shade
as I find that when cutting along a pencil line applied directly to the
work top, the sawdust given off by the jigsaw tends to remove the line. |
