replacing galley counter top

[Just a Tinch]

If you haven't locked in on a brand of laminate....here is another one, and it is a very good laminate...

Wilsonart Laminate - Choose your section

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by Just a Tinch

If you haven't locked in on a brand of laminate....here is another one, and it is a very good laminate...

Wilsonart Laminate - Choose your section

I have a bunch of their samples but will follow through on Randy's idea before making a decision.

[bstreep]

Seriously. Corian and others are available in 1/4" thick slabs - a faction of the weight of granite, and about the same as plywood. Top loading freezers are a snap - you just use your old one as the template. A trimmer bit duplicates the old piece. You are in Florida. The counter folks are starving. Get one over to you boat, and you should be able to find a real deal. SO much more durable than laminate.

[BlueSovereign]

Query

Suppose your laminate, vinyl, veneer (only God knows what's on mine ... I do not you can make knife cuts into it) looks fine but "dated", and one (namely myself) would like to upgrade to something like a Corian/Wilson etc. What are the obstacles? Do I need to rip off whatever the h*ll on on now or can I use some adhesive to simply install the "upgrade stuff" over it?

William

[MidLandOne]

Originally Posted by Just a Tinch

If you haven't locked in on a brand of laminate....here is another one, and it is a very good laminate...

Wilsonart Laminate - Choose your section

I have used Wilsonart Solid Surface (not their laminate) on a couple of boats destined for North America - I mention it because the owners wanted it due to their past good experience with it. But is 1/2 inch thick minimum from memory. These were cats but power ones, weight sensitive but not so much as for sail.

A method I have seen with very good results is the plywood bench top prepared and painted with paint compatible with epoxy (eg epoxy or polyurethane), fiddles fitted (cat owners will won't know what those are ) and then deep flow coated with the fiddles acting as dams while it set. This was done by pros on a very high quality sailboat so I don't know how easy it would be to get a good result without practice, but the result was both very nice and stood out as unique deep looking finish.

[bhenry]

Originally Posted by bstreep

Seriously. Corian and others are available in 1/4" thick slabs - a faction of the weight of granite, and about the same as plywood. Top loading freezers are a snap - you just use your old one as the template. A trimmer bit duplicates the old piece. You are in Florida. The counter folks are starving. Get one over to you boat, and you should be able to find a real deal. SO much more durable than laminate.

I'm getting ready to install the top in my galley and plan on using 1/4" Corian. The local shop has said they would sell me the materials I need.

I'm wondering if anyone has used 1/4" with an undermount sink? I thought to make it more stout I could double up to 1/2" around the opening if needed.

Bill

[Randy]

1/4" Corian isn't intended to be used as countertop material, not say it couldn't be used. Or at least when I took the Corian fabrication course. In 1/4" it's somewhat fragile.
Bhenry are you talking about an integral corian sink or a stainless unit? Integral sinks are complicated & expensive but would be great.
Wilsonart's solid surface isn't as hard as Corian but pretty much all the brands have a line of solid surface material with heavy quartz content that are harder/ more durable than the older product lines. They need to be machined with diamond blades or bits.
Per William's question, yea you can go right over exisiting surface knowing it'll be raised that 1/2" plus adhesive thickness(3M silicone 3/4" dabs every 12", sealed around the sink & perimeter. Speaking of perimeters think of leaving a 1/16" gap as solid surface expands and contracts in heat/cold. I installed a 12' top that got afternoon sun & it would expand 1/2".

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Randy

... Speaking of perimeters think of leaving a 1/16" gap as solid surface expands and contracts in heat/cold. I installed a 12' top that got afternoon sun & it would expand 1/2"...

Thanks for that important heads up !!!

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by Randy

Speaking of perimeters think of leaving a 1/16" gap as solid surface expands and contracts in heat/cold. I installed a 12' top that got afternoon sun & it would expand 1/2".

Not to ask a redundant question but this spec is for cutting installed counter tops... not Formica laminate? Right?

[bhenry]

Originally Posted by Randy

1/4" Corian isn't intended to be used as countertop material, not say it couldn't be used. Or at least when I took the Corian fabrication course. In 1/4" it's somewhat fragile.
Bhenry are you talking about an integral corian sink or a stainless unit? Integral sinks are complicated & expensive but would be great.
Wilsonart's solid surface isn't as hard as Corian but pretty much all the brands have a line of solid surface material with heavy quartz content that are harder/ more durable than the older product lines. They need to be machined with diamond blades or bits.
Per William's question, yea you can go right over existing surface knowing it'll be raised that 1/2" plus adhesive thickness(3M silicone 3/4" dabs every 12", sealed around the sink & perimeter. Speaking of perimeters think of leaving a 1/16" gap as solid surface expands and contracts in heat/cold. I installed a 12' top that got afternoon sun & it would expand 1/2".

The guy at the counter top shop had a similar response when I proposed the idea. He gave me a scrap to take home to experiment with and it seems anything but fragile. The areas are fairly small and the sub top will be solid.

I have a stainless sink that I will undermount and that exposed edge is the one place I see vulnerability due to the thickness. That is where I think
a second layer would help.

The expansion/contraction is a good point and I have a fiddle detail I think is going to work. There are two parts; the top piece is 3/4"wide x 1" high and bull nosed on the top. My idea is to rabbit out the bottom, inside corner 1/4'x1/4" to allow for the top to fit under. This allows 1/2" to fasten to the sub top with screws and glue. The second piece is a 1/4"x 1" covering trim to hide the joints of the cabinet to sub top to fiddle top.

I would like to use the surface for a back splash in one place. How does that work with all the movement?

[bstreep]

I would double up around your sink. It will make a more attractive finished edge, too. While I mentioned that 1/4" is available, I probably wouldn't use it UNLESS weight were a huge issue - only on a cat, for instance.

Rick, our next door neighbors and good friends have a Catalac. The counter space is fairly small, and he's waiting for me to do my counters first! The biggest hangup he has - and that maybe you have - is that his fridge hatch has 90 degree corners. Solid surfaces really don't like sharp interior corners, unless they are very well supported.

[Randy]

Formica is scribed tight.
With solid surface, the sink ought to be attached with a continuous bead of clear silicone but there ought to be additional physical support like 2x2 under the sink rim where there's room around your plumbing etc.
If you build up the 1/4" thickness at the sink it's glued with tinted epoxy that matches the solid surface color and allows an invisible seam. The build up needs to be clamped continuously (spring clamps are good) with not so much pressure to squeeze out all the glue & there needs to be enough adhesive for excess to be seen continually along the exposed finished edge. It's a good look but takes some finesse to get it right.
The splash works well. Adhere with clear silicone & continuous bead at the join with top. Test fit to make sure it mates with the top well (no gaps). Shim the top up if there is a gap.

[Randy]

bstreep's point of no square inside corners is critical for preventing stress cracking with solid surface.

[bhenry]

Randy,
Your advice is greatly appreciated. What is a minimum inside radius you recommend. My sink cut out is a faily large radius, but the two cut outs for the refer/freezer lids are still to be decided.

Bill

[Randy]

They say 1" min radius. I think sometimes it takes some creativity to get that & maybe some discretion as to the possible stresses. In my boat I think sometimes I've stepped on th countertop as it's next to the companionway. So I'd probably put a big doubler underneath and at least 1" radius there.
With frig lid areas there's cold contraction so maybe while the actual lid is still square for the corian part enlarge it and 1" or more on each side so you can keep the 1" min radius.