How easy is it to remove and install countertops?

Question

There will also be some plumbing involved because these are in my bathroom and kitchen. I am doing some remodeling and have done all the work myself so far, built a TV armoir from a kit, re plastered some drywall, painted , that kind of stuff. I have rewired 2 lamps and am planing to use a handyman to change out 3 light fixtures?

Answer 1

LOL, handy-woman here too! I've changed every light fixture in my house and am scared to tackle my counter tops! What is the handyman charging you for those three? It takes less than a half hour to do each one and all you have to do is turn off the main power switch, match the wires following the instructions and screw it up. (Okay, a little more than that!)

My teenage son's bathroom had hideous laminate counter top from the early 1970s. I taped it all off, spray painted primer on it then spray painted a couple coats of high gloss white on it. That was 5 years ago now and it still looks really good, especially for $20!

Good luck with your remodel!

Answer 2

Removal is pretty easy - just takes a little brute strength. For most countertops it's just a matter of prying up the old countertop. A crowbar is helpful, but you can usually do it with a couple prybars. Depending on the countertop material, you'll probably need to remove the backsplash first, as it sits on top of the counter. Usually the backsplash comes away easily, but I've had some where it ended up ripping the drywall off the studs. So you may end up doing some drywall repair -- but it's going to be covered up with the new backsplash so no big deal.

With a tile countertop, there will be an underlayment of either a concrete board used specifically as a backer for tile, or a special plywood made for tile underlayment. If you're replacing tile with tile, you could pry up the whole countertop, underlayment and all - but then you'll have to replace it. You might want to just remove the tiles, and reuse the underlayment. A lot of times the tile will pop right off with a tap from a pry bar or chisel.

Solid surface countertops (anything but tile) install in one of two ways -- either they're set directly on top of the cabinet boxes and have some kind of affixing brackets/screws -- or, more typically, you nail a sheet of plywood/mdf to the countertop, and adhere the countertop to the sub-counter with several big dollops of construction adhesive ("liquid nails"). The thickness of the sub-counter either matches, or is one size smaller than the thickness of the countertops bullnosing (e.g. 5/8" sub for 3/4" granite). This so the bullnose slightly overhangs the cabintes without interfering with doors and drawers.

Installing tile is beyond a Yahoo Answer, but here's a really detailed how-to site-
http://www.popularmechanics.com/how_to_central/home_clinic/1275611.html

Answer 3

I would get someone in a joiner / handyman....I fitted my own kitchen but to remove the old possibly damage tiles, cutting out for sinks taps & cooker only 1 mistake will mess it up.....it depends how good at DIY you are & the tools jigsaw & benches etc you may have.
The biggest problem I had was the join using a metal plastic strip it never looks as good as having the tops joined together which means buying a special machine to get the angle correct & make holes for the joining bolt fittings.
Good luck.

Answer 4

The right tools are always the key. Need a few different saws to cut laminate counter tops, I use a circular saw and a jig saw for sink cutout. It is not particularly difficult, but need to do the cuts accurately for best results.

Answer 5

It's pretty straight-forward, if you're handy.
The big issue is getting the cabinets level.
Talk to the people at Home Depot about it.