How to Update Kitchen Countertops on a Budget

Find out how to update your kitchen countertops on a budget. As long as your laminate countertops are structurally sound with no water damage, you can relaminate them. Another option is to tile the countertop using Bondera Tile MatSet.

LESLIE: Kim in Michigan is on the line with a countertop question. How can we help you?

KIM: We just got a house that we bought and we’re remodeling the kitchen. And I’d like to know what a good, inexpensive countertop would be that is durable and is pretty inexpensive if we’re remodeling on a budget.

TOM: And you have an existing countertop there?

KIM: I do.

TOM: It’s laminate?

KIM: It is.

TOM: Is it structurally in good shape, Kim? Is it – does it have any water damage?

KIM: No, no water damage.

TOM: OK. So, a couple of things come to mind.

First of all, you can relaminate the old laminate. So in other words, you can put another layer of laminate on top of what you have. And there’s more colors and designs than ever before.

So, a carpenter can do that. It has to be a good trim carpenter or a cabinet maker that knows how to glue laminates together. It’s not really hard to do; I’ve done it on a number of countertops myself. Works well.

LESLIE: Mm-hmm. But you have to take out the sink and …

TOM: Yeah, it’s best if you do it by – like I would – if I was doing it, I would pull the countertop off the cabinets and do it kind of like on a couple of sawhorses.

KIM: OK. Oh, OK.

TOM: It’s just a lot easier to work on it because you can get all the way around it.

The other thing that you could do is think about tiling the countertop. And there’s a product out called Bondera Tile MatSet, which is an adhesive sheet with an adhesive on both sides. And it prevents you from having to use the tile adhesive. You just roll the sheet down, it sticks to the countertop, pull the other side of the protective backing off and you can stick the tiles right on and then grout immediately.

KIM: Well, thank you.

TOM: Well, you’re very welcome. Good luck with that project. And by the way, don’t forget the other inexpensive things that you can do in the kitchen, like lighting and changing hardware on cabinets and painting. We’ve got a great article online at MoneyPit.com that gives you all of the inexpensive ways that you need to know to remodel a kitchen on a budget.

KIM: Oh, great. I’ll look that up.

TOM: Alright. Good luck with that project, Kim. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.