I bought two 8 ft slabs of post form counter tops from Lowes. They would not do the installation without measuring for stove top/sink which I did not have at the time. I have contacted several cabinet/kitchen shops in town as well as handymen and nobody want the job. I am not considering installing them myself. What is the best way to cut laminate counter tops? What are the best tools? The part that scares me the most is cutting the 45 degree cuts to make the corner. The new countertops have a rolled backsplash and a rolled front edge. What makes the job so scary that the handymen/kitchen pros are backing away from the work?
Any suggestions are welcome.
Thank you
I have done several of these cuts before and they all turn out fine. ...»
The biggest trick is to be sure you are cutting the angle correctly . I would suggest that you take a 2 foot wide by half inch thick plywood section to mimic the top and place the plywood into the corner with one section overlapping the other. Then screw them to make your corner angle. Then from where the inside and outside corner meets draw a line from each and cut exactly from corner to corner. then take out the screws and place each panel onto the laminate slab and you now have your exact cut to transcribe onto the new slab. Move each template back the distance that your saw base requires, (typical saw bases are 2.5 inches away from side of blade) fasten each template and use its angle as the guide for the saw. You will get an exact angle cut that will perfectly match.
Another method of making sure you get a tight match is to after cutting take a straight router blade set the counter at the proper angle with just enough space between each edge so only a 1/16th is removed from both sides at the same time. This will make the joint very tight.
But if you follow the template method, use a new multi tooth blade for trim your cut will be very sharp and the joint will be as small as it can possibly become.