Kitchen Countertops on the Cheap!

Cat Shaw
by Cat Shaw
2 Materials
$130
2 Hours
Easy
Another phase in my strange little kitchen remodel! Hi everyone, hubby and I have been slowly remodeling our kitchen in our mobile home. There's a lot of things we can do ourselves but many things require strength and lots of money ( like granite countertops) so we found a way to redo our counter top in faux granite on the cheap.
As you can see, we have this outdated yellowish, chipped Formica in our kitchen. We found a company that specializes in a faux granite countertop. It's a PVC vinyl that lays right over your existing Countertops. It comes in a roll that is 36" by whatever length you want. We started this project by measuring the length of the countertop. The company suggests cutting the vinyl in one large section but we found it to be unwieldy to work that way so we cut the large length in half. We do have a small seam halfway through the kitchen sink and small portion of the counter in front of the sink but it is lined up pretty good and you cannot see it unless you are looking for it. We pulled the backing off the vinyl and used a spray bottle with a little bit of soap to spray the back (sticky side). Doing this prevents the vinyl from sticking to itself and permanently sticking to the countertop until you have it set into the position you want.
We've laid out the vinyl and using a small squeegee pushed out the air bubbles and creased the spot where the countertop meets the back. The vinyl is not super flexible so we used a blow-dryer to heat it up. Once heated it becomes much more pliable. We used an exacto-knife to cut out the vinyl around the sink. Basically once the air bubbles are pushed out and the vinyl is where you want it, you're done. It's not granite but it sure looks like it and it's cheaper than a granite slab! Of course, being Vinyl, you won't want to cut directly on it and use a hot pad for anything over 240 degrees.
Suggested materials:
  • Faux granite decor   (Ebay)
  • Spray bottle with water
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  • Christine Christine on Feb 03, 2019

    You said you cut out around your sink. Didn't you remove the sink, or at least lift it to place the vinyl under the edges of the sink?

    I'd be a bit leery of vinyl for kitchen counters. They take a lot abuse.

  • Dee Ann Kennemer McFalls Dee Ann Kennemer McFalls on Feb 09, 2019

    Cat, your counters look awesome! Looks like it’s been a few years since you’ve done them. How have they stood up to every day use? Thanks!

  • Vicki Vicki on Feb 14, 2019

    I’m curious—what is on your window shelf that is purple & throwing purple through-out your kitchen? It looks pretty...

    Great job on your countertops!

    Purplelover!

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  • Marianne Broadhead Marianne Broadhead on Nov 04, 2018

    I haven’t moved into my modular home yet but as soon as I do... I am going to do the laminate countertops with the paint method to make it look like granite! You can do either granite look or marble look! There are tons of videos from professionals to show you how it’s done.

    This way, the vinyl top looks awesome! I didn’t know they had that granite look in vinyl!!

    Im still going to use my plan of painting the counters to look like granite,I have no one who could help with the vinyl. I will send in photos of step by step as soon as it’s finished!!!Wish me luck ...

    • See 2 previous
    • Marianne Broadhead Marianne Broadhead on Feb 14, 2019

      Hi Dee Ann, sorry to say that within days of posting my plans for my counter tops, I fell ill( Fibromyalgia attack that is almost over with, Thank God!) so hopefully near the end of February I can actually start my project!!! I will take & post pictures the whole way through. Keep an eye out & again,so sorry for the long wait!!

  • Dpbeee2 Dpbeee2 on Dec 15, 2018

    Looks like the real deal to me. Great job. Thank you.

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