LESLIE: Jan in Minnesota is on the line with a countertop question. What can we do for you?
JAN: We have old, Formica countertops and we would like to update our countertops but we don’t quite want to go as high as …
TOM: Granite or Corian.
LESLIE: Granite.
JAN: Granite, granite. Right.
TOM: Right. Uh-huh. OK.
JAN: And so we’re looking for other options to replace our countertops and we’re looking for resale value, also.
TOM: Sure. Well, I mean there’s a lot of options that you have. How about ceramic tile? Have you considered that? That’s an easy way to update a laminate top.
LESLIE: And it’s something that you could easily do yourself.
JAN: We have a ceramic backsplash, so we didn’t know about matching that.
TOM: Yeah, you’d have to pick something that was complimentary to that, because you probably wouldn’t want to use the exact same tile.
JAN: Right.
TOM: There is a product called Bondera TileMatSet, which is a tile adhesive. And it’s basically a sheet product, so all you do with a laminate top is you peel the back off of this stuff and you apply it to the top. Then you peel the top off of it and you can stick the tiles right there and you can grout immediately and be done.
JAN: Ah, OK.
TOM: Makes the project really easy to do and that’s a real inexpensive way to change the look of that top.
Other things that she could do, Leslie, might be to paint the Formica top, using one of the laminate paints?
LESLIE: You know, there are so many products out there as far as countertop paint. Rust-Oleum makes two products; one is just a basic, countertop paint kit. It comes in 12 or 15 solid colors, which can range from like a muddy taupe to a bright blue, green, yellow; pretty much a good scope of kitchen-y colors. And it’s a couple-of-step process; it does take three full days to cure but it dries incredibly hard. It’s an easy process to follow and it’s affordable for the kit.
Then they have another one in their line and Rust-Oleum is the parent company of another company called Modern Masters. And they have a countertop kit that allows you to create the look of granite, I would say, very, very realistically. But the kit is, I’m thinking, over $200 if I’m not mistaken. But it’s a fantastic kit; it really does create the look of granite.
It’s a very simple, do-it-yourself project as long as you follow the process and allow it the proper curing time. That’s really the big killer here is that you cannot use your countertops for three days; you really have to let it set up. Otherwise, you set something down, it’s going to stick, it’s going to chip.
There’s another company called GIANI that makes a granite kit and they only offer it in two different colors. But while it’s a great product, it ends up looking a little bit more crafty, in my opinion, whereas the Modern Master one really looks like granite. But I guess it depends on your skill set but you can paint it, no problem.
JAN: OK. Well, that sounds like some good options. I’m not too crafty but I think I could give it a try.
TOM: OK. Well, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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