# How did they fasten old counter tops?



## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Renovating the kitchen of a 1972 stick built house and am using the existing cabinets but replacing the counter tops. Assumed they screwed the counter top from underneath but did not see any screws or wood to screw to. The countertop is laminate that is glued on top of plywood. Tell me that they did not set the base cabinets then nail the plywood to the cabinets then finish by gluing the the laminate to the plywood top.

The reason I fear that is the overheads are nailed to the walls.


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Marco said:


> Renovating the kitchen of a 1972 stick built house and am using the existing cabinets but replacing the counter tops. Assumed they screwed the counter top from underneath but did not see any screws or wood to screw to. The countertop is laminate that is glued on top of plywood. Tell me that they did not set the base cabinets then nail the plywood to the cabinets then finish by gluing the the laminate to the plywood top.
> 
> The reason I fear that is the overheads are nailed to the walls.


be afraid... very afraid...


----------



## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

...more than likely...or glued it on...

You might try getting underneath in the cabinet with a Fein tool and a metal blade to slice the screws/nails. 

If you're getting rid of the ply, cut it up from above with a saw leaving the pieces suspect of being screwed in from above and then deal with the smaller pieces after removing the bulk of the top and ply...might be easier than all that crawling underneath...anything to save the cabinet frames. Tools to keep handy...pry bar, sledge, hacksaw blade, Guinness on tap...Don't ask...


----------



## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Jim
Here watch this
How to Remove and Install Plastic Laminate Kitchen Countertops | Today's Homeowner


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Nickp said:


> ...more than likely...or glued it on...
> 
> You might try getting underneath in the cabinet with a Fein tool and a metal blade to slice the screws/nails.
> 
> If you're getting rid of the ply, cut it up from above with a saw leaving the pieces suspect of being screwed in from above and then deal with the smaller pieces after removing the bulk of the top and ply...might be easier than all that crawling underneath...anything to save the cabinet frames. Tools to keep handy...pry bar, sledge, hacksaw blade, Guinness on tap...Don't ask...


and lift w/ a jack as you cut along...
the multimaster will cut through any glue too...


----------



## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Thanks for the replies. You gave me some great tips, video's etc. to use toward Plan B

I wish I could say that I am not surprised anymore by the things I have run into renovating this house.


----------



## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Better nails than screws, huh?  Let's hope anyway.

Uh-OH. I just thumbed through the Cabinetmaking and Millwork (circa 1967) book my dad used in college to teach a course. It shows a web frame under the counter top - basically a rectangle made of 1x material to support the top. 

Quoting..."Assemble the top piece and it's frame and nail it on. ...Apply plastic laminate to the top and edges." GULP!

Hope this helps.
Mike


----------



## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

All of the above. I used to just put my mind in neutral, slip the goggles on, and start breaking/prying/peeling the old laminate off. I've heard that warming it helps but never tried that. 
The old contact glue should be so brittle that it lets go fairly easily... (as others often say, 'your mileage may vary').
Just pray that the plywood was screwed or nailed and not glued.


----------



## LazurusLong (Jan 20, 2015)

*Sawzall, chisel, and a hammer*

Take off all the doors and remove the drawers. Take out the kitchen sink, dishwasher, and stove or cooktop. They all create places to get a start.

You have to start with a sharp wood chisel, as thin as you can get. The idea is to make some space to get a sawzall blade between the top of the cabinet and the c-top at the front edge of the cabinets. As carefully as possible, cut any fasteners you can.

Lift and wedge the chisel between the cabinets and the ctops and repeat. Once you get a start, you just have to rinse and repeat. 

When you have the front reasonably loose, you have to raise the front of the ctop up enough to get a fulcrum point installed to then pry down to get the back edge of the ctop to come up a little. Then back to the sawzall. Being small helps here. Hold the blade as parallel to the back of the cabinets as possible to keep from jamming the blade and breaking it. Cut the fasteners. 

Lastly, if you can't find or get to the fasteners in the back, you'll need to wedge a spacer in between the cabinets and ctop and cut as much as possible with a skilsaw. 

It's a fun job:dance3:


----------



## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

When I bought this old house, I tore out all the interior walls, sheet rock and started over. I found that "they" had no plan for the studs. "they" each time they got to a window or a door, "they "started the lay out all over. Makes siding a problem. And by sticking a stud in where ever they needed one, each sheet of rock had to be cut to fit. I ripped out the old cabinets and replaced them. The counter tops were screwed from the top down and then laminated. "You didn't expect this to be easy did you"?


----------



## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

Are the tops post formed (ronded edges in the front and back) if so they are screwed down if they are square edges then they were probably built in place. To get them off take a circular saw or jig saw and cut the complete top off just inside the front and rear cabinet frame. Once off examine the cabinet for fasteners then remove the laminate with heat over the fasteners if need be remove the laminate strip all around. Once exposed determine the best way to get the fasteners out from the top. Do not try to cut between the top and fastener as you will most likely ruin the front rails.


----------



## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

MT Stringer said:


> Better nails than screws, huh?  Let's hope anyway.
> 
> Uh-OH. I just thumbed through the Cabinetmaking and Millwork (circa 1967) book my dad used in college to teach a course. It shows a web frame under the counter top - basically a rectangle made of 1x material to support the top.
> 
> ...


That's the way that they used to do it. I only ever did one top like that, in my own house too. The top was U-shaped and very tight so that seemed like the easy way to go. We had the substrate all in - my father-in-law (bless his heart) was helping me and picked up an L-shaped piece of laminate that had been pre-cut by himself and went to move it in place. As he got it over the top, the laminate cracked at the inside corner and the one leg dropped into the contact cement on the top. Completion of that project was delayed until I could get back to the distributor on Monday and buy some more laminate. While that was the only top that I built in place, I've glued a lot of laminate on the walls behind the countertop to act as the backsplash, and even glued laminate to a ceiling once - a really messy job.

Tom


----------



## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

You'll need to be careful cutting with a sawzall as the blade is not likely to lay flat so you'll likely cut into the 1x's (top frame). I'd recommend the multi-tool instead as you'll be able to keep that flat better.

Another thought...the cabinets are likely to have 1x's running front to back that are holding the ply down...Maybe you can cut them out with the c-top and then replace them after you take the whole shabang out. You'll then be left with the face frame, back, sides and some nubbies where you cut through. Don't know the makeup under the ply so this may not be a good idea...but I'd look at it. It might save you the trouble of cutting between the frames and the ply... Sort of "semi-demo"...

Best of luck...


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

My daughter's top was screwed down and then laminated. Like Dan said, start prying the old laminate off. It took me less than half an hour to get hers off so I could find all the screws.


----------



## swarfmaker (Aug 27, 2012)

In our kichen the tops were also screwed down and then laminated. I used my metal detector to locate the screws, then cut holes in the laminate with a holesaw to get to the screw heads. Work went very fast.


----------



## GregLittleWoodworks (Dec 9, 2014)

I've owned 4 houses over the years that I have renovated the kitchens and all the countertops were done differently. 
One was plywood that had been screwed down prior to covering with plastic laminate, 

one had a pre made laminate top that was screwed from underneath, 
one had a granite top that was glued down 
and one had a solid mahogany wood top that was fastened down with screws and then plugged prior to someone applying one of those thick epoxy sealers.

The one that was screwed done prior to applying the plastic laminate was the most difficult to remove because whoever did it also applied some sort of thick construction adhesive before screwing it to the cabinets... 
I just shows that there is more than one way to skin a dog..


----------



## UlrichJ (Feb 16, 2012)

We built our house roughly 28 years ago. We replaced our laminate tops with granite last summer. We took all drawers and everything in the cabinets out. The demo crew used a dead blow hammer and a wonder bar and pryed the whole top out in about 10 minutes. The was no nails just glue. The wood portion was a wood composit and it split off.


----------



## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

Many older kitchens would have had the top made in place, nailed down and laminated later, be gently and it will come off, seeing that you don't want it then set a circular saw to just the thickness of the top, then cut it up from the top down as piece will come out easier. N


----------

