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Agreed. Told my contractor just now to return this laminate. It feels very cheap, tbh
Find a stoneyard near you. They can be unbelievably cheap for remnants or yard stock. We are getting a very nice 54 x 110 quartz slab for our bathroom countertops that will be $300. They will know a guy who can cut and install it as well.
That seems crazily cheap! my kitchen counter is an L, but the main section is 126 x 24. The end of the L is 37 x 24.
Honestly, seems like you’re in NYC so you’ll probably have to travel out of the city to find a scrapyard like I describe that would also cut and install where you are. Looks like Long Island has a couple but no idea what servicing you would be like if you’re in Manhattan. Maybe your contractor has a good referral and could also apply a contractor discount of some sort.
Yea I am in Brooklyn. There are a number fabricators in South Brooklyn and Staten Island but . . . Probably no stone yards like that which you describe.
I replaced my laminate countertops with stone two years ago, it's an enormous improvement. It also wasn't that expensive ($80/sf for soapstone all inclusive, and you can probably do cheaper with other materials, just not laminate)
Just love soapstone! It will chip if it gets whacked with a pan, but it's my favorite and was in my last home, sigh.
The only part that would have been a problem is the 45 degree joint.
Yeah cuz you know those walls aren't straight. So you'll end up with a fat gap on one side or the other.
Good call
The countertop is probably what get used the most in a kitchen too.
Granite stinks. It has to be re-sealed or it absorbs liquids, and might even absorb liquids and stain even if it is sealed if something is left on it long enough, it chips, loses its extremely high temperature tolerance when it is sealed (the sealant can crack), making it worthless for placing hot things on.
Quartz or laminate.
Anyone who risks their multi thousand dollar countertops by putting down hot items without a trivet is a sociopath. Why would you ever intentionally take that risk regardless of how tough your countertop “should” be. The cost of being wrong is so extreme compared to the benefit.
Yup. I moved from a house with quartz to one with granite and was like "wtf is this?" "Ugh, I need to reseal this?"
Granite will naturally release radon into your home. Some people have found their granite counters set off geiger counters too. It also takes special care to clean and maintain.
A cheaper, safer, and lower maintenance option is quartz or quartzite.
id love to get that in my kitchen but hte cost... ugh
Granite countertops Home Depot 24 months same as cash. Just ask for it.
I think you’ll regret not spending the money on a higher quality counter top. You spend so much time touching it and looking at it, if you can afford the additional cost, go for it.
especially if you're remodeling a kitchen, the counters are one of the most transformative & eye-catching pieces. i'm still in love with my quartz some 9 years later.
I got a new quartz countertop semi-recently and when I clean the kitchen at the end of the day, I just sit there and stare at how nice it looks lol
yeah the "damn that looks good" factor never really goes away. the only other thing i've done that pops like the counters is adding some led lighting .
sometimes i just play with the colors like a child 🤣
Love that, I did LED strip as well, kind of regret not doing RGBW but wasn't sure how well the white would show up, looks great in your kitchen though!
thanks! if it makes you feel better i leave it on white or soft yellow 99% of the time ;)
Another peanut butter toast connoisseur I see
How's that microwave treating you? I just installed one last week.
EDIT: You have two dishwashers?!
one is an under-counter fridge , identical looking to the dishwasher. 5.7 cubic ft, it's a very small house
edit - re: microwave, installed in 2016, still works great! i did carve a hole into the wall to sink it back a few more inches. these newer units stick out so far.
Oh I want those! Which ones are those?
they're led strips with adhesive backing from amazon. they're like $15 for ~20' of length and a remote. just needed to hide some cabling & sensors.. the interior cabinet lighting was more tricky of an install vs. the under-cabinet.
I have laminate, and absolutely despise it.
I have 60 y/o worn Formica in NY and 45 y/o dated, but not worn Formica in FL. I can live with both....and I do most of the kitchen chores.
Second this - we did a big gut of our house and we don’t regret anything we spent a bit extra on for the quality but we DO regret a few of the things we went cheaper on to try and save some money.
High-pressure laminate will last, if properly cared for. It will take a big step on the path to ruin if: you ever use a knife on the surface, slide anything with grit embedded in it across it, or set a hot pan on it. Kids (or a dumb BF/GF) are it's mortal enemy.
My 1980s kitchen has the original laminate and it has seen better days but all things considered it has held up pretty well.
Mine is from the 60s! It's white with little gold flecks. Besides some of the flecks turning black, it's still holding up.
When I get my kitchen redone, I'm doing laminate again. Seems like so long as it's installed well, it's very durable.
I looooove 60s laminate counters with gold sparkles! Our laminate counters are fake wood, and I somehow didn't notice they were laminate until after we bought the house (which sounds really insane, but... that's what happened). I truly hate them, and am jealous of yours!
I have the 60s with gold specs and my parents have the 80s looking wood. I also never realized it wasn't wood until a few years ago. I prefer their countertop look but it is kinda ugly on their super wood pattern cabinets. The gold with specs I have would be better if the walls and ceiling weren't also gold with specs lol
WOW gold specks in the walls and ceiling??? I've never seen anything like that!!!
I would LOVE to get laminate like that for my kitchen ❤️
Right? Subtle glitter is an underrated design element.
I’ve occasionally used my 40 year old laminate as a cutting board and it’s still in good shape. When you zoom in, there’s some scratches, but to most observers it still looks brand new.
It’s nice to have a surface that’s resilient to abuse but also cheap enough that you won’t cry when it chips or scratches.
My laminate from the 1970s has held up far better than the high end granite stones that my parent have put in. We had marble countertops growing up and they always looked wet, kinda irritating when cleaning
It's a shame that marble is high maintenance, some of those slabs look so good.
We have had granite since before we had kids. I realize now I've set my kids up for failure once they're adults as they do all 3 of those things without thinking about it. Especially putting hot things on the counter.
This is why I'm only ever getting natural stone for countertops. I don't trust anyone.
Seriously, same except with myself. I want to switch away from granite countertops but the durability is so nice.
This problem is easily solved with a $10 purchase of IKEA trivets and a cutting board.
oh yeah, younger me was a saint about taking care of other peoples counter tops. I'm just saying my kids have never had to worry about it and will have to figure that out
I have some old laminate countertops in my wood shop. I got them used from a school and have just abused them. They'll take a good beating, especially if they don't get too wet and you don't burn them.
I'd never voluntarily put them in my kitchen, but they can still last quite a while
I've built quite a few kitchens and baths worth of HPL tops (Granite and Corian were a rare luxury, and quartz & quartzite weren't even a thing yet). When I bought my current home around 2008, I built new tops with a premium stone-look, textured surface HPL (from Wilsonart - some private collection iirc). I did cherry edge on the tops and backsplashes. 15 years of use, and they still look brand new - not a scratch yet:)
Kitchen designer here.
Laminate countertops are very durable as long as the underside does not get wet or you don't peel the laminate off of the ends. And the second problem is very easily fixed as long as you don't break the laminate.
I constantly see 30 or 40 year old laminate tops that are perfectly fine.
The biggest problem with laminate countertops is people not wanting people knowing they bought the "cheap" countertop.
If you are a secure enough person that you do not care what other people think they are great.
Edited to add:
If I were in your shoes and you already paid for the laminate top go ahead and have them install it. The price difference between laminate and quartz is significant. If you don't like it down the road you can have it replaced.
Real stone is 90% status symbol, 10% practicality. If you can manage not putting hot pans on your counters, and your faucet doesn't leak, and you use a cutting board, then laminates are fine.
That said, I wouldn't choose a marble pattern, I'd choose a simple solid color--and did, that's what I have in my kitchen.
It's not like putting a hot pot on quartz is a good idea either.
Isn't every countertop bad to cut on? Stone dulls knives. Laminate marks and cracks. Butcher block marks and stains.
Where did you get your laminate? I was looking for higher quality laminate and have been having a hard time finding a cabinet/kitchen shop that doesn’t try to steer me towards quartz.
I worked for a stone countertop place like three years ago and I kind of hate quartz. We installed it all the time, but I think a lot of people in the industry find it corny since it’s manmade stone that poorly imitates marble. I like granite and quartzites better but I don’t personally want my countertops to be super busy.
Yep. My laminates are probably about 40 years old now. I’ve abused them in my 6 years here and they’re still in great shape. If I bought an expensive countertop, I’d worry all the time about damaging my $5k investment.
I’ve never understood the anti-laminate thing. If laminate tops are for peasants, then so is LVP, because it’s inexpensive, fake, and the most practical flooring.
Ultimately, my house is for me, not guests who see it once or twice a year. When these cabinets go, I’ll have a hard time going with anything other than laminate again.
do you think that laminate from 40 years ago is more durable than what gets made today?
I don't have any reason to think that.
if it was just me at home; i'm cool with a high quality laminate. but i got kids and a spouse with good intentions but dubious kitchen-sense. gonna stick with granite/soapstone/quartzite
I love our laminate. It's about 25 years ago. I just wish it looked nicer.
I agree. I LOVE laminate. We had a hard time finding what we wanted when building our new home but I wanted to use it. It’s so easy to clean. We just built a high end new house and put laminate kitchen cabinets in because we are hard on everything and I didn’t want to spend a lot of time cleaning or get mad about damage. As long as no moisture gets between the laminate and board, it’s durable and easy to maintain. Thats why schools and hospitals use it so much. I think we need to all re-think how to make our lives easier and long lasting and ease of maintenance shouldn’t = ugly. If more of us use it in our homes, more people will feel like it’s acceptable and not cheap but it’s gotta be used right. I love when people use a matching bright colored cabinet and same color laminate counter. https://www.domino.com/design-by-room/pink-kitchen-cabinets/
Laminate as in Formica or similar? I just replaced the previous owner's 40 year old laminate and it had worn well. It was just an ugly beige. If I were getting laminate -- and I considered it -- I wouldn't get laminate that pretended to be quartz. Get a different pattern.
I'd feel more comfortable if it was Formica brand. It's Hudson Bay which I really only know for their cabinets. I am inclined to agree with you. I dont want to cut off my nose to spite my face. If it's 2 or 3 grand more for quartz + installation, I can deal with it.
If you can swing the cost, get quartz thought I doubt it will only be $2-3k.
Contractor just quoted me 6 to 7. Yikes. Haha
That’s actually more in line with what I thought.
That sounds maybe too much although it depends on how big your kitchen is obviously. How many linear feet of countertop are you installing?
That quote might be for buying an entire full slab and then subbing out the fabrication and install and adding a GC take as well. Instead, I would check with some local stone and countertop specialty places. A lot of them sell "prefab" quartz countertops that are cut to standard kitchen countertop depth, already have a finished edge, and are something like 110" long. I bought one of these prefabs in MSI quartz for $900 for a bathroom vanity, and that's in the bay area.
The prefabs can be transported on a pickup truck and then the on-site fabrication is usually limited to cutting to length and then doing the sink cutouts, which is going to be much cheaper than working with a full slab.
So yeah, I would gut check by getting quotes from a few local countertop places on material or material + install, and then show those to your contractor if they're lower.
And just FYI Quartz is a man-made stone, or "engineered stone", quartzite is the natural one. I don't think you can put a hot pan on quartz, but quartzite would be fine.
Yeah that sounds about right. Quartz isn't that cheap. We just did our bathroom and ended up going with Marble because the price difference wasn't as great as we expected. I would definitely recommend looking at samples in person vs. just pictures though before choosing anything. Some of it looks very cheap and artificial.
Do you have a lot of countertop or a large island? That seems way high and he will just be pocketing a large chunk of it.
Try measuring it out in different sizes to get an overall square footage you would be using. Or just walk into a fabricator shop with measurements. They can likely let you know roughly the square footage and price. Contractor will be using the same places you go to anyways.
I looked up the cost. So let's say about 12.5 sq ft x $100 per sq ft is say $1300 extra. I have a bit more counter space than that because of the L shape. So about $2k or under for materials wouldn't surprise me. He subs it out...so 3 to 3.5 is probably the most I should pay I guess
Yeah typically it's charged as a total square footage. Not linear feet. You may need a seam but hard to tell from just a picture. You might be in a high cost area but $100 a square foot is an OK price but I'm sure you can find a very similar quartz for the $80 range.
Figure $500 for a sink they may charge $200 for a sink cutout and maybe $100 to drill holes.
If you can find a shop that has stock on hand, that will bring costs down. If you have to special orders whole slab of quartz they are likely going to charge to cover the cost of ordering the full slab.
I got quartz installed for 2,500. Granted, lower end. But ask and shop around. And don’t plan on putting hot pots down on quartz. You can maybe get away with that on granite. I also put a good quality laminate in laundry room sink. But I got a solid color. I don’t love the fake stone ones. They look fake.
I agree with this. My current kitchen has 90’s off white laminate countertops. While I am not a fan of the color choice they’ve really held up over time. I see nothing wrong with going for a high quality laminate countertop since the price difference between it and granite/quartz is so high. Plus quartz/granite require a lot more maintenance than laminate.
Your kitchen is the workhorse of the home, not a showplace. Unless you barely cook I suppose. I want long lasting, low maintenance, and well priced in my kitchen. I don’t want to worry about spills staining the countertop, it getting bleached somehow or it getting cracked and having to be replaced.
I have that exact laminate countertop and I love it. But I'm the kind of person that thinks spending thousands on counters is crazy. Laminate is very durable and if you want to change it later, doesn't cost a fortune to do so.
Yup. I have a limited budget for my new kitchen (new build). I had enough funds to either update the boxes to plywood and do ply drawers with dovetail joinery, or I could afford to keep the melamine interiors and put stone countertops on top. I elected to go with the better materials for the cabinets and put the laminate countertop on. It’s much more expensive to rip out my cabinets and replace them than it is to switch out a countertop. If I hate it after a few years, I’ll change the countertop. I like the laminate I picked out well enough and if I make a mistake and mar it somehow, then oh well. It’s not a big deal.
I have a bazillion upgrades I wanted to consider for the new house. I’m trying to spend the bit of extra money I have on things that are super expensive and difficult to replace/improve later. Cabinets, better insulation, vaulted ceilings, metal roofing. Countertops were pretty low on my list and just didn’t make the cut. Oh well.
Aesthetically that pattern is way too busy. It's an eye-hurter.
Yea. I saw it used in a smaller kitchen with a much smaller countertop space and it didn't seem so bad, but my kitchen has a long L shaped counter so it'll be too distracting.
If you're doing a complete reno of your kitchen, upgrading to quartz or ganite is ideal. You won't regret it. Laminate is just blah. Laminate will never have the shine of stone. The only reason I would want laminate is if I'm renting the place out.
I have good old fashioned arborite countertops in my house, they are almost 60 years old and look great.
I have one piece of that sort of countertop and it has been in place for 20 years. The rolled edge at the front has wear, there is a bubble from someone putting a hot pot on it.
My brother has white quartz countertops, they stain quickly. With kids things don’t get wiped up immediately. My white arborite counters can be bleached.
My kitchen is used and function is more important to me than form/aesthetics.
I need durable, cleanable surfaces that will not stain.
this is why I love my Venaro White Corian.
It’s incredibly durable.
My parents remodeled their kitchen in 1997 and it still has the laminate they used from then and is in find condition. But my mom is also a neat freak.
I don't know if this helps, but...When we remodeled our kitchen, I chose a granite countertop that I thought was okay (design wise), because It was cheaper than the one I really liked. I regret that decision to this day.
A contractor had a good line in here the other day.
At some point you'll forget how much you spent on something and just enjoy it, you'll be reminded of cheaping out every time you see it.
Yep! Noone wants buyer's remorse
My parents have had the same laminate countertops since we moved in in the early nineties. They have scratches for sure but otherwise they are still in good condition. They haven't warped or anything like that.
I remodeled my kitchen about 4 years ago. I live in a small old house and it was a budget remodel. Getting quartz would have nearly doubled the cost. For the price, I don’t regret getting the laminate and it’s held up just fine. It looks nice enough and will be easy to replace in a few more years if I want to. My only regret is I have a rounded edge. I recently saw the squared edge like you have there and really wish I would have had that as an option. I think it looks much nicer.
All of the complaints about laminate are issues I've seen in granite and quartz countertops, like cracking and staining.
Meanwhile I'm visiting my daughter's house where the laminate countertops installed in 1969 are still good.
If laminate came out today it would be like vinyl flooring ... oops, I meant "luxury vinyl plank" ... and touted for its benefits, and you would see it in high end homes. Like you see painted cabinets today. I remember when painted cabinets were "cheap apartment grade" and natural wood grain was high end. "You'll regret not getting the Golden Oak cabinets and avocado green fridge!"
If I had to have a laminate it would at least have to be Formica and I would have to run with a throwback kitchen including putting my Hoosier cabinet back where it belongs.
Yea that's part of what disappointed me about this product. I am replacing my old salmon pink Formica countertop that honestly felt hard as a rock and lasted from 1954 until now. This Hudson Bay laminate just looks and FEELS very cheap
Formica is still making some nice products. Give them a google!
Pro laminate person here. Function first, I love that my kitchen countertop takes no maintenance and can take a beating. I've mostly used the ikea countertops, some for desktops and workbenches in addition to kitchens, I've yet to leave any lasting damage.
My laminate counter is now 31 years old and could still be mistaken as a new one. Even in my 11 year tenure here, including with college roommates, it only barely has any damage or staining. Just don't set hot things on it and don't leave stainy type foods on the surface when there are spills.
People always talk about laminate being short term, but my parents still have their original laminate from the 80s and it still looks the same, and my kitchen has laminate from the 60s or 70s and (while super ugly) it's in great shape. Every apartment I lived in had laminate and we never had any issues with it looking faded, warping, water issues, etc.
So I am replacing my Formica countertop from the 1950s (salmon pink because my grandfather loved my grandmother so much that he found it for her) and that thing held up pretty well. But it was also built different. This Hampton Bay crap looks and feels cheap
My parents bought their house in like 1984 - laminate countertops made to look like butcher block 😂 it’s now 2024 - they’re still solid and no scratches or weird warping. It’s cleaned every night after dinner with soap & water and a sponge and then sprayed w Lysol and wiped down. Time to remodel w probably quartz before selling it but they’ve held up for longer than a lot of us have been alive!
Your link isn’t working.
https://imgur.com/a/4wXPJQO how about this one?
edit: or this one: https://ibb.co/kG9Y90m imgur is being crazy lately.
Got it - it definitely is very busy and doesn’t look like stone. Laminates will definitely date a kitchen but they’re also far more affordable, which may factor in to your decision.
Yea. I'm thinking about the fact that I've tossed about $25k into the kitchen (that's factoring in the cost of this countertop + installation) so far but. . . do I want something that looks and feels cheap sitting as the centerpiece of my kitchen? not really. If upgrading to quartz would be approximately a few grand more, it may be worth it.
I don't intend to sell this house, so resale value isn't the issue. Aesthetics and durability are.
Laminate countertops are very durable, but they will scratch and the biggest issue IS moisture contamination. But this (in my experience) usually occurs when the particleboard edges at the bottom aren't sealed thoroughly, and any water spilled down the side gets absorbed. I assume the same thing could occur if the splice isn't done properly, but I've installed all mine straight, so I have no experience there.
I'm assuming only a few $100 of that $25 K was for the counter?
Yea this is a Hudson Bay countertop. Looking at home depot, which is where he got it, it's a little $200 or $300 at the most. Most of the cost is for refinishing cabinets and electrical work. (I only had one outlet in the kitchen to power everything off of a single extension cord before).
Laminates are something you can go with today, and not feel that bad in a few years tossing for another one. Unless you're set on the stone look, you might consider stainless. They're expensive as hell at the home stores, but a good metal shop can fix you up for a few hundred.
That's not a laminate pattern I would recommend for a medium-large kitchen. If quartz is not in your budget (and I don't recommend it for kitchen counters anyway), consider going with a white granite. Granite prices fall between laminate and quartz, it's a natural stone that's very durable (vs. quartz, which is man-made using resin to bind quartzite and granite dust), and will look far better than a fake stone pattern.
Glad you opted out..
I will be re-doing my kitchen and along with a farm sink I will be using old school tile. Should last perfectly until the next owner remodels again. Just need to find a design that does not scream 1950's
The first time you set down something hot and scorch it, you'll regret it
I have literally lived in houses my entire life with laminate countertops and never has anyone put a hot pot directly on the countertop. Everyone used trivets or pot holders. The only people who do direct to countertop are people who are used to stone countertops already.
I feel like if your countertops are imitating stone countertops like OP, you might have a bad time at some point with someone just assuming they're heat resistant.
Yeah, I don't get this. My mom raised us not to put hot pans down on the counters so I don't. I have some fancy new sink that comes with a metal grate to prevent scratches. It's fantastic -- I set my hot pans there if I haven't planned ahead.
It will last if you take care with it. Also has to be installed properly to avoid water intrusion which will cause swelling underneath and split the seams. If you can spend more, I would recommend quartz as an alternative.
I probably wouldn't have chosen it with white cabinets. It should be fairly durable and not super hard to change out down the road. I don't think you have too much to worry about
Cabinets will be refinished and painted with Mylands in a dark gray color
If you're gonna install laminate, install something that looks like laminate. Faux stone laminate just looks cheap in a way that is hard to really explain.
It's a case of you get what you pay for. I have laminate countertops because that's all I could afford but if I had the money I would definitely get real stone
I wouldn’t do that laminate, ie with the attached backsplash and straight caps (ie ends). It looks low end apartment grade.
I built my own counters with higher end laminate sheets and rounded caps for the whole house for less than $1k. That’s a 10x6 kitchen island, 10x4 kitchen counter, plus 3 bathrooms. Originally as a temporary solution but it looks and performs great so I’ll never do granite et al again.
Best is If I someday don’t like the color or pattern it’s a few hunnies and a weekend to replace it. Easily saved $10k.
Nothing is going to last longer then a piece of rock. If you can afford it go with quartz, granite etc. you will not regret it in the long run. Its the cry once philosophy. Cry now at the whole in your bank account but will prevent you from crying later when your inlaws are over and cut something directly on the counter top and scratch the heck out out of it
I used laminate. With seams. I double regret not going with higher quality countertops. Even tile would be better. Laminate is a total waste of money imo
What are you doing with your cabinets, and how much are you spending per cabinet? They have definitely seen much better days. Will the end result look well cared for, or new?
Opted to refinish. The plywood underneath is fine, tbh. They'll be sanded down, given new, chrome hardware, and painted with Mylands
Ok, so you're going for a well cared for midcentury look. There's no shame in laminate for a vintage kitchen because laminate basically dominated the 20th century, but this laminate is trying to look like a more current upscale stone, which is not compatible with that vibe, and will not look coherent.
Yea that's my take. It looks like they took a picture of a section of granite and printed it in repeat across an entire countertop and that's just not how natural stone patterns look at all. Very odd.
Ugh, a low quality print does not help any aesthetic.
In truth the best laminates for midcentury kitchens aren't on the shelf at big box stores at all. You can order laminate sheets in a variety of colors and styles and build your own countertop.
Are you getting new cabinets or refurbishing what's you currently have? What do other houses around you have from prior listing's?
Refinishing these ones. They'll be sanded down, given new, chrome hardware, and, finally, painted with Mylands paint in a dark gray. Hard to compare to other houses because I'm in Brooklyn, NY.
Other houses are either in the same 1950s condition that mine is/was in, OR it's a complete gut renovation with everything brand new.
Depends…. How soon do you want to do a remodel/ replacement? (#buyoncecryonce)
Not in my lifetime (I'm 32) lol
If you end up having to go laminate- We love our IKEA laminate countertops. Hated anything from the big box stores. It was incredibly priced and you can always replace it later down the road so you’re not so rushed to make a decision.
- Lam-inmate countertops easily can last decades if used properly. My own is going on 19 years
it's laminate. of course you'll regret it
major regret, laminate sucks ass
looks good to me.
it is not the durability, just the overall look. when i am looking at houses, especially "newly remodeled!" houses and i see a laminate countertop (or drop in sinks in the bathrooms. gross) i loose interest.
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17d
Pricing it out, my countertop in total is about 27 sq ft so I'm looking at $2200 to $2700 for the top alone before install and my GC taking his cut.
Looks to be Formica brand White Ice Granite with a Caspian edge which is made by HK. It is durable and you are not going to wear through the coating with normal use.
However, postform tops are cheap. They are never going to look as nice as stone. If you can swing it, go quartz. If it’s out of your budget, those tops will last you a long time. Worst case, you could always install them and save for stone in the future. Postform is very easy to install and remove.
It reminds me of Delicatus White granite
https://www.arizonatile.com/products/slab/granite-slab/delicatus-white/
Personally I wouldn’t spend $30k on a kitchen and skimp $4k on countertops. Google all the granite shops. See what places have specials or budget tier stuff.