The quickest and cheapest kitchen counter upgrade

Have you noticed wood is the new granite - the in vogue countertop material for the stylish warm kitchen of today? I'm waiting for all those salvaged stone counter tops to start flooding my local green builder supply so i can finally replace my hunter green Formica.

For those of you who missed out on the stone fad and still can't afford the the fancy butcher blocks or exotic woods that are surfacing in today's kitchen designs. If you feel you are stuck with your chipped, color flake laminate, there is a way out. And, it's quick. And it's as affordable as $1 a square foot. And you don't even have to remove what you already have.

I'm talking about affixing furniture grade, veneer plywood  onto your existing counter, trimming out the edges with strips of the actual wood and sealing the new surface with a quality clear coat. It's the perfect solution for the renovator on a budget, the renter, or the quick-fixer-upper who needs to hide the hideous counter before putting the house on the market.

Here's what you do. Visit your local home center and lumber yard, and see what veneer plywoods they stock in 1/4-inch thickness. Most of the big boxes will sell birch and maple for less than $50 for a 4x8 sheet. A nice lumberyard may carry a variety of species including red cherries and dark brown walnuts. Understand these woods are more expensive even in engineered form.

You will have to remove your sink and make sure your drain stem and water supply lines accommodate the additional 1/4-inch in height. Make sure your plywood distributor stocks the same wood in sawn lumber. Most likely you will need lengths of 2-inch wide strips to hide the edges of the plywood and your old counter fooling everyone into thinking you have an expensive solid slab.

Consider where you put your seams.  keep them at breaks and turns, or try to keep them small and discreet in the narrow area in front and in back of say the cut out for a cooktop. Be sure and do all your  cutting on the reverse side of the plywood if you are using circular and jig saws. This will avoid chipping the veneer on your finished surface.

Clean off any cooking schmutz on your existing counter. Remove or re-glue any loose and damaged laminate then adhere your new counter with a high grab construction adhesive for paneling. Roll the surface with a j-roller or even a rolling pin if this is handy. Weight down the panel with books. Nail and fill any problem spots with 4 penny finish nails. If you can remove the existing backslpash, it may be best to craft a new one out of two sandwiched pieces of plywood, then cap the top edge with a strip of wood.

If you look around public establishments, coffee houses and restaurants, you will see many plywood countertops that hold up well under heavy traffic. Make sure you seal all the edges of any cut outs, and  apply a bead of silicone around the the sink when you re-install it. I would finish my countertop with a quality satin urethane or acrylic varnish on any lighter woods to avoid any yellowing. A regular maintenance of beeswax wax polish would offer additional protection.

The opening picture is a birch veneer plywood counter made by Jake Von Slatt who installed this in the kitchen of his family camper which he converted from a retired school bus.

In the upcoming July/ August issue, I'll show you how to make a countertop template for the perfect fit and the best methods for installing a genuine walnut butcher block counter.