How to install a countertop in the kitchen correctly with your own hands using instructions, photos and videos

When redeveloping a kitchen and installing new furniture, a significant number of organizational and technical issues have to be resolved. And the question "How to properly install the countertop in the kitchen?" is one of the most important - because how smoothly and reliably the tabletop will be installed depends on how comfortable you will be working for her.

At the same time, the installation of the tabletop has many nuances, which depend, first of all, on what material the tabletop is made of. In our article, we will try to tell in as much detail as possible how the installation of different types of countertops is carried out.

Additionally read the article DIY kitchen countertops: recipe for making.

Features of mounting countertops

When you can mount the countertop yourself

When we start installing new kitchen furniture, we will have to decide whether to install the countertop ourselves, or to entrust this work to professionals. There are several factors to consider here:

• Self-installation of countertops should be done only if you know exactly the installation technology. Otherwise, with the slightest mistake, you will irreversibly spoil a rather expensive countertop - and it will be impossible to use it in the kitchen.
• If you have the skills, you can independently install countertops made of MDF or chipboard, as well as countertops made of solid wood or veneered wood. These materials are quite simple to process, and therefore you can work with them with the simplest tool.
• If you plan to install a tiled countertop in the kitchen, or a concrete countertop "under a stone", and you have the necessary skills for this, feel free to get to work. As a rule, these "artisanal" countertops turn out better and last much longer than custom-made ones.

What are types of countertops for the kitchen you will learn from this article.

When you shouldn't mount the countertop yourself

And when is it better to turn to the masters for help? Installing a countertop in the kitchen with the assistance of professional installers is justified in the following cases:

• If the tabletop is made of an expensive and difficult-to-process material - tempered glass, laminated glass, cast stone, etc. The price of such countertops is very high and you shouldn't risk it!
• If the manufacture and installation of worktops is part of a complex order for the manufacture of all kitchen furniture.
• If you do not have the skills for a high-quality worktop installation.
• Well, and finally - if the installation of a countertop in the kitchen is included in its cost.

Advice! In the latter case, however, it is worth studying the installation technology in order to monitor the quality of the work performed.

After analyzing all of the above tips, you can choose the best strategy for you. And if you decide that it is better to do everything yourself, then below we will tell you how to install a countertop in the kitchen.

Installation of wooden countertops and MDF countertops

Preparing the countertop for installation

Wood or MDF countertops are the easiest to install. But in most cases, before installing the countertop over the kitchen cabinets and finally fixing it, it is necessary to trim the countertop.

This is done like this:

• We install the floor-standing kitchen cabinets in the designated places and level their upper planes. The most convenient way of leveling is with the adjustable feet. If the cabinets do not have such legs, you can use special plastic spacers and adjusting wedges.
• We put the countertop on the cabinets, making sure that there is a gap of about 5 mm between it and the back wall of the kitchen.

• We measure the length of the tabletop, taking into account the size of the overlay panel on its end. We make a mark with a pencil or marker, fixing which fragment we need to saw off. We also mark the position of the cabinet under the sink on the underside.

Advice! If you plan to use a hacksaw to saw off the tabletop, mark the size on the front side, and if we use a jigsaw or a saber saw, then on the wrong side.

• Glue masking tape over the cutting line (it will protect the countertop from chipping). Saw the tabletop using a fine-toothed saw.
• We process the end of the tabletop with a file, removing the largest irregularities.

Sink hole formation

The next step in preparing our countertop for installation is making a hole for the sink:

• We apply the sink to the bottom surface of the removed countertop.
• We circle the sink around the perimeter with a pencil. Then, focusing on the drawn line and following the instructions for the sink, draw a line along which we will cut a hole.

Note! Place the sink in such a way that its bottom does not interfere with the free closing of the cabinet under the sink.

• We lay the tabletop on a comfortable stand and use a drill to drill 10 mm holes in the four corners of our drawing. If the sink is round, just drill a few holes around the perimeter.
• Having inserted a jigsaw file into one of the holes, we saw through the hole for the sink along the marked line. You can find out how the hole for the sink is cut by watching the video instruction.

This completes the preparation of our countertop. It can be installed!

Tabletop installation

The installation of a kitchen countertop is as follows:

• We put the prepared worktop on kitchen cabinets and fix it either with the help of special fasteners, or by driving the tires on the underside of the countertop into the previously made in the upper ends of the cabinets holes.
• During installation, we observe the gaps between the table top and the wall, as well as between the side edges of the table top and the furniture standing next to it.
• We put on end plates on the ends of the tabletop and fix them with self-tapping screws.
• We install the sink, carefully sealing the connection between the sink and the countertop. Separately, we seal the edges of the hole cut for the installation of the sink with a sealant - this way we protect the tabletop material from swelling.
• We connect a siphon and a mixer to the sink.

As you can see, there is nothing complicated, and you can easily cope with installing a wooden tabletop yourself. But with a concrete countertop it will be a little more difficult - after all, it is best to do it right away on the spot. In this case, the manufacturing and installation processes of the countertop merge into one!

Installation of concrete countertops

A concrete countertop - it doesn't matter whether it is tiled or polished "like an artificial stone", is mounted as follows:

• First, we install kitchen cabinets, and if necessary, we reinforce them from the inside with wooden beams.
• On top of the cabinets, we lay the base of our future tabletop cut from thick plywood or chipboard. We securely attach the base to the bottom of the kitchen set.
• On the sides of the base, we install formwork from fragments of chipboard or boards. We seal the formwork joints or lay the entire formwork with polyethylene.
• Inside the formwork, we lay reinforcement from interconnected metal rods (pictured).

• Where it is planned to install a sink, we install a metal strip ring - so that the solution does not get inside it.
• We prepare a cement mortar (1 part of cement grade not lower than M400, 2 parts of sand, 2 parts of crushed stone). Be sure to add a plasticizer to the solution.

Advice! If you plan to make a countertop that imitates stone, add a dye or decorative component to the cement. The instruction for such compositions, as a rule, explains in detail how to achieve this or that effect - for example, to imitate marble or granite.

• Pour the solution into the formwork, level it and cover it with polyethylene to dry.

After the mortar has dried - and it takes about a week - it is necessary to remove the polyethylene, dismantle the formwork and start finishing our countertop:

• First, we grind the table top "roughly" to eliminate large irregularities.
• Then we cut a hole in the chipboard base for installing the sink.
• If we plan to finish the countertop with tiles, we apply glue and lay the selected tile on it, after which we rub the seams.
• To imitate a stone countertop, we carefully grind and polish the concrete using a grinder, and then we process the countertop with a filler (sealing).

The final touch in installing a worktop is the installation of end plates made of ceramic, plastic or metal.

Article Installing a kitchen set: how to fix a countertop in the kitchen will also be useful to you.

Basically - and you can see this by analyzing the tips given here - self-installation of the kitchen countertop is quite possible. Therefore, if you feel the strength, and most importantly, the desire to do this work - we hope that this article will be useful to you!