If you’re in an older house, there are only two kinds of countertops you’re probable to have: tile or laminate (this sort of as Formica). If you have tile, possibly the tiles are cracked and the grout is discolored. If you have laminate, the surface could be burned, discolored, or worn via in spots, or the laminate may be peeling off. Possibly way, it could search bad. But you do not want to invest an arm and a leg. Can you correct up the outdated?
Retain in head the high quality of the home you’re in and what is justi¬fied by the community. In a increased-priced area, it could be the norm to have tile, granite, or one particular of the newer artificial surfaces. In a reduce-priced spot, tile or laminate may possibly be the norm. You don t want to do any renovation task that will generate down the high quality of the house for its location.
Can I Conserve the Outdated Countertop?
If your countertop is tile and it is cracked and banged up, then replacing it entirely is the only solution. On the other hand, the greatest problem with tile is most likely to happen about the edges, which get the worst abuse as items get bumped towards them. If only a handful of edge tiles are in negative form, you could think to by yourself that you will sim¬ply exchange them and then live with the rest of the countertop.
When kitchen tile is previous, alternative gets to be a prob¬lem. Unless you have extra tile in the garage, the possibilities are remote that you will be in a position to go to a retailer and find the precise same tile in terms and conditions of shade and tex¬ture as in your cooking area. You may be capable to discover close. But shut will search terrible when mounted. It will appear like a bad task and will produce just as considerably of an eyesore as the authentic cracked tile.
If any of the edge tile is cracked, I recommend that you exchange all the tile on the countertop. Alternatively, you could put an totally new edge on, if you can discover tile that is complementary.
Another resolution is to remove all the edge tile and put a hard¬wood border close to the countertop. The hardwood borders, intro¬duced in Scandinavia, are deemed stylish and can add an sophisticated touch to a kitchen.
On the other hand, possibly the tile is intact, but the grout is dis¬colored. The circumstance can be salvaged by utilizing a narrow screwdriv¬er (or other pointed tool) to carefully dislodge the aged grout. Attempt to get rid of it as way down as you can, if achievable to the base, with out damaging any of the existing tile. This is a time-consuming and arduous job, and there’s constantly the opportunity that you’ll damage or break loose a couple of tiles. Maddeningly, this usually transpires just at the finish of the function!
If you’re successful in cleansing out the aged grout, then regrout the tile. If the previous tile is in good shape, regrouting can rejuvenate an total cooking area.
If a simple tile is loose right here and there, you can careful¬ly eliminate it with your fingers or a pencil and then reat¬tach and regrout. (Don’t use a hard object such as a screwdriver to pry up the edges, which may result in chipping.) The end result is frequently quite suitable.
It is achievable to renovate an present tile countertop without having actu¬ally changing all the tile. I have done this, and the benefits can be breathtaking.
But if you have a laminate countertop that seems negative, just plan on changing it. There’s actually nothing that you can do to salvage it. Old uses up won’t come out, and faded, worn tops cannot be resur¬faced. The only point that can be accomplished cosmetically is to reglue any strips that have come loose from their laminate bond. Generally, how¬ever, this is only a short term resolve and hardly ever seems excellent.
What If the Existing Countertop Is Not Salvageable?
Before you install a new countertop, the current countertop should be demolished. This is a messy task that generally calls for sledgeham¬mers (in the scenario of active tile) to break out the outdated surface area. With other surfaces, these as laminate, it will involve unscrewing the counter-best, breaking the seams, and eliminating the big base pieces. Demolition usually can be completed within a few hrs.
Then a new basis (cement, some form of cement board, or plywood) ought to be affreux on the cabinets, and the new countertop placed on best of it. The time frame could be wherever from a number of times to a number of weeks. You will not be ready to use the cooking area for the duration of set up of a new countertop.
How Much Will I Recoup?
If you do a great occupation in changing a countertop, you must be able to recoup not only all the funds you invest but more, sometimes way far more.
The reason is easy: As I’ve said, the cooking area is the most impor¬tant place in the home. Men and women invest plenty of time in the kitchen area, and in a lot of respects it is the showcase for the home. Whereas other rooms are just floors, walls, and ceilings, the cooking area has cabinets, appliances, and of study course countertops. These show off the high quality of the general residence. Usually as significantly income goes into the presentation of the kitchen area as into all the other rooms combined.
Renovate the countertop and you will have modified the general character of the kitchen area, presumably for the far better.
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