Countertops

This has been a pretty brutal winter, not allowing much time for anything outside, so I haven't been working on the camper much.  I was able to build the new countertops in my basement. The original ones were bright orange and the finish was peeling off everywhere.  I also planned to get rid of the sink, so the old tops had to go.

The tops were glued down and difficult to remove.  I used an oscillating tool to plunge cut the glue joint out to help me pry the tops off. Trying to pry them off without cutting the glue resulted in wrecking the cabinets.  I still ended up destroying the face frame with the two drawers below the sink.

 Cutting the top up for removal.

 

Top is gone. 

Busted up face frame.

Once I had all the tops removed, I set to work making new ones.  I used 5/8" particle board to match what was there.  The original finish looked like some type of contact paper.  The new tops will be 1/16" thicker due to the laminate but I don't think it will be an issue.  I ended up needing to order a 4X8 sheet of laminate and using about 1/2 of it, as the tabletop was 42"X32" and the smaller sizes were only 30" wide.  I have some experience with laminate tops, so the process was pretty easy.  The toughest thing was keeping everything clean and working in cramped quarters.  I was able to borrow a trim router from a co-worker to trim the laminate flush with the edges.  The tops turned out very nice I think.

Cutting the table top.

Table top with laminate, trimmed and ready for edging.

Originally, I was going to finish all the ledges with laminate, but a co-worker had a genius idea to use T-molding.  I wanted a brown color, but couldn't find it for a reasonable price.  I ended up getting black trim with a leather texture imprinted in it.  I borrowed another router with a slot cutter to make the slot that holds the molding on.  I also thought I needed 5/8" trim because that was the thickness of the particle board.  I found a tip in an arcade game restoration forum that said to use 3/4" T-molding and trim it with a chisel.  You lay the flat side of the chisel against the laminate and push it along to trim off the excess.  It works beautifully, and you can't even notice where the laminate ends and the trim starts.  Perfectly flush.

T-Molding before trimming.

Trimmed Molding

Trimming process with chisel.

This is about the end of what I can do indoors, so now I'm waiting again for spring.  Once it gets warmer and dries out a bit I can get these installed, and then get started rebuilding the roof.