Home Style Decorating

Laminate is an inexpensive, colorful, moderately durable material for your countertops. It is easy to install that comes in ready-made designs or cut especially to fit your countertop shape.

Laminate is made of layers of kraft and decorative paper that is mixed with resin and fused together using high heat and pressure. It is then bonded together to make a big singular piece which will be ready to be fitted to your countertop or made into a prefabricated piece.

There are different thickness of laminate to fit the buyer’s needs and intended use. The thickest is the horizontal grade variety especially made for heavy-use countertops. Vertical grade is the thinnest and used mostly on low-impact vertical applications. The popular laminate are Formica, Wilsonart, and Nevamar that come in a wide variety of designs that includes the sought- after designs of granite, stone and wood.

As with every thing, there are pros and cons with using laminate. On the plus side, laminate is the most affordable and low maintenance. It is stain and grease resistant and comes in a wide variety of designs that will match any kitchen theme. Laminate also is available in prefab with a back-splash already attached. On the down side, it is very prone to scratches and scorches from hot pots and pans. Warping and dissolved glue in the seams occur with water damage and it is quite difficult to fix.

To keep your laminate countertop looking new, watch out for the corners were seams meet as this area is where cracks almost always appear first. You can also mix and match laminate with other countertop surfaces.

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