# Using laminate flooring for counter top



## Nshore

Anyone try to use laminate wood flooring for a counter top. Stands up to foot traffic so should be pretty durable as a counter top. I have a cabin I am building and thought about giving it a try. Just like flooring I imagine large spills would need to be wiped up quickly. Any Thoughts??


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## Fireguy

Moisture is a problem with the laminate floors, not recommended for use in bathrooms. Most laminate floors are designed to be floating so I am not sure how you plan to fasten them down and if you do it could cause a problem with expansion and contraction.


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## richgreer

For what it's worth - - I use bamboo flooring for the top of my workbench and I plan to use it on a countertop shortly. Bamboo is incredibly durable.


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## davidpettinger

I agree with Rich, bamboo is incredibly stable. Besides, the new patterns make it real attractive for just about any application.


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## toddc

As a remodeling contractor I have torn out a lot of laminate floors because of water damage. No matter how fast you are wiping up the moisture, I can guarantee it will still get into the cracks and start swelling at those points.

The very surface of laminate flooring is durable but everything under the surface does not get my respect.

Don't use it for the countertop.


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## Raymond

No but I did use laminate flooring to cover a beam in the celing of our bedroom. Looks actually very nice. Who knew that stuff was so dusty when you cut it on a table saw.


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## AuroraWoodworks

I had some friends who built a house and had to close out the construction loan. Their stone counters wouldn't be ready in time. He built a temporary counter out of bamboo scraps. I guess it worked.

If you decide to go ahead with laminate, buy a decent quality one. The stuff at Costco isn't what you want. I would also glue the joints even though they are that snap-lock type. Once water gets into the joint, you will have problems. Maybe Titebond 3?


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## canadianchips

I am NOT a fan of laminate flooring. The top is veneer something and underneath it is sawdust and glue.
We did use it on our countertop in laundry room just to see how it would last. ( I like to do my own testing) 
Amazingly it was doing well. We sold the home 5 years after I put it in . TEST OVER ! 
I did use real tongue and groove oak flooring on my kitchen cabinets at our cabin at lake. I gave it numerous coats of funriture paste, (Another test) My bathroom vanity top was made from Purple Heart wood, same paste finish.SOLD that home too.
If you are still thinking of using wood counter top I would the the real hardwood again.
Lets think about this, the old butcher shop cutting blocks were made of ….............Hardwoods.


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## Dark_Lightning

Sacrilege at a woodworking site, but if I ever make a countertop, it's going to be concrete. Check it out, there are some fantastic things to be done, and with the proper surface treatment it'll outlast you. Once it kicks, you'll never have to worry about water on it, either.


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## richgreer

If you are considering countertops other than wood oriented let me say something. My wife and I relocated many times during my career due to transfers. We have owned 12 different homes and just about every type of counter top their is (except concrete). For my wife and I, there is only one countertop that we would consider and that is granite.


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## jbertelson

I have had a number of countertops. Right now, and probably our last, is granite. By far the best looking and takes to the rigors of the kitchen environment. I have heard good things about concrete, and that was on our list. But the green granite goes great with the jatoba cabinets, and oak floors.


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## Howie

I don't know about counter tops but I covered a workbench top with laminate flooring and it stood up quite well. Took lots of abuse and I never replaced it.


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## CaptainSkully

I brought some leftover bamboo flooring home from a construction job thinking I'd make cutting boards out of it. The finish is so hard that my random orbit sander can't cut through it. I can't imagine that it's at all very susceptible to water damage. If you cut/scratch it, it leaves a pretty noticeable mark. Also, I don't know how a hot pot would affect it.


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## JAGWAH

Saw a clip of one of the DIY shows on HGTVlast night make a table this way. They were glueing the stuff down. It may have been a promo of an up and coming show because that's all I remember.

Actually, why not go for it. I often do things just to see if I can get away with it. I just built a trellis for my sweet pea vines from MDO that's G2S, just to see how unpainted or treated it'll do. It's on my dime before I offer to do it for others. I want to know how well it holds up unpainted because I know I can always paint it and extend it's life.

If I did a top of laminate I might add a border that's rabbited so the trim lays a bit over the edge of the material. This would allow a bit for movement and cover the potential chipped cut edges.


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## Knothead62

Laminate is not recommended for wet areas as bathrooms and kitchens. That's what the flooring place told us when we bought our laminate. 
BTW, Chinese Tonkin bamboo makes great fly rods!


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## JAGWAH

Rules Rules Rules we don need no stinkin Rules! 
Do it what the hell, it just may look great. The recomendation of no kitchens and baths is due to lots of water from bathing mopping and the like. A top does not get mopped or bathed on, I may be wrong just a wet rag. No biggy.


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## Oakum

As an x-mill rep, retailer and flooring contractor, the use of laminate flooring for a workbench surface is a great idea.

Stick with the brands that are well reported on and 'don't' glue it down. Just fill the space up as well as you can without being overly tight and corral the flooring by fastening the perimeter trim, i.e., half-round and 90 degree. Laminate with a cushioned core makes it quiet when you are getting rambunctious with your wood mallet and chisels, and absorbs a little impact helping to prevent dents.

Moisture shouldn't be an issue with a workbench, but simply wipe up spills instead of letting them lay over the joints too long; it can cause swelling and delamination if it's allowed to soak in too long, but that's exactly why you keep a few extra pieces tucked behind your supplies cabinet, just like you would for a floor.

It's easy to repair a laminate surface if you didn't glue it down. The surface of the laminate is so hard on good brands and should last so long that you will have forgotten your doubts about using it. The newer laminates rival real wood for beauty.

Laminate is a practical work surface alternative unless you're a purist who must be able to say "This is pure rock-hard North American maple"...


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## MrRon

Laminate flooring is actually HDO, (high density overlay) a more dense material than MDO. When it gets wet, it swells the same as MDO. If you want to use flooring, use solid wood flooring.


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## crank49

Well, for what it's worth, laminate flooring was derived from laminate counter tops.

Everything goes round and round it would seem.

I agree with above posts about moisture. Laminate counter tops are one piece usually except for the corners.

And, the corners are the first thing to fail from moisture absorption.


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## BentheViking

Most quality laminates now are going to have a microbeveled edge on all 4 sides of the board. For flooring it makes it better resemble hardwood and helps keep the edges from chipping during install and longterm use. Those bevels are going to be a big collector of crumbs and crud. If you wanted to use laminate for a countertop, I might suggest trying to build a lip around the perimeter that sits up a 1/8" or so and then fill in with a self leveling epoxy. Give you that laminate look, but a glassy smooth top, but then again I'd be worried about its food safeness


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## bbc557ci

To be honest, I wouldn't use the plastic laminate flooring for anything, including a floor. The stuff is durable as hell. But the sub straight or core seems to be something like masonite, but not sure exactly. Regardless, when/if water gets to the core, it's done for…


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## Grandpa

I am not a floor expert but I don't think they even recommend cleaning floating floors with a mop and water. They sell you a cleaning product that polishes when it clean. You use a dust mop on it. The make the planks in sheets. I bought some that was 5 feet wide and 8-1/2 feet long. I used it in my shop for walls. The walls are 10 feet tall. It works great for that. sweep it of or use a leaf blower and it is clean and ready.


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## ShopsmithChar1

This is something I would never do. I have laid quite the amount of laminate flooring over the years and I can tell you that in high traffic/wear areas it never holds up well. Between the spills, mopping and such it wears very easily. On top of the fact that laminate chips at the edges to easy. 
I would go with a hardwood top with a bar finish. Will last almost forever with very little maintenance.


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## Oakum

In my previous post, I was very enthusiastic in encouraging Nshore to try laminate flooring for a counter top… But I misunderstood. For some reason after reading some of the posts that he wanted to try it as a workbench top. The volume of water and overall moisture associated with a kitchen or bar counter top can be excessive and I probably wouldn't even try to use laminate in what we normally refer to as a wet-area. As one of the other commenters said, there is nothing quite like granite for such areas. Although I observe that my aunt still has 1950's Formica on her kitchen counter tops and they don't look all that bad, although she is fastidiously careful and a chronic neatnik.

Having said that, I stand by my recommendation to try laminate for a work top. I retired early from over 35 years in the flooring industry and was involved a good part of the time with manufacturers developing, testing in-house, for UL, ICBO approvals, and other certifications. I also reviewed any consumer or commercial complaints for various products. But I'm not just basing my comment on that background alone.

When I left my last post due to the economy and very little hope for economic recovery due to the current Washington leadership, the company gave me several boxes of laminate flooring to recover the basement floor with. I had one full box and a few cuts left over and decided to try it on one of my work bench tops. It wasn't the most optimal style in that it had beveled edges and was an imitation hand-scraped style; I would normally have tried a very flat surface and a lighter color. But the material was free and so I had little to lose by testing it out.

Well, that was over 5 years ago, 40-50 glue-ups, numerous paint jobs and spills including paint, paint thinner, alcohol, water, coffee, etc. Of course only a real slob would walk away and just leave spills on his work top, so they were cleaned up as soon as possible with a damp rag and sometimes something stronger. I loose laid the planks, didn't seal any edges and used plastic quarter round and some mahogany trim I had around the perimeter.

Not long ago I repainted the walls and quarter round and replaced the mahogany 'bumper' trim with some red cedar I had left over… The mahogany didn't hold up very well for this particular purpose. The laminate however looked nearly as good as the day I spent about 30 minutes clicking it together over 5 years previously. Now, I don't have a full-on commercial shop or anything, just a garage shop where I like to do woodworking.

I took some photos after I replaced the trim and repainted to send to my friend in Oregon. I've attached them here. Am I impressed? I would say so. There are about as many opinions about laminate as there are about tires… Everyone is an expert. And this proof won't be enough for the experts, or for those who think the govt is causing the temperatures to rise and see a conspiracy theory in just about anything they can't explain.

If anyone decides to try laminate, reread my earlier post in this thread for how I did it. I wish you the very best of success. I have to sheepishly admit to having another workbench with a maple top on it… But that was free too.


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## constructi0nman

If your worried about the laminate flooring not being waterproof, home depot sells ultra allure laminate flooring that is waterproof. It is over 3 dollars a square foot, but you won't need that much square footage just for counter tops. The stuff is not made out of particle board like the rest, it's some kind of polyurethane, or something. It's pretty amazing stuff, and I'd you don't have a home depot near you, you can order online.


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## MrRon

I used some laminate flooring to make some small drawers for a cabinet. Over time, the cut edges of the laminate have developed mold from moistue in the air. I wouldn't use it again; but I agree with GAGWAH. Try it yourself as a learning experience.


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## bullhead1

If your looking for a wood look, they do make counter top laminate in a variety wood grain patterns. If your going with laminate anyway, you may want to look at this as an alternative and build your own and not have to worry about seams and moisture. Look at the laminate samples at HD in the kitchen department.


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## BentheViking

the allure flooring from home depot is a click together floating vinyl plank floor, we sell them at lumber liquidators too, for anywhere from $2-$2.89 sq ft. Very durable product that we often use in rentals and commerical spaces.


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## wormil

Thread is 4 years old, he's probably figured something out by now … I'd hope.

Older or cheap laminate flooring will absorb water like a sponge. I have a piece of Armstrong laminate flooring that's been setting outside my shop for several years on the ground on edge, in the sun and rain, and only recently has it shown signs of deterioration but only where it touches the ground and no swelling at all. It would make an awesome workbench top but I wouldn't use it on a kitchen counter.


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## Sudsy

Bumping this up
We're redoing our basement into a game room with a bar and I was searching to inspiration on counter tops and this thread popped up - and it hit me, why not the stuff we just finished putting down on the floor !
Check out AquaStep flooring - no wood in it at all, you can put it down on the bottom of a pool. It was kinda pricey but I don't have to worry about spills and leaks from the washer dryer / hot water heater / bathroom which are all in rooms adjacent

I think I'm going to go with it, will post some photos when I'm done


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