How to Build a Kitchen Table Countertop

Measure the kitchen tabletop you intend to install a new countertop onto from end to end and side to side. Cut a rectangle from ¾-inch plywood 1-½ inches wider and longer than the existing top. Use a circular saw to make the cuts.

Cut four pieces of 1-by-2 pine (which is actually ¾ inch-by-1-½ inches in size). Cut two pieces the length of the long edge of the table and two pieces that are 1-½ inches shorter than the table is wide. Run a bead of wood glue around the edge of the table. Stand the 1-by-2 on edge around the edge of the table. Position the two long pieces flush with the edge of the table, and flush with the ends of the table. Clamp them in place with two C-clamps each.

Position the two short pieces between the long pieces flush with the ends of the tabletop. Clamp them in place with two clamps each. Use a pneumatic brad nailer to drive 1-½-inch brad nails up through the plywood into the edge of the 1-by-2 pieces every 10 to 12 inches. Nail the corners of the pieces together as well. Allow the glue to set overnight.

Sand the edges of the 1-by-2 and the face of the plywood with a belt sander and a 120 grit belt. Measure the edges of the plywood and 1-by-2 countertop. Mark out and cut pieces of plastic laminate to size for each edge and the top of the table, ½-inch wider and longer than the countertop edges and top. Use a utility knife to score the laminate pieces along the outline of each piece. Snap the laminate off by pressing firmly down along a table edge.

Apply a coat of contact cement to the edges of the two short ends and the back of the laminate pieces cut for them. Use a medium nap roller to apply the adhesive equally across the surface. Allow the adhesive to dry thoroughly. Carefully align a laminate piece with the countertop edge on one short side. Press the laminate, glue side down, onto the end of the countertop. Press it firmly into place with a j-roller.

Install a flush cut bit with a bearing on the end into your router. Adjust the depth of the bit so that it cuts through the laminate with the bearing riding ¾ inch below the base plate of the router. Cut the extra laminate around the edges of both ends with the router. Turn it on, and run the router counterclockwise around the end of the countertop. Sand the edges with the belt sander to smooth them.

Apply the long side laminate pieces in the same way. Trim the laminate with the router and sand the edges. Roll a coat of contact cement onto the top of the countertop and the piece of laminate you cut to fit it. Allow the adhesive to dry and apply the laminate as for the edges. Trim the extra laminate with the router.

Smooth the edge of the top with a mill bastard file. Run the file along the edge from left to right, angled 45 degrees to the countertop edge and slanted slightly left to right.

Set the countertop on top of the table so that the 1-by-2 edges fit on the outside edge of the table top. Drive 1-¼ inch drywall screws up through the table top into the bottom of the new countertop with a cordless drill. Install one screw every 12 inches.