14

Mar

What to Consider When Replacing Kitchen Countertops

What will you do when it is time to replace the kitchen countertops? In general, you should upgrade when your countertops are not matching the design vision, are too hard to maintain, and/or become irreparable. Solid-surfacing quartz kitchen countertops with deep cracks, scorched marks, and pitted areas are the best for replacing, which are badly stained and broken. Laminate countertops suffer from outdated patterns or colors, water damage, deep knife cuts, or staining that might need replacing as well.

Before you go shopping, you need to do your homework. Find out if the old countertops can be revived or repaired. If you require new countertops, you should shop with the right measurements in hand so you can estimate material costs. Learn more now.

Consider the Existing Material

The high-definition laminate countertops, or materials with a solid surface, screw into place, so changing them is easier, especially if you will replace them for selling. Hard stones will fall prey to pitting or cracks. Therefore, even if it is not the easiest countertop to replace, you might want to do that instead of just repairing it. This is especially true if the countertop is very old and not properly maintained.

The Cabinet Quality

Before you choose the kitchen countertop material, the first thing you need to consider is the quality of your current kitchen cabinets. One thing is that you will need to decide if you want to replace or keep them. If you want to replace the cabinets within the next couple of years, you should replace everything all at once so that you can avoid paying double installation fees.

You should also be sure that your cabinets are able to support the weight of new counters. Other lower-grade cabinets might not have the structural integrity to hold up other countertop materials.

Precise Measurements

Before taking out the tape measure, you need to make a sketch that represents countertop placement in the kitchen. You need to mark off sections of sink countertops, continuous countertops, and peninsula and island countertops to separately measure them. You need to measure the depth and length of each section, then multiply the depth and length to find out the area in inches and write the measurements. Divide the measurements by 144 to determine the square footage of each section. You can add up the square footage numbers so you can get the total square footage of the materials you need. This is going to help you estimate the cost of different materials, which is going to guide you in choosing countertops that can fit your budget.

Backsplash

A new countertop means that you will also need a new backsplash. These two elements go together with one another, and you want to make sure the materials will either match or coordinate.

Normally, the backsplash should be replaced at the same time as your countertop because it is mounted on the top. When you are planning a budget for the countertop replacement, you should not forget to consider the backsplash material cost and installation.

Sink Configuration

You also have to consider the sink configuration when you are ready to replace the countertop. If your sink sits below the countertop level, you might have to replace it when you replace the counters. However, sinks that sit on the counter will normally be replaced or have the plumbing reconfigured before you put in new counters.

The new counter could be taller compared to the previous countertops, which means the sink drain pipe will not reach the bottom.

You can check quartz countertops Rockville anytime when you are ready for new countertops.