DIY Projects

Recently I was at a local recreation center and noticed that one of the card tables had its top replaced with a piece of laminate.

I spoke to the lady in charge and she said that the table top had been all ripped up and one of the volunteers took it home and cut a piece of laminate to fit. He then routed the edges and glued it down. The laminate made a perfect finish for the card table. The ladies could use it to cut material and not worry about damaging the finish and it also made a great finish to play cards on.

I recently spotted this project on the internet to make shelves to store CD’s, photos, games or whatever else you would like to organize. I thought it was quite a unique project, but I would like to take this project one step further.

Purchase closet organizers that are commonly used for shoes. You can purchase several of the organizers to make the shelves whatever size you want. You can make multiple sets. Since there are already predrilled holes, you can make the shelves whatever height you would like. Or if need be, drill some new holes for the shelves. But here is where I would like to make a change. Why not use laminate to finish them to enhance your decorating style. If you would like, choose a bold and bright color. Or choose a wood finish to match other furniture in the room. The point is, they don’t have to stay white.

Laminate is easy to install, with some contact cement and a router this would be a simple project. There are endless possibilities, since there are many, many styles of laminate to be used.

Do you have leftover laminate from building your countertops?

Would you like a wall sconce that matches your kitchen or bathroom decor?

Here’s how to make it: Cut a sheet of laminate to fit a plywood base. Use contact cement to attach to the plywood. Finish off the outside edges by making a frame. Use a sharp wood drill bit to drill a hole at the center (drill through an X of masking tape to prevent chipping). Insert a candlestick sconce, and hard-wire.

This can also be made with left over ceramic tile.

Recently a friend of mine purchased a house at a foreclosure auction. Obviously, the price was right or he would not have bought it, to resell. Of course it needed some work done on it.

Replacing carpet, tiling the kitchen and bathrooms, and paint, you know, the stuff that you do to make a place look updated and clean.

Our next step was to replace the kitchen cabinets and build new laminate countertops. Installing new appliances and the transformation was complete. He sold the house in less than a week, at a decent profit. Now he is looking for another one.

Did you know that if you are looking for a new surface for you router tabletop, plastic laminate is an ideal surface for router tables, and light colors are very desirable as they make the work piece more visible. They also allow you to make pencil marks indicating start and stop positions for cuts.

The ideal tabletop is a medium density fiberboard (MDF) substrate covered with plastic laminate. Make sure you cover both faces, to equalize tension and avoid warping. And to make it smooth, sand the top with 400 grit wet/dry paper. The first time you do this, it’s a little unnerving to sand brand new laminate!

After sanding, use a tack cloth to clean the top. Then make it slick by rubbing in a coat of clear shoe polish. Buff the shoe polish for an incredibly smooth, slick surface that won’t rub off on your unfinished wooden work pieces.

When deciding on the final outcome of your bathroom remodel, you must choose what you want the final image to be, and then work toward that goal.

Want to save money on your bathroom remodeling project while still achieving a high-end look? Try laminate countertops instead of more expensive granite counters. Before you balk at the idea of using a “lesser” material consider that laminate is virtually maintenance free and that many companies today can make laminate that looks pretty darn close to the real thing. If you want the look of granite, travertine, marble, wood, etc. without paying the high price of these materials, then laminate is worth considering.

With laminates’ low cost and always-up-to-date patterns and colors, changing your countertop to be right in style with today’s trends is a piece of cake.

If your laminate countertop is starting to lift up, it is an easy fix to repair it. Simply apply contact cement to both surfaces, the underside of the laminate and the countertop and press the laminate back into place.

If the edge of your laminate countertop is damage, and you are unable to repair it, remove the edge with a putty knife. Using a heat gun or an iron will help to soften the glue and make it easier to remove. After removing the damaged piece, sand the surface, apply contact cement and apply a new edge. If you are unable to match your countertop, be creative. There are many different laminates available, make the edge different.

Once you have installed new laminate countertops, it is time to caulk them. Wilsonart has 100% siliconized acrylic caulk that is color matched to any of their laminates. No mixing, no color charts, just purchase the caulk that is the same name or number as the laminate you picked.

Wilsonart Color Matched Caulk is stain, mold, and mildew resistant, stays flexible and is water resistant.

• Use painters tape, masking tape or any type of tape that doesn’t leave a residue to mask off an area to keep caulk over seam. Allow for approximately ¼” or less of caulking area on each side of the seam.

• Caulks, especially silicone, work better at room temperature, so bring it inside the night before and let it warm up. It will bond better and smooth more easily.

• Cut the tip off of the caulking tube at an angle, close to the tip. A smaller opening helps avoid overfilling the joint. Pierce the seal of the tube and slowly squeeze the tube while watching for the caulk to become visible at the end of the tube.

• Apply caulk. Run a bead of caulk directly over the seam. By providing steady pressure to the caulk tube, move along the seam at a steady speed. Work on an area no more than 2 to 3 feet at a time. Smooth over the entire length of the applied bead of caulk in order to straighten it out and further force the caulk into enough surface contact to establish good adhesion. This is called “Tooling”. You can use your dampened finger or various tools like a spoon, a shaped piece of wood, or a foam paint brush. Tool the caulk until you are satisfied with the appearance. Keep rags or damp paper towels handy to clean up any problem areas right away. It is much more difficult to clean up dried caulk or caulk that starts to skin over. Repeat this process until entire countertop edge is sealed.

Tip: Caulk is made not to flow, so tooling is critical to force it into good contact with the substrate.

Several years ago when I decided that I wanted to learn how to work with laminate, a friend of mine gave me some very good advice. Start small and simple.

I decided that I would start with a new countertop for my garage workbench. I was very basic with just a few cuts and angles. After all if I made a mistake, it was only going to be in the garage. Since that went well I decided to move on to my next project.

I decided to put a new finish on my stereo speakers. We had recently redecorated the family room, and the speakers just looked out of place. It was an easy weekend project that gave the old speakers a new look that blended much better with our décor. I also decided that I would make speaker stands to match, raising the speakers off the floor for better sound quality.

It just goes to show you that with a little laminate and a few tools, you can make just about anything look new again.